O Casamento de Bulldog Drummond

Lame entry in the Drummond series. Everyone, including the robbers, is after a portable radio that has the loot from a bank heist hidden away in it. Trouble is it's like the writers (3) have no idea what to do with the narrative. Instead the cast gets to run around shadowy stage sets and literally throw bombs when things slow down. Too bad, because the cast includes a number of capable performers, including Howard, Denny, Clive, et al. At the same time, the comely Angel has little more to do than stand around and look pretty. The best part is the bang-up opening that promises more than's delivered. Anyway, there's no suspense or real surprises one would expect from a detective show. Instead, it's like there's really no script, or worse, a deadline to meet. So everyone gets to run around and wing it. All in all, the flick's an unfortunate waste of money and talent. Good thing the series was usually better than this.

So when any show gets a bit tired, they decide the guy's gotta get married. Rhoda. the Six Million Dollar Man. Friends. In this one, John Howard is Drummond, Reginald Denny and Heather Angel are the usual co-stars. Colonel Nielson is played by HB Warner in this chapter... and two others! Warner was a major player in so many big films, my favorite role was Chang, in Lost Horizon, two years prior to this. Drummond is supposed to marry Phyllis, but of course, there's a bank robbery that needs his attention. but when he starts investigating, Nielson and the others try to put a stop to things before he can even start. this plot is even more convoluted than usual. bombs. mistaken identity. robberies. fistfights. will Drummond ever get married? you'll have to watch to find out. this one is extra silly. DIrected by Jim Hogan, who had directed a bunch of these. Drummond was invented by Herman McNiele. most of the chapters had fallen out of copyright, but the quality of this one is actually quite good. shown on Film Detective channel.

Phyllis and Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond again try to be married in 1939's "Bulldog Drummond's Bride," the last of this particular Bulldog Drummond series.

When robbers blow up a London bank and steal 10,000 pounds, they hide the money in a radio. That radio, however, is in the apartment that Phyllis and Hugh will live in once they are married - should that event ever take place.

Naturally Hugh is up to his neck in trying to solve this robbery and chasing down the radio. Phyllis waits, promising Hugh that she intends to be married to someone else the next day after their wedding should that not occur.

These films had a jaunty, fun feel to them because of the cast - John Howard is a delightful, easygoing and dapper Bulldog Drummond, the lovely Heather Angel is the long-suffering Phyllis, E. E. Clive is Tenny the butler, and Reginald Denny is Algy.

This particular film relies a lot on comedy and slapstick, with poor Denny getting the brunt of it. The mystery takes a back seat. However, I still found this enjoyable. I've only seen one other Bulldog Drummond, "Arrest Bulldog Drummond," and I'd like to see more. The print quality isn't particularly good, but they're still fun.

Finally, Bulldog Drummond (John Howard this time) is heading for matrimony in this movie based on the story "Bulldog Drummond and the oriental mind" by H. C. (Sapper) McNeile. Will he be devoured by a bank robber with some odd twists?

The characters are already caricatures; so, they do not need a dufus such as Algy (Reginald Denny) for comic relief. Being the finale in the Paramount Drummond Series they speed through the story with an explosive ending.

The version I watched had subtitles and when Drummond gave a verbal message to a friend the subtitle says (speaking pig Latin) - talk about lazy.

One thing that irks me is a scene where they use matches and touches to highlight a room that they could have just turned on the overhead light and do so moments later (after fumbling around in the dark.)

BULLDOG DRUMMOND'S BRIDE is another of the short-lived but prolific Paramount series of movies and it's my favourite yet. This one involves a group of bank robbers whose latest heist interferes with Bulldog's marriage (in what seems to be a common plot point in these movies). What follows is a neat little escapade in which there's plenty of comedy to get your teeth into, alongside brisk pacing and a predominance of action which really helps. Add in the usual suspects, villains, wisecracking heroes and a good eye for the era's detail, and you have a short and snappy programmer that doesn't let up.