Docteur Karlov

I like the movie, for what it is. I would like to see the earlier version, and compare. I've always thought of Warner Oland as kind of a ham. But it's impossible to judge by 1931 standards in 2007, so what do I know? The Karlov question had me curious. This is what Wikipedia had to say (yeah, I know-- it's Wikipedia, so who knows if it's true?):

"In 1922 the book was made into a Broadway play and the following year a motion picture. A second film version appeared in 1931. It is said that a young Boris Karloff, who previously had a few uncredited film roles, chose his stage name for his first screen credit in 1920 from a Russian mad scientist character named "Boris Karlov" in this novel. The name 'Boris Karlov' was used from MacGrath's book for the 1922 Broadway play, but by 1923 with actor Boris Karloff using the similar sounding variation, the film version renamed the character, played by Wallace Beery, 'Gregor Karlov'. In the 1931 film version, however, with Warner Oland playing the character, the mad scientist's name is restored to 'Boris Karlov', less than a year before Frankenstein would make Boris Karloff a household word for generations. Ironically, Boris Karloff would play many mad scientists on screen, but never 'Boris Karlov'."

As a side note for those interested in original sources, the Harold MacGrath novel "Drums of Jeopardy" is available as a free e-text download at Project Gutenberg.

Surely, it is not the best movie of the earlie talkies era. Nevertheless, The Drums of Jeopardy sets a fairly good pace since the beginning. Despite the mediocre script, the movie is enjoyable and keeps you entertained throughout its 65 minutes lenght. The players perform decently for the early 30's standards. I did get a few laughs from Clara Blandick's performance. I was, also, thrilled to see a character of a woman over 50 with a prominent role in a 1931 movie.

Totally implausible/ridiculous but good fun. A pre-Charlie Chan Warner Oland, a Swede, is Russian this time. He's bent on revenge and hams it up all the way.

Neither Oland or the other Russian characters utter a word of Russian. The fleeing royals reach New York and bump into an ingenue and her peppery aunt who, of course, shelter the strangers in their country house. Wouldn't you?

The lights go out more than once. The phone is dead. A claw-like hand jumps out of the curtain to grab the girl. Stuff used a thousand times. The plot creaks and the print used for the DVD is battered, but you could do worse for an early talkie.

Mischa Auer lurks around in a pre-screwball role.

Since I don't know when this movie was made one can simply assume the name of the character that Warner "Charlie Chan" Oland plays was chosen simply by chance, but its true he does play Boris Karloff, er... Karlov.

The plot of this movie has Oland getting revenge one of the Russian Royal families for the death of his daughter. It seems that his daughter was in the Royal Ballet and was the lover of one of the princes who sent her away causing her to attempt suicide. Oland finds a piece of the crown jewels, a necklace called the Drums of Jeopardy, in her possession. In her weakened state she runs to warn her lover only to die in his arms moments before her father arrives and attempts to wipe out the family. He's sent to the gulag vowing revenge. Years later, after the family has been displaced by the revolution, they head to America where Oland begins sending drums from the necklace to the family members before killing them.(Legend says, if some one gets one of the separated drums, they will die with in 24 hours)

This is a great movie that is hampered by the fact that it now seems rather static.Its one of the movies from the early days of sound films, when there would be little music and long moments of silence that played fine then, but now seem to slow things down to a crawl. The first half of this film is dynamite and moves like the wind as we go from Russia to New York and out to the country in a breezy 30 or thirty five minutes. There's lots of action and complications. The trouble comes in the second half where the movie is locked in the country house and its surrounding area as the surviving members of the royal family wait for Oland's attack. Its not bad its just too slow compared to the first half.

I give it 7 out of ten over all, the first half scoring 9 and the second a 5, purely because it seems so slow after the first half.

The movie starts very melodramatically, with a young woman in bed, tended by her mother, apparently dying. The reason for her deterioration is never stated, though it has to do with her relationship with some man. The acting here is poor. Her father (get this, his name is Boris Karlov, played by Warner Oland, acting like an evil Charlie Chan) enters, and demands the name of the man responsible, but his daughter refuses. A necklace, The Drums of Jeopardy, falls from under the bed covers, which he recognizes as belonging to the Petrovs, and vows revenge.

The movie and acting get better in the second act as the Petrovs come to America, fleeing the Bolshevik revolution. Karlov, working for the Bolsheviks, is in America already, and waiting for them. The Petrov sons escape Karlov twice, and flee to a country mansion on a dark and stormy night. Karlov and his goons are right behind.

This is an very 1930s movie with plot elements, and plot holes, typical of the period. The escaping Petrovs meet and are aided by a rich New York family. Karlov has a bullet-proof vest that defies Newton's third law of motion.

Clara Blandick, playing the matron of the New York family, shines while providing some humor.