Bulldog Drummond Escapes

Three Bulldog Drummond films were made in 1937 in quick succession, this being the first, and the only one starring Ray Milland as Drummond. It was the eighth Drummond film to be made. It came out in April, 'Bulldog Drummond at Bay' came out in July, and 'Bulldog Drummond Comes Back' came out in September. Each had a different leading man, the next two in succession being John Lodge and John Howard. In this one, the young Ray Milland was amusing and engaging, but over-acted in a way which was not helpful. He portrayed the hero as someone with adolescent, almost juvenile, attitudes, thereby turning Drummond into a rather idiotic parody, and making the whole film too much like a comedy, despite its scenes of danger and distress. The producers instantly realized they had made a mistake and had endangered their plans for a series of films, so they sought someone with more gravitas. The next film used John Lodge once. But after that, inspiration finally came in the form of John Howard, who was perfect casting and would go on to make many Drummond films, with just the right combination of gravitas mixed with a residual boyish sense of fun, openness (never Milland's strong point), and solid, sporting good humour. In this film, Phyllis Clavering is introduced for the first time, and inspired casting occurred when Heather Angel played the part. The producers made a big mistake in having Phyllis played for three more films by the boring Louise Campbell, but Heather Angel would reappear the next year five films later (Phyllis does not appear in one of them), and carry on for several films to great effect. Phyllis enters the world of Drummond as a helpless imprisoned maiden in distress, whom he rescues. Eventually she ends up suspended in his arms, kissing him, with marriage beckoning. (As all Drummondonians know, this marriage would be 'interruptus' on numerous future occasions.) Guy Standing is boring as Inspector Nielson in this film, and they got rid of him too. E. E. Clive as Tennie the Butler, and Reginald Denny as Algy are in fine fettle for this episode, and were to grace the series for a long while with their charm and talents. There is a curious scene in this film where the villains are driving through the gates of a great house in a Rolls Royce. This shot is actually cut from the 1929 'Bulldog Drummond' and re-used! Much of this film is spent with Algy Longworth desperately trying to phone the hospital to see if his wife has had her baby yet. In 'Bulldog Drummond Comes Back', he will be desperately trying to make it to that same baby's christening, while Drummond will be desperately trying to marry Phyllis, the villains preventing both of these things. This film is entertaining and lively if one is not fussy, and has humour as well, so it is good viewing. As Tennie the Butler would say: 'That is my thought exactly, Sir.'

Bulldog Drummond is supposedly the inspiration for James Bond. I don't see it, but Ben Mankiewicz gets a lot wrong. Amazing that TCM doesn't have a fact-checker. In truth, Ian Fleming said 007 was "Drummond above the waist and Mickey Spillane below."

This 1937 film stars Ray Milland, who only played Bulldog once. Someone on this board wrote that this film was only a B film, and wasn't Ray Milland a big star at one time? As if his career was on the decline. Actually it was just starting, and while I never thought of him as a superstar, he did come up the ranks after this.

In this film, Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond returns to England in his plane. Driving home, a young woman (Heather Angel) lands in front of his car. He doesn't hit her, but she falls.

He is attempting to revive her when he hears a shout and gunshots in the woods. He leaves her for a minute, and the woman jumps in his car and leaves.

She's left her purse and handkerchief in the car, so he goes to her home, Greystone. She asks him to help her as she is being kept prisoner there.

Meanwhile, Bulldog's pal Algy is about to become a father for the first time and is going crazy with worry in the hospital. Guy Standing is the inspector, and when he hears from Bulldog, he tells him to leave town. The Inspector is on vacation and doesn't want to get involved in one of Bulldog's murders.

Lots of fun, with Ray Milland a charming Drummond, very attractive, and very smooth. I would have loved to see him in more than just this Drummond film.

Many actors have played Bulldog, including Carlyle Blackwood in the silents, Richard Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Beatty, Tom Conway, Ron Randell, John Howard (who played the role 7 times), Ronald Colman, Athol Fleming, Ralph Richardson, Kevin McKenna, and Jack Buchanan. Whew.

Actually, the film The Man Who Knew Too Much was a Drummond story adapted by Hitchcock.

It's interesting that so many characters were inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Like Sherlock, Bulldog has a sidekick and a nemesis (in the books), Carl Peterson.

Looking forward to seeing more of the films on TCM.

Ray Milland's only outing as Bulldog Drummond is a pretty good start to Paramount's series. The story is about Drummond trying to help a woman who's being kept prisoner by her nefarious guardian at the ominously-named Greystone Manor. There's also a subplot about Drummond's right-hand man Algy being a nervous wreck waiting on his wife to give birth. Milland makes for a charming and lively Bulldog Drummond. He was one of three actors to play the character in 1937 alone and, for my money, he was better than the other two. Reginald Denny and E.E. Clive offer fun support. Lovely Heather Angel plays the heiress and has a nice playful chemistry with Milland. She's also something of a tough cookie, helping fight the bad guys instead of just standing around doing nothing. The rest of the cast features fine actors like Porter Hall, Walter Kingsford, Fay Holden, and Guy Standing. This was Standing's final movie, dying from a rattlesnake bite (!) a month after this was released. The Bulldog Drummond series wasn't one of my favorites of the many detective film series that littered the '30s & '40s but I have liked many of them. This one is particularly enjoyable with lots of humor and some nice foggy atmosphere. Short runtime and good pace also help.

Ray Milland kicks off the 1937-38 series of films about the intrepid Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond with style. Drummond encounters a young woman on the road who pinches his car and leaves him stranded, but not for long. Soon, he's embroiled in a family squabble over inheritance and paranoid delusions. Pal Algy and valet Tenny try to help Drummond prove the girl is not loony and sort out who the baddies are. The banter is funny and lively and the acting is better than usual for the period, especially Milland, who unfortunately immediately left the role for bigger and better ones. For those keeping score, this is when Drummond meets Phyllis, and Algy is worried about missing the birth of his baby.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this racy little number,available in the UK on one DVD with two other movies from the same series.A simple but effective plot and some good stand out action scenes,pretty well mounted for a 'programmer'.Bulldog Drummond was served better by these movies than Dick Barton fared in the Hammer productions that came a dozen or so years later.Well worth watching,with a nice late thirties flavour,and far superior to the later Richard Johnson attempts at the character.Maybe its time for a resurgence of interest in Bulldog Drummond !! Ray Milland is a suave hero,and Heather Angel a pert heroine.When major stardom priced Ray Milland out of the series,John Howard played the part with equal charm.