IMDb RATING
6.1/10
734
YOUR RATING
Captain Drummond and his girlfriend want to marry but a hidden treasure in the house in which they want to celebrate their marriage is complicating the situation.Captain Drummond and his girlfriend want to marry but a hidden treasure in the house in which they want to celebrate their marriage is complicating the situation.Captain Drummond and his girlfriend want to marry but a hidden treasure in the house in which they want to celebrate their marriage is complicating the situation.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Leo G. Carroll
- Henry Seaton
- (as Leo Carroll)
Jimmy Aubrey
- Passage Workman
- (uncredited)
Louise Campbell
- Woman in Drummond's Dream
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Porter Hall
- Man in Drummond's Dream
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian
- Moving Man
- (uncredited)
J. Carrol Naish
- Man in Drummond's Dream
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Gerald Rogers
- Police Sergeant Peters
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
10Norm-30
While preparing to marry his fiancee (for the umpteenth time!), Drummond discovers that there is a treasure buried somewhere in the secret passageways beneath his ancient British estate.
When England's most-noted history professor reveals this to Drummond, he is invited to stay at the manor house. He is murdered before he can figure out the meaning of the ancient cypher, and Drummond & Co. have to discover it AND the murderer.
A VERY interesting story, with secret passageways, ancient torture devices, and all sorts of "death-dealing devices".
Great fun!
When England's most-noted history professor reveals this to Drummond, he is invited to stay at the manor house. He is murdered before he can figure out the meaning of the ancient cypher, and Drummond & Co. have to discover it AND the murderer.
A VERY interesting story, with secret passageways, ancient torture devices, and all sorts of "death-dealing devices".
Great fun!
When done right, Bulldog Drummond can be very entertaining. This one, however, is formulaic and predictable and wears thin after a promising start. Hugh is getting married in the morning at Rockingham Castle. A Distinguished Professor appears on the scene to announce that a treasure is hidden somewhere in the Castle and a Bad Guy follows him - from here you can fill in the blanks.
The plot proceeds clumsily. There are elements of comic relief that are unfunny and annoying, provided by Reginald Denny as Algy and by Elizabeth Patterson as Aunt Blanche. Evidently, neither of them are equipped to handle comedy and the film suffers as a result. This series never lived up to the promise of the first talking Drummond, with Ronald Colman in the lead.
I gave this one a rating of 5 and cannot recommend it despite good production values and a good cast.
The plot proceeds clumsily. There are elements of comic relief that are unfunny and annoying, provided by Reginald Denny as Algy and by Elizabeth Patterson as Aunt Blanche. Evidently, neither of them are equipped to handle comedy and the film suffers as a result. This series never lived up to the promise of the first talking Drummond, with Ronald Colman in the lead.
I gave this one a rating of 5 and cannot recommend it despite good production values and a good cast.
The penultimate Bulldog Drummond movie from Paramount starring John Howard finds Drummond once again on the verge of marrying Phyllis. But, once again, something interrupts their plans. This time it's in the form of murder and a search for hidden treasure at Drummond's family estate. There's a different vibe to this one than others in the series. It almost doesn't feel like a Bulldog Drummond movie at all. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. I pretty much like any movie of the 'old dark house' variety and this one fits that bill nicely.
John Howard and Heather Angel are both fine. The interrupted marriage plot is already stale by this point but they do what they can with it. E.E. Clive is great as Tenny. He was typically the highlight of these movies and this is no exception. Reginald Denny and H.B. Warner also return. Denny is especially slapsticky this time around. Mrs. Trumbull herself, Elizabeth Patterson, plays Phyllis' aunt. She's a nag but a fun one. Great character actor Leo G. Carroll plays the villain. I don't think that's a spoiler since he almost always played the villain. Makes use of lots of footage from previous Drummond movies for a dream sequence. It's not poorly done but it raises some eyebrows given the already-brief runtime. After a slow start, it turns out to be an enjoyable B mystery thriller of the 'old dark house' variety. Effective atmosphere and good sets help. It is one of the best of the series, as several other reviewers here note. But I can't rate it as high as some of them do because, while good for a Drummond film, it's really not all that special judged against other similar movies of the era.
