Matrixston
Wow! Such a good movie.
Frances Chung
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Matho
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
blanche-2
"Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police from 1939 was John Howard's last film as Bulldog, and it was a cheap way to go out. It looks as if it was slapped together in a day. With a running time of 56 minutes, there was footage from other films in the series. And the title doesn't match. There aren't any secret police.Hugh Drummond is again attempting to marry Heather (Phyllis Clavering). Hugh and the bridal party go to the Drummond estate to prepare, Heather's Aunt Blanche (Elizabeth Patterson) accompanying them. There, they meet a man who claims that the civil war Cavaliers left a treasure buried in the house. Drummond is intrigued. The man, named Harvey, winds up dead.It's obvious whodunit. There's some secret passageway action and Algy's typical clumsiness, but not much else.Disappointing.
utgard14
The penultimate Bulldog Drummond movie from Paramount starring John Howard finds Drummond once again on the verge of marrying Phyllis. But, once again, something interrupts their plans. This time it's in the form of murder and a search for hidden treasure at Drummond's family estate. There's a different vibe to this one than others in the series. It almost doesn't feel like a Bulldog Drummond movie at all. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. I pretty much like any movie of the 'old dark house' variety and this one fits that bill nicely. John Howard and Heather Angel are both fine. The interrupted marriage plot is already stale by this point but they do what they can with it. E.E. Clive is great as Tenny. He was typically the highlight of these movies and this is no exception. Reginald Denny and H.B. Warner also return. Denny is especially slapsticky this time around. Mrs. Trumbull herself, Elizabeth Patterson, plays Phyllis' aunt. She's a nag but a fun one. Great character actor Leo G. Carroll plays the villain. I don't think that's a spoiler since he almost always played the villain. Makes use of lots of footage from previous Drummond movies for a dream sequence. It's not poorly done but it raises some eyebrows given the already-brief runtime. After a slow start, it turns out to be an enjoyable B mystery thriller of the 'old dark house' variety. Effective atmosphere and good sets help. It is one of the best of the series, as several other reviewers here note. But I can't rate it as high as some of them do because, while good for a Drummond film, it's really not all that special judged against other similar movies of the era.
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.
Spondonman
This one started so...comically...that I thought it was going to be a poor entry in the Bulldog Drummond series, with seemingly endless clownish slapstick from Denny & Clive. But it warms up after 20 minutes into an effectively atmospheric thriller, with Drummond yet again in the throes of getting married while adventure takes hold of the situation.It's surprisingly bloodthirsty, with the baddie killing 3 including an unarmed bobby pointblank - when it happens it's treated by everyone with everyday calmness.But what really makes it for me are the catacombs/dungeons sets - the film was shot on a shoestring budget (witness the dream sequences) and yet these sets were so convincing I wondered if they were genuine for a while. They must have been re-used but I can't remember seeing them in any other film. Of course the grainy darkness of the print I was watching helped a lot, but it's worth watching for these scenes anyway. But talk about a corny, contrived ending!
