The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance

1941 "Mad ADVENTURE! Gay INTRIGUE!"
6.3| 1h14m| en
Details

A reformed jewel thief fights to clear his name when he's framed for murder.

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Reviews

Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
jaydeetee-19255 I'm a big fan of Warren William and Eric Blore, as well as mystery/comedy movies of that era, so my 9 star rating may be a tad prejudiced by that...still, the movie is one of the best entries in those early Lone Wolf films.The plot at times is rather silly with the Lone Wolf and Jamison trying to save the life of an inventor (Lloyd Bridges)...what did he invent?...a railroad car that couldn't be broken into...if a criminal tried, bells & whistles would sound, and poison gas would fill the car...Huh?...what if some poor hobo, looking for a ride and a place to sleep happened upon that car?...Llyod would have got his butt sued...But the movie chugs along the rails at a fast pace, plenty of laughs and an enjoyable way to spend a little over an hour of one's time...I keep this movie on my cluttered DVR...it's a comfortable movie for me...when sleep comes slowly, I just turn this on and within 30 or 40 minutes I'm fast asleep...
mark.waltz As dashing as ever, Warren William is very amusing as the independent crime solver who makes a bet with police detectives that he will stay out of trouble for 24 hours. Fat chance of that happening, because like "Murder She Wrote", bad things always happen when he's around even if he isn't involved. This comic mystery gets off to a hilarious start when a black cat ends up wearing valuable pearls that are believed mistakenly by the very effeminate male jeweler to be stolen. This is what leads William to make the deal with detective Thurston Hall, and valet Eric Blore makes the same bet with the seriously idiotic detective Fred Kelsey. Intrigue on a train results in murder, bringing the foursome together for a mixture of comedy and crime.A fun B picture, this has everything that audiences clamored for in World War II. The villains are comparable to Nazi's, and William is the epitome of that no nonsense American who could use his wits to get out of jams and deal with ruthless criminals and nitwits like Kelsey who gets more laughs simply by being overly serious and thinking that he's the smartest guy in the room. June Storey plays a fictional movie star who maybe involved with the villains. Look for a young Lloyd Bridges as a train passenger.
Michael_Elliott The Lone Wolf Take a Chance (1941)** 1/2 (out of 4) Good entry in the Columbia series has Michael Lanyard (Warren William) arrested on murder charges but of course he's innocent and must prove it. With the help of an actress (June Storey) and his assistant Jamison (Eric Blore), The Lone Wolf gets mixed up with murderers and counterfeiters. THE LONE WOLF TAKES A CHANCE is certainly a step up from the previous installment and after an opening sequence full of laughs, the film quickly picks up speed as we're given a rather interesting murder and an even busier series of events trying to explain what happened. I'm going to spoil what happened but the murder of the cop comes in a pretty surprising way and it's quite effective in the way that Lanyard gets mixed up in the events. Yes, one could argue that it was done in an over-the-top and unbelievable way but at least it was an original one. The comedy moments early on are actually pretty funny and they don't hurt the film like in previous episodes. There's a hilarious opening bit where The Lone Wolf tries to capture a black cat that has some pearls around its neck and the entire sequence is well directed and put together. There's some even funnier bits towards the middle of the picture when The Lone Wolf is stuck in a basement with the Inspector. The mystery aspect of the film is handled pretty well but I must say that all of the events were pretty hard to believe. As normal, William offers up a very good performance as the title character but by this time he could play it in his sleep. I really enjoyed Storey as the female lead and the regular cast of characters (Blore, Thurston Hall) are in fine form as well. We also get a young Lloyd Bridges. Fans of "B" mysteries should get a kick out of this one. It's certainly not among the best but it is fast paced and contains some fun moments.
blanche-2 This Lone Wolf adventure starts out with a bet between Michael Lanyard, the Wolf (Warren William) and Inspector Crane (Thurston Hall) that Lanyard can't stay out of trouble for 24 hours. Guess who wins. A private detective (Regis Toomey) falls nine stories outside Lanyard's hotel room. The detective was working on a case involving a special train car designed by Johnny Baker (Lloyd Bridges) that is holding treasury plates and can't be broken into.Everyone, of course, thinks Lanyard is the bad guy though he's on the side of right as he and his butler Jamison (Eric Blore) enter the case, which involves murder and kidnapping. The film has a neat sequence on a train as Lanyard works to save the day.Nice entry into the series, with Warren William his usual laid back self and Eric Blore adding a lot of humor. Recommended.