CommentsXp Best movie ever!

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

bsmith5552 Having just watched "Bulldog Drummond" (1929) with Ronald Coleman, this film suffers greatly by comparison. In the first place, Coleman was the perfect screen Drummond, whereas Walter Pidgeon the lead in this picture lacks much of the bon vivant, devil may care persona of Coleman.The story takes place in London where a gang of criminals led by Arthur Gunns (Robert Beatty) and directed by an unseen boss, has been robbing big businesses all over London. Scotland Yard Inspector McIver (Charles Victor) goes to the retired Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond Walter Pidgeon), now raising prize pigs, for help. Drummond reluctantly agrees to come out of retirement to help.Drummond fakes his flight to Africa under the guise of having cheated at cards in an exclusive men's club, to "disappear" from sight. He is teamed up with Scotland Yard Sgt. Helen Smith (Margaret Leighton) to pose as rival crooks in order to infiltrate the gang.Gunns, suspicious at first, takes a liking to Smith much to the dismay of girl friend Molly (Peggy Evans). Molly by chance, discovers the plot by Drummond and Smith and......................................Walter Pidgeon, although a competent actor in his own right, was totally miscast as the sleuth Drummond. He has none of the humor and romantic nature or the British accent of either Coleman or of John Howard, who starred in the late 30s Drummonds. Margaret Leighton, on the other hand, is excellent as the undercover detective. David Tomlinson as Algy Longworth provides what humor there is but has little to do otherwise. In fact he doesn't appear with Pidgeon until three quarters of the way though the film. Robert Beatty, a Canadian sans British Accent, is a competent adversary. Bernard Lee ("M" in the early James Bond films) plays Colonel Wetson a member of Drummond's men's club.As a stand alone mystery, the film is not to bad but, as a revival of the Bulldog Drummond series, it fails miserably.

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- Calling Bulldog Drummond, 1951. Post WW2 London has six large robberies occur with military precision and Scotland Yard is confused. They call on Bulldog Drummond (retired detective) to help in the investigation. Drummond changes into another 'personae' and closes the case with the help of a female feisty constable Sargent.*Special Stars- Walter Pigoen, Margaret Leighton, Robert Beatty, David Tomlinson, Bernard Lee.*Theme- Deduction and observation helps in good police work.*Trivia/location/goofs- B & W. British. Walter Pigeon is the 12 man to play the role in 20 films going back to the early 20's. Watch for Bernard Lee in an early role and was later to be established in the James Bond series as director "m". From a close friend of Pigeon, "This time Drummond was played by Walter Pidgeon, his single time in the role. Pidgeon was also suave and charming, but was not a young man by this time and lacked the energy and vivacity for the part. In any case, the director Victor Savile was clearly infatuated (if only in the directorial sense) with Pidgeon's female co-star in this film, the remarkable Margaret Leighton.We get plenty of closeups of her, but none of Pidgeon. Pidgeon was evidently happy to let Margaret Leighton steal all her scenes, as it must have amused him that in her role as a woman police officer masquerading with him as a crook to infiltrate a criminal gang of thieves, she was taking over the film. Pidgeon was not an egotist. I knew him slightly when I was young and he was old. Despite his impeccable manners of a gentleman, which were perfectly genuine, he could be a bit difficult at times and did not suffer fools gladly. He had an excellent sense of humor and laughed heartily and deeply. He was a passionate drinker of strong coffee, and the twinkle in his eye was natural and innate. Despite the many decades of difference in our ages, we 'clicked', and if circumstances had permitted, we could have had long and meaningful conversations, whereas our conversations were never long, and our acquaintance was passing. However, I gained enough of a personal impression of him to judge his worth, and that was high indeed. He was an extremely interesting, thoughtful, and amusing man, and he was far from superficial." Walter Pigeon , a Canadian willed his body to be donated for medical science students at UCLA.*Emotion- A well acted, fast moving, engrossing police mystery involving The Yard, Drummond, and the lower classes of London, England. Much more of a feature film representation of Drummond than the older stage plays films. The film is the best (and the last) of the all the series. A high point of this detective character on film.*Based on- Maj Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond detective series.