John Howard and Heather Angel are both fine. The interrupted marriage plot is already stale by this point but they do what they can with it. E.E. Clive is great as Tenny. He was typically the highlight of these movies and this is no exception. Reginald Denny and H.B. Warner also return. Denny is especially slapsticky this time around. Mrs. Trumbull herself, Elizabeth Patterson, plays Phyllis' aunt. She's a nag but a fun one. Great character actor Leo G. Carroll plays the villain. I don't think that's a spoiler since he almost always played the villain. Makes use of lots of footage from previous Drummond movies for a dream sequence. It's not poorly done but it raises some eyebrows given the already-brief runtime. After a slow start, it turns out to be an enjoyable B mystery thriller of the 'old dark house' variety. Effective atmosphere and good sets help. It is one of the best of the series, as several other reviewers here note. But I can't rate it as high as some of them do because, while good for a Drummond film, it's really not all that special judged against other similar movies of the era.
After a bit of a slow start, this Bulldog Drummond feature is a solid B-movie with some moments of good suspense and effective atmosphere. It has all the familiar characters, with John Howard as Drummond, and E.E. Clive, Reginald Denny, Heather Angel, and H.B. Warner in the recurring roles, plus a young Leo Carroll (billed without the G.) heading the supporting cast.
The first part is a little slow-moving, dwelling rather lengthily on the series's running joke about Drummond's often-postponed wedding to Phyllis. Although it tries to get a bit too much material out of it, this part does include a sequence of flashbacks to earlier 'Bulldog' features that offers some pleasant moments to those who enjoy the series.
The main plot has a familiar premise, with a search for a hidden treasure whose location needs to be deduced from an old cipher. It becomes a race, as Drummond and his friends are determined to find it before a criminal adversary can. While not an especially imaginative story idea, it does lead into a pretty good sequence in the last part of the movie, with some good and rather macabre atmospheric settings as the hunt for the treasure plays out.
The first part is a little slow-moving, dwelling rather lengthily on the series's running joke about Drummond's often-postponed wedding to Phyllis. Although it tries to get a bit too much material out of it, this part does include a sequence of flashbacks to earlier 'Bulldog' features that offers some pleasant moments to those who enjoy the series.
The main plot has a familiar premise, with a search for a hidden treasure whose location needs to be deduced from an old cipher. It becomes a race, as Drummond and his friends are determined to find it before a criminal adversary can. While not an especially imaginative story idea, it does lead into a pretty good sequence in the last part of the movie, with some good and rather macabre atmospheric settings as the hunt for the treasure plays out.
This British film from 1939 may surprise you by how much fun it is to watch. It's time for a wedding and the bride and the groom have gone back to open up the groom's family castle for the wedding. The castle has been closed for twenty years. The groom seems to have a history of delaying the wedding. A famous professor shows up with an old diary of a king who is purported to have hidden valuable jewels in underground passageways under the castle. Murder, mayhem and laughs abound. John Howard is good as Bulldog Drummond. Heather Angel is great as his fiancee. Elizabeth Patterson is hilarious as Aunt Blanche. The comedy is explosive in this screwball adventure! Well worth watching and the running time of under an hour goes quickly. I found this movie on a compilation DVD of several tv detectives including 'Dragnet' and a couple of 1930's movie detectives. It was a pleasant surprise. I'd rate this movie as an 8/10.
Did you know
- TriviaDuring the dream sequence, all of the scenes are actual clips from previous movies where circumstances prevent the marriage of Drummond to Phyllis Clavering.
- GoofsAs Algy is moving the repaired Ming vase and falls by the study door, he sets it on the floor. Tenny then brings in Professor Downie who steps on the vase and breaks it. The shot shifts to a wide shot and there are no pieces of the vase on the floor by the door.
- Quotes
'Tenny' Tennison: [as spikes descend upon them] Pardon me, sir, but we're in for a spot of trouble.
- ConnectionsFeatures Bulldog Drummond en péril (1938)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime56 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was La Police privée de Bulldog Drummond (1939) officially released in India in English?
Answer