The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date

Michael Lanyard, aka The Lone Wolf is elated when he manages to complete his Cuban stamp collection at a shop in Havana, on his way to The Airport, he encounters a young woman named Patricia Lawrence, and offers to help her with a sizeable problem.

Not my favourite Lone Wolf film, but still a watchable film, Warren William is intensely watchable and good fun, and he does make it pretty enjoyable.

There is a lot going on, possibly too much, it seems to rush excitedly into one direction, pause, then veer off on another strand, stamps, kidnap, ransom, it's a bit too much at times.

I've enjoyed each of The Lone Wolf mysteries, and all of them so far have had a nice balance of comedy and mystery, I would suggest that this one is a little more balanced towards the humorous side, some of it works, some of it is a little too much, the mystery takes something of a back seat.

Eric Blore, Frances Robinson, Jed Prouty and Thurston Hall are all very good.

6/10.

The Lone Wolf Keeps A Date must have had a few showings at the White House. After all in FDR the most important and prominent stamp collector there ever was happened to be the current resident.

Warren William and Eric Blore as The Lone Wolf and his factotum Jameson are back again and this film for a B picture is rather complicated in terms of plot. It also has more comedy in it as Warren William and Eric Blore look like they're having a great old time overacting outrageously. Catch William in the scene with chief villain Don Beddoe and henchmen.

The story involves The Lone Wolf's stolen stamp collection and the kidnapping of a millionaire in which once again the cops in the person of Thurston Hall and sidekick Fred Kelsey suspect William is involved in the plot when he's really trying to help.

You have to love Kelsey who came from the Keystone Police Academy as a graduate and who is the butt of everything. The Lone Wolf Keeps A Date will give you some suspense and tickle your funny bone even more than most in the series.

A very enjoyable Lone Wolf movie, "The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date" finds Michael Lanyard (The Lone Wolf, played by Warren William) and his butler Jameson (Eric Pangborn) in Havana for a stamp convention. Well, the best laid plans -- Lanyard, a former jewel thief, soon finds himself without his collection and involved in a kidnapping, the young man who is accused sitting in prison, and his fiancé trying to pay the ransom.

This is the outrageous and sophisticated Warren William at his best, with lots of comedy contributed by Pangborn. The two of them worked so well together.

Though a B movie, this series was a lot of fun. Before William the role was played by Frances Lederer, Melvyn Douglas, and several other actors. After William departed the series in 1946, Gerald Mohr and Ron Randell played him. It was also a TV series starring the smooth Louis Hayward. I hope to see more starring William.

During the 1940s, Columbia Pictures made two nearly identical B-detective series--Boston Blackie and The Lone Wolf. At times, the plots of the two seemed almost interchangeable and the formula was very similar. Both featured stupid police inspectors with even stupider assistants, both featured a leading man who had once been a criminal but had now gone straight and both featured a prominent role for a supporting buddy for the lead. About the only major difference was that the Lone Wolf's man-servant (Eric Blore) was hilarious and Blackie's friend ("Runt", usually played by George E. Stone) was relatively bland compared to the incomparable Blore. Blore simply was a very funny man in films like this as well as in the Astaire-Rogers films.

Now as for the plot, it involves a kidnapped man and a woman who is trying to solve this mystery in order to clear her fiancé who has been wrongly jailed for the crime. Not unexpectedly, the Lone Wolf (Warren William) stumbles upon this very pretty lady and offers his able assistance. While none of this is particularly original or memorable, the acting is excellent and the film is all in good fun. Overall, better than a Blackie film and about on par with a Falcon or Saint series film.

Michael Lanyard,(Warren William) as the Lone Wolf has his hands full in this series trying to come to the aid of a very pretty young gal named Patricia Lawerence,(Frances Robinson). Michael Lanyard has his valuable stamp collection worth 100,000 dollars stolen and also gets involved with a kidnapping. Lanyard always keeps trying to leave clues to his whereabouts to his sidekick, Jamison,(Eric Blore) and Patricia who ride on boats and yachts on the waters of California. Inspector Crane, (Thurston Hall) is constantly tying to catch the Lone Wolf along with plenty of slapstick comedy and plenty of laughs. Jamison wore very nice clothes in this film and even out shined the Lone Wolf in his outfits. Enjoy a great 1940 Classic.