robert-temple-1 This was the 21st Bulldog Drummond film, and was the last attempt at making a serious feature film based upon the character. It brought to an end 29 years of serious Drummonding, and the remaining four Drummond films were all absurd and worthless pastiches. So this was truly the end of an era. In the two previous Drummond films, the title role had been played by the suave and charming Tom Conway. This time Drummond was played by Walter Pidgeon, his single time in the role. Pidgeon was also suave and charming, but was not a young man by this time and lacked the energy and vivacity for the part. In any case, the director Victor Savile was clearly infatuated (if only in the directorial sense) with Pidgeon's female co-star in this film, the remarkable Margaret Leighton. We get plenty of closeups of her, but none of Pidgeon. Pidgeon was evidently happy to let Margaret Leighton steal all her scenes, as it must have amused him that in her role as a woman police officer masquerading with him as a crook to infiltrate a criminal gang of thieves, she was taking over the film. Pidgeon was not an egotist. I knew him slightly when I was young and he was old. Despite his impeccable manners of a gentleman, which were perfectly genuine, he could be a bit difficult at times and did not suffer fools gladly. He had an excellent sense of humour and laughed heartily and deeply. He was a passionate drinker of strong coffee, and the twinkle in his eye was natural and innate. Despite the many decades of difference in our ages, we 'clicked', and if circumstances had permitted, we could have had long and meaningful conversations, whereas our conversations were never long, and our acquaintance was passing. However, I gained enough of a personal impression of him to judge his worth, and that was high indeed. He was an extremely interesting, thoughtful, and amusing man, and he was far from superficial. He is best seen in 'Mrs. Miniver' (1942), for which he was nominated for an Oscar, and 'Advise and Consent' (1962). In this film he is just walking through the part, and although he manages the charm part of being Bulldog Drummond, he frankly does not manage the action part, and he was clearly under no pressure to do so, as the director was rather effete anyway, and Margaret Leighton was happy to do all the business, and was enjoying herself so much they all just let her get on with it. She was a magnificent actress, although she was best on stage, where I saw her a few times, and was dazzled by her stage presence. I had no idea during the time I knew him that Larry Harvey had once been married to her, as he never mentioned her. (But then he wouldn't, as it might have upset Paulene, I suppose, who is a fiery gal, or was back then.) This Drummond film does not have a trace of humour anywhere in it, not a single laugh, gag, or witty line. It is treated absolutely straight as a crime detection film. The cinematography was by Freddie Young, later famous for 'Lawrence of Arabia', 'Doctor Zhivago', etc., though there is little sign of his genius in this early effort. I knew him too, and he was a very quietly spoken and thoughtful fellow, wholly dedicated to his work, whom everyone liked, and I don't suppose anyone ever disliked. This Drummond film makes good watching, if only to see the amazing Margaret Leighton, and it does not disappoint as a Drummond film either except that Tenny, the Inspector, and Phyllis Clavering all are missing. Algy Longworth is there, played fussily by David Tomlinson, but he is not funny, nor does he try to be. As the last 'real' Drummond film, this one has an air of dignity about it, as the true series finally bows out and leaves the screen forever. It is not commercially available on DVD or video, and you have to be ingenious to acquire a copy from the right collector, as most of the television airings (where I first saw it) have ceased. Let's hope that some day an enlightened company will bring out a DVD set of 'The Complete Bulldog Drummond', because although the first silent film appears to be lost, the second does survive in a single copy, and it would be a fascinating thing to have all these films gathered together and accessible.

Piltdown_Man A very well-plotted and well-written entry, though, as noted before, it doesn't have the usual cast of characters we know and love. No E. E. Clive. No Heather Angel. BUT, it is a really well shot and directed movie. It moves along briskly. No wasted scenes or moments.The big treat for me is the performance of Leighton. She doesn't just hold her own alongside Pigeon, I think she outshines him. She has a subtle touch and has no problem shifting from tart to Scotland Yard operative within the same scene. Her classic training on the English stage shows...in all the right ways.MrMovieGuy.com