Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Redundant and unnecessary.

I wanted to but couldn't!

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The third and weakest of the Paramount series, "Bulldog Drummond's Revenge" seems to run much longer than its 57 minutes, thanks mostly to the exasperating "comic relief" contributed by Reginald Denny, and the boring clichés of its ho-hum, stolen secret formula plot. Although the climactic action is set on a train, director Louis King proves unequal to the task of providing suspense, let alone atmosphere. Top-billed John Barrymore actually has an extremely small role as Colonel Nielson (he's given a big introduction and then virtually disappears), while Louise Campbell makes little impression as Phyllis Clavering. No match for Ray Milland's Bulldog, super-spruce John Howard even allows scheming heavy, Frank Puglia, to steal the picture.

The best part of this movie is unintended: 1937 England preserved with its autos, planes, streets and attitudes. The plot is hardly new. There's an invention (crystals in this case) that would prove disastrous if it should fall into the hands of the wrong people. Just who the wrong people are is not mentioned, but in retrospect they would seem to be the Nazis. Anyone who has watched many movies or serials from the period will recognize the plot quickly--and anticipate the ending.The Bulldog Drummond hero bears little resemblance to the character created by "Sapper" McNeile. His marvelous series of books are about a much rougher individual who, having enjoyed the adventure and danger of the World War, advertises in the newspaper for interesting quests and assignments. Drummond of the novels is more of a daredevil than a detective.For reasons I'd be hard pressed to explain, the makers of this movies inserted some really insipid humor--rather, attempts at humor. Drummond's sidekick, Algy, and Algy's stupid girlfriend aren't funny. They are merely annoying.Still, this is an enjoyable view of a world now gone. Not only that, it has John Barrymore in a role that is a considerable comedown for his talents.

The Bulldog Drummond franchise was a busy one with nine films in the three years from 1937 to 1939. They generally followed a thematic line, one of those being the theft of a newly invented device that might prove useful to enemy hands. In "Bulldog Drummond's Revenge", the gizmo in question is an explosive powder called 'haxonite', presumably named after it's inventor Sir Hohn Haxton (Matthew Boulton). The powder is rather tricky and unpredictable, but it's theorized that enough of the crystals could blow London to bits.In very quick order, Haxton's traitorous butler Draven Nogais (Frank Puglia) murders the inventor aboard a plane flight, and parachutes himself and the device away from the doomed airplane. The coincidences necessary to make the film proceed are extraordinary, as Drummond and his sidekicks Algy and Tenny (Reginald Denny, E.E.Clive) recover the suitcase with the explosives, which conveniently falls on the road they're traveling. Back at Rockingham Lodge, the suitcase in turn is stolen by the bad guys during the old lights out trick, prompting a London to Dover escapade that have the heroes and villains trading the advantage before Drummond's team makes the save for Scotland Yard.As ever, Drummond's fiancée Phyllis Clavering (Louise Campbell) is left to wonder whether the wedding will ever take place, as it's constantly being interrupted by some nefarious plot or another. This time around, Miss Clavering receives consolation from Algy's wife Gwen (Nydia Westman), the first time Mrs. Longworth is introduced into the filmography. The movie gets some mileage out of a rather gruesome plot device, a severed hand from Sir Haxton's plane crash. The girls do a double faint when the hand is revealed in the commotion at Rockingham when the suitcase is stolen.Rounding out the cast is John Barrymore as Colonel Nielson of Scotland Yard; he once again gets top billing over John Howard's Drummond, as he did in their prior film "Bulldog Drummond Comes Back". Barrymore's manner is sophisticated and professional, unlike the roles assigned to the lead authority in films of the Charlie Chan and Mr. Wong series of the same era. The comic relief as it were is left to Algy for the physical slapstick, and Tenny for the cerebral. Tenny's best deadpan line occurs early when Drummond comments on how much fun getting married ought to be; the response - "It's a popular belief Sir." With the case solved and the explosive powder back in safekeeping, the anticipated Drummond/Clavering wedding plans seem to be on track to survive some more adventures, and it will take a few more films to get there. There does seem to be some semblance of continuity to the development of the characters, so watching the series in the order of release is helpful to keep track of things. The movies offer a nice balance of mystery and comedy and thankfully don't take themselves too seriously.

John Howard settled into the role of adventurer Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond with this better-than-average entry. The dialog is quick and witty, and the plot is faster and more complicated than usual, with plane crashes, explosions, and scenes aboard trains and ships. Drummond gets mixed up with foreign agents smuggling some secret explosives in a suitcase and who just happen to be going Drummond's way. Barrymore has less to do as Colonel "Don't call me inspector" Nielson, but Phyllis is more helpful, and pal Algy and valet Tenny are never far behind. For those keeping score, in this one, Drummond and Phyllis are planning a European voyage to be married, and Algy is worried that his wife thinks he's left her (well, he has, but not on purpose).