Arrest Bulldog Drummond!

"Arrest Bulldog Drummond" promises more than it delivers - the science fiction plot has bad hats Zucco & Co. in charge of and selling an explosive electric ray device to the Enemy, with Drummond & Co. out to stop him. The weapon has a range of between a quarter and half a mile - which seems to make it well worth £1,000,000 to a Bad Power. A plan to terrorise London? Nah, it'll never happen.

In 56 minutes it lurches from one improbable scene to another - H.B. Warner is definitely NOT my idea of a Scotland Yard Inspector, sorry, Colonel. Colonel? Zucco and his ... sidekick, Lady Beryl take an almost childish glee in repeatedly demonstrating the weapon to themselves - meaning to the original cinema audience of 11 years olds! Everyone as usual plays their parts well, especially Howard/Angel/Denny & Clive as the unflappable goodie quartet.

Some nice touches here and there, with plenty of witticisms from all concerned, especially Hugh's impending marriage to Phyllis - or not, make it an enjoyable entry in the series. My copy was very poor and choppy but didn't detract too much for me.

Bulldog Drummond's wedding plans must be put on hold once again while he tries to stop a madman (George Zucco) with a stolen death ray. A good entry in the Bulldog Drummond series. One of my favorites, actually. John Howard and the cast of regulars are enjoyable. Heather Angel continues to be the best Phyllis -- clever, brave, spunky. H.B. Warner yells a lot this time around. It's annoying. Leonard Mudie is terrific in his brief part as the inventor of the ray. George Zucco and Jean Fenwick are loads of fun as the villains. The science fiction elements are wonderful. Drummond has a cool fight scene on the pier. It moves along at a brisk pace and keeps your interest throughout. It's got George Zucco and a death ray -- how can you not like that?

ARREST BULLDOG DRUMMOND is another adventure in the prolific series, with our hero unsurprisingly finding himself wrongfully accused of a crime and being forced to go on the run. He's also trying to get married, which seems to be a long-running joke in this particular series. The main story is about the theft of an atomic weapon which seems entirely timely given the era, and the globetrotting antics are quite interesting when you put them into the proper context. The best part of this one is the presence of George Zucco as the scheming mastermind; he propped up many a B-movie with his presence and he does so here too.

This is the fourteenth Bulldog Drummond film, and it is highly watchable. The performances are very good, and one wishes the plot were less implausible and the 'secret weapon' were not a mere tin contraption which any schoolboy could have put together in an hour from scraps in a school workshop. But then, we are not meant to take the plot at all seriously, we are merely meant to sit back and enjoy seeing John Howard and Heather Angel almost get married again, H. B. Warner as Colonel Nielson grumble and demand not to be called 'Inspector', E. E. Clive as Tenny the Butler say 'I rather thought so, sir' in his own inimitable way, and Reginald Denny as Algy Longworth be an endearing bumbling fool as usual: 'You mean you're not dead, Hugh?' 'Not even a bit dead, Algy.' George Zucco is a wonderfully convincing and menacing villain, as he was to be so many more times. One surprising development is that Claud Allister, the original Algy Longworth as far back as Ronald Colman days, who in his time had seen many a Drummond come and go, appears in a serious straight role as a distinguished friend of the Commissioner, which he does very well. Perhaps they were giving a part to an old pal, or Allister wanted to show that he could be a jolly good straight actor, have a deep voice rather than a high-pitched effete whinny, and look as if he were not a dolt, - at all of which he succeeds admirably. Heather Angel is delightful, the diametrical opposite to the cringeing, whimpering and helpless Joan Bennett who in earlier times draped herself in Colman's arms like a water hose which has just squirted its last. The clouds of war are gathering in this 1939 film. There are secret agents of foreign powers willing to pay a million pounds for a ray which detonates guns at a range of half a mile. One senses the danger in the air, despite all the silliness. One wonderful touch in this film is the presence of a trained talking raven. He has a role in the plot, and even shares the last frame. We could have done with more of that raven.

Lots of familiar British faces in this lousy print of "Arrest Bulldog Drummond," from 1939.

This is my first Bulldog Drummond, and I found it delightful. Bulldog is about to marry Phyllis (Heather Angel) when he's delayed by murder. The inventor of a disaster machine, one that blows up things at fairly close range, is murdered, and his machine stolen.

Bulldog is drawn into the investigation -- who murdered this man, took his machine, and what are they going to use it on?

John Howard is the man himself, and he's handsome and energetic, with a great speaking voice -- he was Tracy Lord's stuffy fiancé in "The Philadelphia Story." Reginald Denny, familiar from "Rebecca," is one of Bulldog's Marx Brothers type friends, who tries to help.

E. E. Clive, who looks like he's about 80 here, is Bulldog's butler Tenny. He died a year later at 60! George Zucco plays the villain, who uses a stingray stinger to kill.

Short, but very good and entertaining. I look forward to seeing more Bulldog Drummond films.