Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938) User Reviews

Take a cablegram!

[djensen1 · 6/10 · 19 March 2005]

Sharp dialog and decent plotting make this another of the better entries in the Bulldog Drummond series. This time, John Howard as Hugh Drummond is entangled in a murder and diamond theft in Switzerland and tracking the heavies back to England. Nice locations, some train and airplane travel, explosions, and a bullwhip vs sword fight make for a nice adventure. Barrymore as Nielson doesn't have much to do, nor do Phyllis or even Algy, but faithful Tenny is on hand, of course (even riding a motorcycle!). For those keeping score, in this one, Drummond starts out in Switzerland about to marry Phyllis, and for once Algy isn't worried about anything.

Also interesting is how this little potboiler was well ahead of its time with the invention of artificial diamonds and corporate conspiracies to suppress rival technology.

Drummond and the Diamond

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 11 June 2015]

British adventurer John Howard (as Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond) is all set to marry girlfriend Louise Campbell (as Phyllis Clavering), in Geneva, Switzerland. Back in Scotland Yard, ace investigator John Barrymore (as Colonel Nielson) sends the couple books as a wedding present. He couldn't make the wedding. While looking over their gifts, Drummond and Phyllis are amazed at the delivery of a stunning diamond. Supposedly artificial ("glass"), the jewel is actually a valuable new synthetic diamond. Almost immediately, the diamond is replaced by a dead body. Of course, Drummond must cancel his wedding to solve the crimes...

This was the last appearance by Mr. Barrymore in the "Bulldog Drummond" series. Frequently shouting, "Don't call me inspector!" it's Barrymore's least successful characterization of Colonel Nielson. Reportedly, alcohol was taking a heavy toll on the acclaimed actor, although he would manage a few more effective roles before expiring. Mysterious guest star Porter Hall (as Max Botulian) picks up some of the slack. Generally, the story is an improvement over the previous episode, with capable direction by James Hogan and editing by Edward Dmytryk. Howard and the regulars are joined by Elizabeth Patterson (as Aunt Blanche), a fine addition.

***** Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938-03-17) James Hogan ~ John Howard, John Barrymore, Porter Hall, E.E. Clive

A Diamond in the Rough

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 18 September 2006]

This entry begins with another wedding about to take place. One of the gifts is a huge diamond, brought by Algy, and created by his father in law. It turns out that he has a process for making diamonds for as cheap as a shilling each. This, of course, would upset the balance of trade and the diamond industry would be destroyed. He still wants credit for his findings, but it brings a whole host of bad people into the mix. The best scene is Tenny riding a motorcycle and crawling onto a moving car. He, of course, is the best character in all of the movies I've seen, and once again is called on to fix things. There are murders. There are notes destroyed. The whole state of the world's economy is never really taken care of. Ours is not to worry about such things, I guess. There are several cases of mistaken identity which makes this a lot of fun.

Fast-Paced Bulldog Drummond Feature

[Snow Leopard · 7 July 2005]

This is one off the more fast-paced features in the Bulldog Drummond series, with the usual likable regulars and a story that includes some interesting details. For the first half or so, it's as good as any of the movies in the series. In the last part, it gets a bit too tangled up at times, but it still comes out all right.

The setup makes use of the series's running gag about the often-postponed plans for the wedding between Drummond and Phyllis, with the adventure this time getting underway with the theft of one of their own wedding gifts. The main story centers around a scientist who has developed a way of producing synthetic diamonds, and some of it is rather imaginative. It also incorporates some nice offbeat details, such as an endearing live penguin.

The story is nicely paced, and except when it tries to squeeze just a little too much out of the material in some of the later sequences, it works pretty well. John Howard is low-key but suitably unflappable as Drummond. Most of the series regulars get some moments of their own. John Barrymore doesn't get as much to work with in this one as he usually does, but he is always entertaining when he gets the chance. Much of it would be watchable just for the good-natured interplay amongst the characters.

His peril becomes my confusion.

[Mike-764 · 6/10 · 20 December 2004]

Capt. Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is finally marrying his long standing fiancé Phyllis, while on a retreat in Geneva. During a reception party, Hugh and Phyllis receive a flawless man-made diamond from friend Gwen's scientist father. Sir Raymond Blantree, a guest at the party and jewel magnate, sees the diamond and plans to get both it and Prof. Goodman (Gwen's father) before the discovery decreases the value of all jewels around the world (smirk). Hugh, Algy, and Tenny chase Blantree, and his accomplice Greer, back to London, but being of position, Blantree is able to avoid police persecution by Col. Neilson, who is still fed up with Drummond's wild adventures. Blantree tries to buy the formula from Goodman, but he refuses to sell, saying he will give it away. Blantree learns that Goodman plans to borrow equipment from a rival gemologist Dr. Botulian and plans to have Greer impersonate Botulian to get the formula, but the doctor has plans of his own for obtaining the formula. Will one of their plans succeed despite the efforts of Drummond and company? Good entry in the series, but it didn't live up to its potential with plenty of setup and weak execution. Biggest problem was at first the audience was intended to left in mystery as to who the real Botualian was, but after two minutes of it, this reviewer was just confused. The first half of the film focused on the villainy of Blantree and then he was discarded in the second half for Botulian, and frankly both of them were limp adversaries. I had to laugh at Blantree's idea of the man made gems weakening the financial value of pure gems, apparently the executives at QVC would have given Bulldog more of a run for his money. Rating, 6.

