gridoon2018
"Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police" is a particularly cheap entry in the series (after the opening scene, the action never leaves Drummond's home, and there is even a clip show with footage from previous entries) but it does have some good points: Heather Angel is (once again) admirably feisty, Leo Carroll is perhaps the best-cast villain in the series (he doesn't have many lines, but he doesn't need them - his face is enough!), Algy gets what is possibly his first funny gag in the series (the one with the Ming vase), and the new guest character of the absent-minded professor is both amusing and kind of endearing - which makes it uncomfortably mean-spirited when he gets killed. On the whole, this one is mainly for the series fanatics. ** out of 4.
bkoganbing
John Howard came to an end in the Bulldog Drummond series with Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police. A misnomer of a title if there ever was one because the police are Scotland Yard and they're quite out in the open in this film.Will Drummond finally get married to his long suffering sweetheart Heather Angel? Only Tess Trueheart from Dick Tracy and Adelaide from Guys And Dolls have been waiting longer to get their intended before a preacher. In this film he's returned to Rockingham Hall, the Drummond family estate to just prepare for the wedding with Angel with her aunt Elizabeth Patterson doubting as usual it will ever come off.It might not yet because a funny looking professor played by Forrester Harvey comes by with a tale that says there's a royal treasure left by the Cavaliers in the English civil war buried some place in the stately home. Like all English homes belonging to the gentry it has its secret passages, secret even from the current occupants. But when Harvey is murdered everybody is scrambling to find the culprit and the treasure.With the lack of cast and the short running time the suspect is rather obvious. The film is also padded with scenes from previous Bulldog Drummond films in a dream sequence. A rather inferior note for the series to come to a close.
MartinHafer
Bulldog Drummond was definitely a lesser detective-adventure series of the 30s and 40s. Unlike some of the better Bs (such as Charlie Chan or Sherlock Holmes), this one never quite caught on with the public--though they did make a ton of them. In many ways, the closest films to these were the Falcon and Saint series--as Drummond isn't exactly a detective--he just seems to fall into adventures and dangerous plots. But so may of them just didn't do much to entertain--probably because the leading man turnover rate was higher than in perhaps any other B series--with at least 14 different leading men!! John Howard (who was in this film) played the character in the most films--seven--and I think he might have been one of the best of the series.So, as you can see from my first paragraph, I am NOT a huge fan of the Drummond films--though I do love the genre. However, I must give this film its due--it is excellent all around and compares to the best of any series. Too bad more of the films weren't like this one. It's also too bad that the next film ("Bulldog Drummond's Bride) really sucked.This film, like many other Drummond and Falcon/Saint films, finds the leading man about to get married. These marriages almost always seem to fall through at the last minute and you assume this will once again happen. But it's really NOT Drummond's fault, as this time the killer comes to Drummond's own ancestral home!! It seems there is a hidden treasure--left there from the English Civil War of the early-mid 17th century. An old professor has learned about this and has a secret code that might unlock the mystery. But, naturally, a baddie is on hand to do mischief.The film gets very high points for setting a great mood, good acting (Algie was better than usual here) and I liked the presence of his fiancée's grouchy aunt (Elizabeth Patterson). Fun and well worth seeing.
marxi
This British film from 1939 may surprise you by how much fun it is to watch. It's time for a wedding and the bride and the groom have gone back to open up the groom's family castle for the wedding. The castle has been closed for twenty years. The groom seems to have a history of delaying the wedding. A famous professor shows up with an old diary of a king who is purported to have hidden valuable jewels in underground passageways under the castle. Murder, mayhem and laughs abound. John Howard is good as Bulldog Drummond. Heather Angel is great as his fiancee. Elizabeth Patterson is hilarious as Aunt Blanche. The comedy is explosive in this screwball adventure! Well worth watching and the running time of under an hour goes quickly. I found this movie on a compilation DVD of several tv detectives including 'Dragnet' and a couple of 1930's movie detectives. It was a pleasant surprise. I'd rate this movie as an 8/10.
AD
