The Return of Bulldog Drummond

This British action movie is a stark departure from the earlier Ronald Colman film, this one from British International Pictures and director Walter Summers. Ralph Richardson steps into the title role as the former military man turned private detective. He's now settled down and married to Phyllis (Ann Todd), but when an international cabal of arms dealers led by Drummond's nemesis Carl Peterson (Francis L. Sullivan) uses murder to try and thwart peace talks, thus causing another world war from which they can profit, Drummond organizes his fellow military comrades into a secret group known as the "Black Clan" to stop Peterson's gang.

Colman's turn as the title character was a suave adventure done on a lark, with as much comedy as suspense. This outing is more akin to a Saturday morning serial, with multiple cliffhanger moments, nefarious villains straight from a comic strip, and the odd sight of Drummond and his Black Clan allies dressed in matching black outfits and leather aviator caps. Richardson seems like an odd casting choice, but he's good with the verbal putdowns and he's surprisingly energetic during his many fisticuffs scenes. The following year he would appear in the next Drummond film, Alias Bulldog Drummond aka Bulldog Jack, but not in the title role. Also, even later entries in the Bulldog Drummond series would feature Drummond as unmarried with some mystery getting in the way of Drumond's nuptuals to Phyllis.

This film is surprisingly satisfying. The cool and bravado of Ralph Richardson, in word and deed, appear in his every scene. The action is vigorous, and the dominance of opposing forces carries to and fro at a fast pace. The evil Carl Peterson (compare Blowfeld in Bond, Moriarty or Colonel Moran in Sherlock Holmes) is well oiled as a diabolical villain. Cruel as he and his devoted wife or mistress are, each is given a bit of humanity and empathy (blink and you'll miss it) for contrast. As outlandish as The (good) Black Clan is, its members come off as everyday citizens deeply loyal to decency and their country. Richardson as Captain Hugh Drummond is no Commander James Bond, but he matches him for sureness and quickness to act. Though showing its age, this film holds up well in the entertaining age-old battle of good and bad wits and fists.

In the 1920s and 30s, there were quite a few Bulldog Drummond films but the series suffered because they never seemed to keep a leading man for long and the style of the various films varied so much. The strangest of these is "The Return of Bulldog Drummond", as Drummond and his friends are less super-heroes and more super-vigilantes...and violent ones at that.

The context for this film is VERY important and might get lost on some viewers. So, I'll try to explain. In the 1930s, Europeans and Americans (apart from those in Nazi Germany) were sick of war. WWI had left many millions dead and the people thought that perhaps this god-awful war would be their last because it was so terrible and destructive. As a result, many anti-war films came out during this era, such as "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "J'Accuse" were popular and reflected these sentiments. And, in many ways, this Drummond film fits in with this pattern.

When the story begins, some sickos have been murdering various folks campaigning for disarmament and peace. You can only assume that these unknown people are working for the armaments industries...the same profiteers who benefited from the carnage of WWI.

Bulldog Drummond (Ralph Richardson) and his gang of vigilantes (referred to as either 'the Black Gang' or 'the Black Clan' in the film) want to stop these murderers and profiteers....and you assume much of it is because they are all WWI veterans. They are willing to do just about anything to stop these schmucks...even kill them if necessary!

The story is more taut and violent that other Drummond films. This also makes it one of the better Bulldog Drummond flicks...which is a shame, since this more British version is the only one Ralph Richardson made. Well made and well worth seeing.