early Moissanite

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 10 June 2015]

Hugh Bulldog Drummond (John Howard) is about to marry his great love, Phyllis, when the wedding has to be delayed.

One lovely wedding gift they received was a beautiful diamond, which turns out was created by the father of Phyllis' friend Gwen. He is very excited about presenting a paper at a conference and to be the first one who has created the gem. He's interested in credit, not money; in fact, he plans on giving the formula away.

At the party to celebrate the upcoming nuptials is Sir Raymond Blantree, a jewel magnate. He wants the formula and Gwen's father, Professor Goodman to sink the invention before it wrecks the value of jewels everywhere. The oil companies have done this for years with alternate fuel patents.

Professor Goodman isn't inclined to sell.

Everybody wants this formula, and in fact, a detective at the party is found murdered as a result of the diamond itself being stolen.

When Blantree finds out that Goodman is going to borrow equipment from a gemologist, Dr. Botulian, he devises a plan to steal the invention.Little does he know that Dr. Botulian has a plan of his own.

Well, this is where the movie goes off the rails. Blantree is having someone impersonate Dr. Botulian and show up at 9 p.m. Botulian himself plans on showing up earlier. Unfortunately I just couldn't tell who was who and before you knew it, I was totally confused.

John Howard is a dapper and charming Drummond, and Algy (Reginald Denny) and Tenney (E.E. Clive) are on hand to help him do what he can to catch the criminals.

Not on board and mad as hell and not going to take it anymore is the Colonel (John Barrymore) who is sick of Drummond's machinations. He's great. Phyllis (Louise Campbell), who thought her future husband was retiring, at one point tells him she never wants to see him again. We know she doesn't mean it.

Of course today we have all kinds of lab-created diamonds: Brilliant Earth, Moissanite, Affinity, etc. Brilliant Earth and Moissanite cost a fortune. I would have told Blantree, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

The lab equipment is the major spark in this entry

[clark-9 · 4/10 · 25 July 2001]

One of the weaker entries in the Drummond series, but it's still entertaining. Perhaps I've seen too many of the Drummond films too close together. The humor is not as sharp as earlier entries. The pacing is fine, but the plot and villains don't seem to be up to snuff. The villains don't appear evil or sharp enough to harm a fly, let alone our hero.

There is a nice sequence of that wonderful 30s "lab equipment" working its magic. So much more exciting and dramatic than computer chips and LEDs! Now that's evil!

Ok Drummond entry

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 20 April 2021]

Murder and robbery drag the adventurous Drummond away from his wedding and he pursues the villains behind diamond counterfeiting, and finds himself in trouble.

Slightly weaker entry to the ones I had seen, mainly because Phylis, Algy and Tenny aren't in the focus much, and also the plot can be confusing. It also meanders a little. Still it's entertaining; there's a good stunt Tenny does as he transfers himself from his bycycle to a van and a rousing scene of Drummond fencing with a man with a whip.

Millions Of Years Of Geologic Pressure Reduced To A Few Heated Minutes

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 13 March 2009]

Another trip to the altar for Bulldog Drummond is averted when at a pre-wedding gathering in Switzerland a Swiss detective is murdered and an artificial diamond, courtesy of its inventor Halliwell Hobbes to bride and groom John Howard and Louise Campbell. That sets off a round of a little over an hour of fast paced adventure as Drummond once again shows up Scotland Yard.

Bulldog Drummond's Peril steps into the realm of science fiction with Halliwell Hobbes inventing a machine that can create diamonds, a process we know takes millions of years of geologic pressure. The gizmo he has looks like it was made from spare parts in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory.

The film is blessed with two villains, industrialist Matthew Boulton and rival scientist Porter Hall both of whom want to get their hands on that formula and profit off it in some way. One way that wasn't even considered was that very few diamonds are used as jewelry. The majority are industrial strength and used for things like oil drill bits. A way to manufacture those babies on the cheap would yield someone a lot of money.

