El Lobo en Scotland Yard

I'd never heard of the Lone Wolf before watching this one but I ended up enjoying it a great deal. Much of that comes down to the unexpected comedy which makes this film a humorous treat. In particular, the witty interplay between the Wolf and his British manservant adds plenty of laughs to the proceedings. The film starts off with an involved little set up which sees an innocent woman getting framed for murder, and when the Lone Wolf gets drawn in when he vows to clear her name in any way he can. The plot twists and turns come thick and fast here and they never forget the laughs either. I'll watch more.

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.

I've still a few of this series of films to see yet, but TLWMAL seems pretty typical of the William Warren Lone Wolf entries.

Basically the pretty and innocent socialite (Jean Muir) about to be married gets tangled up with theft and murder, then luckily for her gets tangled up with the Lone Wolf and his valet (Eric Blore). These two are about to go on holiday but stay to help the damsel in distress from the clutches of the law (Thurston Hall & Fred Kelsey).

There's quite a few twists and turns and the pace never lets up, especially when one of the baddies (Victor Jory) is summarily dismissed from the plot as a corpse without a shot being fired. I think one of the reasons why High Brows disdain this type of potboiler is because they're unnerved to find that it can take so much concentration to follow the story - This Should Not Be!

Favorite bit : In trying to give Muir an alibi, William runs the bath and orders her to take her clothes off - Blore is suitably and audibly outraged even though they immediately leave the room. The last few minutes are a bit frantic, but when the time was up they closed 'em down fast at Columbia.

This was good, recommended to all fans of the genre.

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.

The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady from 1940 stars Warren William in the eponymous role, real name Michael Lanyard, costarring Eric Blore and Jean Muir.

Muir plays Joan Bradley, a secretary to the wealthy Mrs. Penyon (Georgia Caine), who becomes engaged to her son Bob (Warren Hull). She is gifted a $100,000 necklace, a family heirloom. When she returns home to get ready for a party, her husband, believed dead, shows up.

In the end, he's murdered, the necklace is stolen, and, terrified, she runs, nearly run over by Lanyard and his assistant Jamison (Blore).

Lanyard takes Joan under his wing and works on not only getting her out of trouble but solving both the murder and the theft.

William makes a terrific Wolf, and he and Jamison are hilarious together, with Jamison practicing his singing on a recording device which is used to help the case - until it's interrupted by a tune from Jamison. The exasperated police are well played by Thurston Hall and Fred Kelsey.

Very entertaining.