The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady

I confess that I did not know this character and that this film was my first encounter with the Lone Wolf, the nickname of the fictional character Michael Lanyard, a jewel thief turned private detective, in a series of novels written by Louis Joseph Vance (1879-1933). No less than 24 films were produced about the Lone Wolf, between 1917 and 1949. Warren William would play the character in nine of them, between 1939 and 1943, probably accompanied by his faithful servant Jamison, played by Eric Blore.

It's a typical television private eye series, avant la lettre, more "The Thin Man" than "Charlie Chan", where a traditional "who done it" script crosses with a situation comedy, usually led by Eric Blore, the comedian on duty, in this case accompanied by Fred Kelsey, the incompetent police assistant, always fooled by the Lone Wolf.

Pure entertainment, but fun, interesting and with the seal of the good old days. I became curious to see more episodes of the series.

The Lone Wolf comes to the aid of Joan Bradley, a young woman who gets herself embroiled in a case of murder and robbery.

Gentleman thief turned Private Detective Michael Lanyard is once again on the case, ably supported by Jamison.

A pretty good installment, a solid if unremarkable plot, but as a whodunnit, it worked quite well. This did actually remind me a little of The Lone Wolf Strikes, a case that also involves a jewellery theft.

It's quite well paced, it's full of twists and turns, and you are made to wait to learn exactly who the killer is.

Jean Muir is very good as Joan Bradley, but it's Eric Blore who steals the show as Jamison, he is absolutely hilarious throughout, his quick wit and one liners are a total joy, his delivery is flawless.

A pleasing mystery, one I enjoyed.

7/10.

Enjoyable Lone Wolf film with plenty of twists in the plot and a hero who is suave and cunning. The witty one liners from the characters melds well with the snappy pace.

"The cleverest wolf.... still ends up as a fur coat!" A witticism from the long-suffering "Insp. Crane" (Thurston Hall) as he yet again finds himself accusing his constant antagonist "Lanyard" (Warren William) of being embroiled in (fake) jewellery theft and murder! This time though, he and loyal "Jamison" (Eric Blore) are taking the fall for "Joan" (Jean Muir) who had teed up an advantageous marriage with the son of a wealthy woman before she finds herself accused of murder. After an high-speed near miss with our sleuths, she finds her future is wrapped up with their's. With the police on their trail, "Lanyard" et al must rush to find out just what happened and who did what. This adventure provides some better examples of the quickly paced and engaging banter between William and Blore, with the latter frequently making observations that raise a smile and he juggles his innate curiosity with him "never denying his cowardice"... Sure, there's little jeopardy here but Muir has a bit more to her as the put-upon dame and there's actually more comedy to appreciate here, too.

If it weren't for some droll remarks by ERIC BLORE, this Lone Wolf entry called THE LONE WOLF MEETS A LADY hasn't got much material to distinguish it among all the other Wolf films.

Blore brings some much needed humor to the predictable formula which has the Wolf fleeing the authorities with a woman (JEAN MUIR) who has witnessed the murder of a man over the robbery of an expensive jewel. He and his valet (Blore) decide to help her free herself from the clutches of Inspector Crane (THURSTON HALL) as The Lone Wolf goes about to find the real man responsible for the crime.

The only surprise among the cast members is seeing BRUCE BENNETT pop up as an irate policeman. Bennett doesn't play his usual bland type and plays the feisty cop with a good display of temperament. Oddly enough, his name is billed last among the cast credits. WARREN HULL as Muir's fiancé is competent enough and better remembered by me as "The Green Hornet" in the serial series he did in the early '40s. As for WARREN WILLIAM, he seems completely at ease in the title role.

Nothing new here, and one of the less memorable but still enjoyable entries in this series.