The Lone Wolf in Mexico

Gerald Mohr returns in his second of three appearances as Michael Lanyard, former jewel thief, accused of crime any time one happens in his vicinity. Now that the War is over, he and vacationing manservant Eric Blore travel down to Mexico, where they are promptly accused of stealing some jewelry and smuggling it to the US, so he has to clear things up himself. With Sheila Ryan, Nestor Paiva, and Chris-Pin Martin.

Mohr, alas, was born a bit too late to prosper with a pencil-thin mustache, a cultured speaking voice, and dark good looks. He mostly played villains in the movies, although he had a wider range on the radio. A thorough professional, he worked steadily through his death in 1968 at the age of 54.

Unlike some B-mystery series, there never was a consistent actor to play in all or even most of the Lone Wolf movies. Instead, ten different actors ended up playing this reformed criminal and crime fighter. Warren William played him most often but he was eventually replaced by Gerald Mohr...probably due to William's battle with cancer.

Despite this change, Eric Blore continued playing the Lone Wolf's butler and sidekick, Jamison.

At a Mexican casino, a croupier is murdered. The local police immediately assume the Lone Wolf did it...which is a bit odd since just before this the police Captain was making nice with Lanyard. Additionally, there's a jewel theft...and Michael Lanyard is once again suspected.

Gerald Mohr is decent in the lead, though I prefer Warren William a bit more, as he had a more roguish quality about him. Also, this film didn't work as well for me because it could have used a bit more action. Still, any Lone Wolf film is worth seeing for a nice escapist 60 or so minutes.

A croupier is murdered in a Mexico City gambling casino and the Lone Wolf is suspected. Sharon Montgomery, wife of diamond merchant Charles Montgomery, becomes involved in a jewel heist, in which again the Lone Wolf is a suspect.

Gerard Mohr stars as the Lone Wolf, and despite Warren William being hard to replace, he does a competent job, and is a little tough. He lacks the natural charm that William had but Mohr does have his own style. As for the film, it's rather average but still enjoyable and the locale is quite good. It does lack action and loses some steam towards the end. The plot can be a bit muddled at times, too.

This is the 20th Lone Wolf movie from Columbia out of the 22 they made from 1917 to 1949. The Lone Wolf character is a retired jewel thief played here for the second time by Gerald Mohr. I think he plays well off Eric Blore as Jamison the manservant. At the beginning we see that Lone Wolf and Jamison have just booked into a hotel in Mexico City as they begin their vacation. Jamison is in a mutinous mood as he declares that it will not be a working holiday for him for their fortnight stay. They make a good pair of rogues as it never seems clear by their banter whether their professional relationship is based on crime detection or skulduggery. Eric Blore with his trademark petulant pout steals every scene with his roguish manner. He eyes Mrs Van Weir's rahjput stone pendant with longing as they sit together at a dining table at the El Paseo nightclub. Mrs Van Weir, played in great dowager style by Winifred Harris, is part of the select clientale who indulge in illegal gambling at the rear of the premises. She turns out to be heavily in gambling debts and the nightclub owner has a safe full of jewels that his indebted clientale are giving him to keep their gambling addictions alive. The murder of the roulette wheel croupier and the secret shenanigans of the clientale make for a good lively mystery for the Lone Wolf to investigate.

Determined to actually take his fortnight's leave this year, "Jamison" (Eric Blore) stages what amounts to a mini-revolt against his boss "Lanyard" (Gerald Mohr) - even refusing to do up his bow tie for him. The compromise - well they are both going to Mexico. Of course, trouble is never far away and when a croupier is killed, suspicion falls on the "Lone Wolf". Meantime, they also encounter the outwardly wealthy "Agatha Van Weir" (Winifred Harris) who is $50,000 in the hole to the crooked casino owner "Henderson" (John Gallaudet) and who has been using her diamond as collateral. Clever people might realise that being around "Lanyard" is just too risky - and when the wife of a diamond dealer (Sheila Ryan) is also found brown bread, he'd better get a move on before anyone else ends up toast - including him! What made this a bit more enjoyable is the beefed up role for the usually quite entertaining Blore. Indeed, "Jamison" proves quite adept at a bit of pilfering and mischief-making that might just save the day! Good fun, this one.