This was the sixth Bulldog Drummond film, the only one starring Ralph Richardson as Drummond, and the only one produced (1934) by British International Pictures of Elstree. It followed a few months after the release of 'Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back' starring Ronald Colman (a later film of that title was released in 1947 starring Ron Randell as Drummond). This is an extraordinarily interesting and distinctly different Bulldog Drummond film from the usual. In this film, Drummond is surrounded by his band of ex-soldiers whom he had commanded in the First World War, as in the Sapper novels. They form a group of vigilantes defending England against scoundrels, wear blackshirt uniforms, and call themselves The Black Clan. There seems to be a strong Oswald Mosley influence to this film. The Black Clan want to expose the machinations of greedy and unscrupulous arms manufacturers, who are trying to force Britain to re-arm. The film opens with an International Peace Conference, where the main speaker is afterwards murdered by the arms manufacturers. Those who wish Britain to re-arm are portrayed as murderous thugs who kill everyone who gets in their way. The Black Clan and Drummond kill several of them in fights. This is a very gritty story, and there is no light touch or comedy in it at all. Richardson plays Drummond as a serious and determined fighter for what he thinks of as justice, outside the law. The political assumptions of this film are unacceptable now, but in 1934 there must have been a big audience for these sentiments. Drummond in this film has been retired from investigating crimes for three years and is peacably married to Ann Todd, 25 years old and in one of her earliest films. After the Drummonds are drawn back into the world of intrigue by chance, she does very well at leaping out of a window, being scared without being utterly hysterical when she is about to be forcibly drowned in bathtub, and being a Drummondesque wife in general, though she has few scenes. The oily villain Carl Peterson is played by Francis L. Sullivan (who died at only 53) and his wife the villainess is played by Joyce Kennedy (who died in the War aged only 45); clearly in their case, crime did not pay. They are rather terrifyingly convincing in the film. This film might also be called The Return of Claude Allister, as he returns as Algy Longworth with his monocle, having skipped the second Ronald Colman Drummond film. In this film, Allister is not uselessly effete but is an active member of The Black Clan who straightens his monocle during a punchup with nonchalance. Walter Summers wrote and directed this film, his only Drummond film, and did very well at it, with the exception of his political message of disarmament, of course. Perhaps his retirement from films in 1940 had something to do with this. Richardson was as far from the jolly, jesting extroverts Ronald Colman and John Howard as can be imagined. He plays Drummond as someone who keeps his own counsel, pretends to be asleep in an armchair while eavesdropping, and cannily underplays even the most dramatic scenes. When he becomes upset at his wife being kidnapped by the villains, his anxiety is so under-played that running his fingers anxiously through his hair and looking distraught is as far as good manners will permit him to display his fears. He is the 'resolute, determined, steady-gaze' type who says little, pulls out his pistol, and gets on with the business of saving, - well, what is it he is saving exactly? He is 'saving' Appeasement. No wonder this film has never been commercially released. It is fascinating for Drummondonians (few of whom have seen it, of course) and is a good suspense film, but is so politically provocative in retrospect, that it appears to have been swept under the carpet because no one knows what to say about the fact that Drummond was no true British Bulldog here in the mode of Churchill, but was instead a Chamberlain. All his bravery and resourcefulness in this film are seen to have been in a cause which we now know threatened everything the character was supposed to believe in. This film thus falls into the '0ops!' category.

Finally got a hold of this title as it's very hard to come by. I enjoy Bulldog Drummond and his pal Algy and I was not disappointed here. As stated by a previous reader this one is markedly different from all other Bulldog dramatizations in that it's played straight and is not at all tongue-in-cheek. I found Ralph Richardson a stalwart, cocky Drummond very able to take care of himself despite some ineffectual-looking fight scenes. I also found Claude Allister an enormously different Algy from the one portrayed by Reginald Denny - Allister's, for some odd reason, is a silly-ass Englishman type complete with monocle and Terry-Thomas delivery.

Oh, alright, I suppose the overriding theme was pacifist in nature but as a 'yank' I didn't have Neville Chamberlain in the back of my mind - I just wanted to see a good old-fashioned Bulldog movie, and I got one. It moved quickly with very little down time and it held my interest throughout. I thought Writer-Director Walter Summers did a thorough job and did himself and viewers a big favor by inserting a slimy villain in the person of Francis L. Sullivan, a veteran of slimy villain parts.

Good 'Bulldog' and worth my vote of a 7.