Bulldog Drummond Comes Back *** (1937, John Howard, John Barrymore, Louise Campbell) – Classic Movie Review 12,904

John Howard stars for the first time as English adventurer Captain Bulldog Drummond, but John Barrymore is top billed as his friend Colonel Nielson, in the 1937 mystery thriller film Bulldog Drummond Comes Back. 

John Howard comes back to the screen as Sapper’s character Bulldog Drummond in director Louis King’s 1937 Paramount Pictures American mystery thriller film Bulldog Drummond Comes Back, with essential big-star support from top-billed John Barrymore as Scotland Yard inspector Colonel Neilson.

Louise Campbell plays Drummond’s girlfriend Phyllis Clavering, who is kidnapped. J Carrol Naish co-stars as murderer Mikhail Valdin with Helen Freeman as his sister Irena Soldanis. They are on the vengeance trail after Drummond got Irena’s husband sent to the gallows a year earlier. Drummond and his friend Colonel Nielson are given a series of riddles to solve.

Reginald Denny as Algy Longworth and E E Clive as Tenny are in more than useful star character actor support. It is particularly strongly cast. Everything about this film makes it essential vintage viewing, but with Barrymore top-billed it is a must see. It is atmospheric and feisty, with a decent production and a goodish mystery story.

The screenplay by Edward T Lowe Jr is based on The Female of the Species 1928 novel by Herman C McNeile. It is the fifth Bulldog Drummond novel, published in 1928 and written by McNeile under the pen name Sapper.

It is one of eight Bulldog Drummond adventures made by Paramount in the late 1930s.

Ray Milland starred in the 1937 Paramount film Bulldog Drummond Escapes, but was replaced here as Bulldog Drummond by John Howard, who played Bulldog Drummond in seven films produced by Paramount. After Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937), Howard continued opposite Barrymore in Bulldog Drummond’s Revenge (1937) and Bulldog Drummond’s Peril (1938). H B Warner replaced Barrymore in Bulldog Drummond in Africa (1938), Arrest Bulldog Drummond (1939), Bulldog Drummond’s Secret Police (1939), and Bulldog Drummond’s Bride (1939), the last in the series.

Milland was being groomed by the studio for more important films, so they offered the British hero role of Captain Hugh Drummond to contract player John Howard. As Howard was an American actor, he decided not to attempt a British accent, relying instead on diction instead, and justified his casting and earned his place as Drummond.

Barrymore received top billing for this and two more films in Paramount’s Drummond series: Bulldog Drummond’s Revenge (1937) and Bulldog Drummond’s Peril (1938). H B Warner succeeded Barrymore as Nielson in the final four films. Barrymore took over after Sir Guy Standing, who played Nielson in the first film in the series, died.

Louise Campbell made 13 films, starting with her debut Bulldog Drummond Comes Back.

Paramount did not renew the copyright and the films fell into the public domain.

The cast are John Barrymore as Colonel Nielson, John Howard as Captain Hugh Bulldog Drummond, Louise Campbell as Phyllis Clavering, Reginald Denny as Algy Longworth, E E Clive as Tenny, J Carrol Naish as Mikhail Valdin, Helen Freeman as Irena Soldanis, Zeffie Tilbury as Zeffie, John Sutton as Sanger, Phyllis Barry as Hortense, Rita Page as Barmaid, John Rogers as Blanton, Phyllis Barry as Barmaid Hortense, Otto Fries as Sanghil Wun, Kay Deslys as Pub Singer, Frank Baker as Bobby, Forrester Harvey as Barman, and Colin Kenny as Policeman.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,904

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