AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

oparser Mix a cup of Sherlock Holmes with a quarter of James Bond, add plenty of low budget adventures, some comedy gags, a pinch of romance, the language and the attire from the Thirties, shake well, and you'll have Bulldog Drummond: a bunch of pre-war B-movies, if you will, yet with some intriguing elements and entertaining moments. "Bulldog Drummond Escapes" is one of the three "Bulldog Drummond" productions of 1937, and one of the high points in the series in my view.A few words about Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond for those who do not know him yet: charming and gentlemanly, but a man of action when needed, he is a former WWI British officer who spends his spare time helping Scotland Yard solve intricate cases. "Bulldog" is accompanied by deadpan, witty and vaguely surreal butler Tenny (my favourite character) and by useless, dumb friend Algy (a downer, usually unfunny), and is constantly on the verge of marrying his fiancée Phyllis (adventures will happen and delay the marriage, naturally). All these fictional characters were created by "Sapper", nom de plume of Herman Cyril McNeile, and continued by Gerard Fairlie after McNeile's death -their novels inspired more than twenty motion pictures, many of them in the Thirties. Similarly to Sherlock Holmes and James Bond, the Bulldog Drummond title hero has been played, over time, by several actors, who gave a different flavour to each episode. In this instalment of the series, which tells of Captain Drummond trying to save a beautiful heiress in distress (played by Heather Angel), the leading man is Ray Milland, a young, bright British actor -a few years later, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in Billy Wilder's "The Best Weekend". Ray Milland's Bulldog Drummond is charming and funnily flamboyant, but not as clever as he is supposed to be, so the mystery often steers to lighter tones and to comedy. The result, however, is fast paced and involving, while the unfunny gags are kept to a minimum. "Bulldog Drummond Escapes" is no cinematic masterpiece, but it is enjoyable if you like the genre and if you concede to stereotyped characters and some holes in the plot. Like other movies from that age, this old flick shows the signs of time, such as scratchy sound and random vertical lines. On the other hand, it is in the public domain, so you can watch it for free on the Internet, if you want.

kidboots I have seen a few of these films and for me there is usually too much "comedy" from Reginald Denny that detracts from the action. Saying that, in my opinion "Bulldog Drummond Escapes" is one of the best entries - everything works well, and comedy is kept to a minimum.Ray Milland is great as the debonair Drummond. He makes a mad dash to London to see Algy (Reginald Denny's comedy is kept under reins). From the moment Heather Angel comes into it your attention is rivetted to her.Heather Angel was an English actress, who appeared in a couple of Alfred Hitchcock films ("Suspicion" (1941) and "Lifeboat" (1944)). She was obviously popular in the Bulldog Drummond series as she appeared in several of them.Drummond is driving to Headquarters when he is accosted by Phyliss Clavering (Heather Angel) running onto the road and fainting (or pretending to). When he goes to the aid of a man calling for help Phyliss takes his car and drives home. It turns out she is being imprisoned at Greystone manor. She leaves her purse in Drummond's car to force him to visit Greystone manor to return her things. Ingeniously she leaves him a message (in the inside of his hat) so he realises something fishy is going on.Phyliss is not a simpering heroine, she is a real go-getter. A lot of the smart ways she goes about trying to outwit her scheming relatives - you just have to watch the movie.E.E. Clive plays the butler "Tenny" who more than keeps up with Drummond.

classicsoncall For my first introduction to the Bulldog Drummond franchise, I must say I was rather pleasantly entertained. The film is decidedly played in a much lighter vein than the Charlie Chan stories of the same era, and with a cast of characters that complement each other nicely. Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond (Ray Milland) however is not without his shortcomings as a detective, as he gets blind sided more than once and rescues the wrong girl before finally resolving the mystery.In retrospect, the set up is one of the bigger plot holes in the movie. Miss Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel) hijacks Drummond's auto in the middle of nowhere, only to return to the Greystone estate where she's being held captive. There we're introduced to a villainous cast of characters headed by Norman Merridew (Porter Hall), who masterminds a counterfeiting scheme following the murder of Miss Clavering's brother.For his part, Drummond is aided by hapless partner Algy Longworth (Reginald Denny), and Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Reginald Nielson (Guy Standing). However it's Drummond's butler Tenny (E.E. Clive) who almost steals the show as the deadpan foil for his master, getting him out of more than one scrape before it's over. His best effort is when he nonchalantly drags a body in a blanket to Drummond's closet as if it were a routine occurrence.Pay attention to a conversation between Phyllis and Drummond when she describes the letter she found in the garden. She states that it was blurry and covered in mud making it hard to read. Earlier however, when we see that same letter switched to prevent it from reaching Colonel Nielson, it appeared in perfect condition.There's a running gag that gets a bit overdone regarding Algy's first encounter with fatherhood. He's constantly thwarted trying to get in touch with the hospital to find out what's happening. Of course everything works out well, as the old boy is rewarded with a son.All in all, "Bulldog Drummond Escapes" is a fun story, complete with clever word play, the old shoes behind the curtain trick, a lights out gimmick and the advantage between good and bad guys shared equally. Drummond even gets the girl in the end, planning marriage as it were, though I understand other adventures stood in the way before that happened. I'm inclined to check them out based on this introduction to the series.

Snow Leopard This is a solid low-budget feature that delivers the main things you hope for in a 'Bulldog Drummond' movie. It has good action, a plot involving a heroine in distress and some crafty villains, and a confident, good-natured hero played here by Ray Milland. All of the actors who portrayed Drummond gave the movies their own feel, but Milland, like most of them, gives the character the right balance of energy and British poise, while putting his own style into the role as well.The story is set up by an odd encounter between Drummond and Phyllis (Heather Angel) that leads to an involved sequence of events, with Drummond determined to find out exactly what dangers Phyllis is facing, at times even having to oppose his friend Colonel Neilson. The story moves at a good pace, moving quickly from one predicament to the next. There are times when it doesn't quite fit together smoothly, and with even better writing and editing it could have been even more effective, but the basic idea works pretty well.Heather Angel makes a good Phyllis, winning and energetic. It's interesting to see her in this early Drummond episode, since she later came back to play Phyllis after the character was played by other actresses for the next few features. Neilson is not given a particularly large role here, but the rest of the usual crowd is present, with E.E. Clive as the resourceful Tenny and Reginald Denny as the befuddled but helpful Algy.Porter Hall also helps out, with one of his many good character performances as Drummond's slippery opponent. The low budget look is helped by having most of the action take place at night and/or in darkened settings, giving it a decent atmosphere despite the lack of detail. It makes for a solid feature that works well enough as light entertainment.