John Barrymore plays the Scotland Yard inspector and by dint of his name is top billed over John Howard as Drummond. It's a sad come down for Barrymore who reminds me of J.D. Cannon as Chief Clifford in the McCloud series, the way Drummond constantly shows up the Yard. He also has a little bit of Perry White thrown in as he constantly is telling people 'don't call me inspector'.

The science is a bit bizarre and the plot has way too many holes in it. If you're expecting something as good as when Ronald Colman was Bulldog Drummond, you won't find it here.

I give it an extra point for the penguin--but it's still not that great a film.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 20 October 2009]

While there have been a lot of Bulldog Drummond films, this one has something that none other has---a penguin wearing a top hat and bow-tie! For that reason alone, this one is worth seeing! Unfortunately, apart from the penguin, this is a very ordinary B-movie--no better or worse than the average Dulldog Drummond movie--and this isn't saying a lot because the series was far from inspired and is not even close in quality and entertainment of many of the better series from the era. I'm being very generous in giving this one a 5.

The film finds Drummond about to get married. As a wedding present, he receives a huge artificial diamond that is gem quality. While crude industrial diamonds have been produced over the years artificially, this one was worth a fortune--and potentially would ruin the diamond industry. Not surprisingly, the diamond folks cannot ignore such a development, so they steal the diamond and head for the professor's home to shut him up permanently. The story consists of chase after chase and is rather low on dialog--with a premium on action.

Overall, a decent time-passer but that is about all. I agree with another reviewer who felt that although John Barrymore was in the film, he was pretty much wasted. How can such a huge screen personality be nothing but a bit player who could have been played by practically anyone?

This one has a trained penguin

[robert-temple-1 · 8/10 · 7 June 2008]

Preview: Summary: This one has a trained penguin

This is the twelfth Bulldog Drummond film, the third starring John Howard as Drummond, and the second based on Sapper's novel 'The Third Round' (the first version of which was the silent film of 1925 'Bulldog Drummond's Third Round' starring Jack Buchanan, of which one print is said to survive in an archive). This one is tauter and more dramatic than most because it was edited by Ed Dymtryk. John Hogan also did a fine job of directing, with many dramatic angles and more closeups than were seen in the previous Drummond film by another director. There is interesting second unit material of London. The budget for this film was fairly ambitious, more so than in later efforts. Louise Campbell and Nydia Westman, the two irritating women, are kept under control and their roles minimized, to my great relief, and to the improvement of the drama. The lead billing once again is given to John Barrymore, who plays the Commissioner, but in this film, he acts up a storm and has many strong scenes, unlike the previous offering, 'Bulldog Drummond's Revenge', in which he sleep-walked through the story. So in this one, he really earned his fee for a change. The wonderful character actress Zeffie Tilbury here plays an amusing housekeeper who puts policemen in their place with the best East End cockney applomb, and takes no nonsense. Hogan, having just directed her in 'Scandal Street' (1938), evidently was responsible for introducing Elizabeth Patterson to the series, as a hysterical Aunt Blanche. Porter Hall puts in another of his villainous appearances, to excellent effect. (Villains are always so much more menacing when they speak quietly, as he does.) There are some amazing laboratory scenes in this film, reminiscent of Tesla, with surging electric currents and so forth, and one half expects a Frankenstein monster to appear. The story is about the manufacture of artificial diamonds, of the need to protect the diamond industry and, as Barrymore admits, to protect the Empire, from the threat of being able to make diamonds 'become as cheap as pebbles' and 'to be larger than the crown jewels'. Naturally, there is scope for villains galore with such a scenario. There is lots of action, plenty of train, car and motorbike chases, climbing up walls, and in this one, E. E. Clive as Tenny the gentleman's gentleman has the most energetic and active of all his Drummond roles, and hijacks a truck at gunpoint, hanging upside down from the roof. But most ingenious of all is the cute trained penguin who has more scenes than Louise Campbell and is a finer bird. Watch him hop and squawk, dear little thing. He also discovers a corpse under the table, which was a fine feathered deed worthy of this fast-moving film, which does not disappoint any stout Drummondonian.

"It's unnatural, of course, but it's real."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 10 June 2015]

Once again Bulldog Drummond is planning to marry his fiancée Phylllis. Once again, he gets sidetracked. This time by a mystery involving synthetic diamonds and, of course, murder. This would be the third and final Bulldog Drummond film for both John Barrymore and Louise Campbell. Barrymore would be replaced by H.B. Warner and Campbell by Heather Angel, who returned to the role she played in Bulldog Drummond Escapes. The reason for Barrymore leaving is his alcoholism, which was affecting his performance. Reportedly he had trouble reading lines even when they were written for him on cue cards. You can definitely see something is off with him here. He shouts all his lines, for one thing. I'm not sure of the reason for Campbell's departure. This was the biggest role of her short career and I think she was very good. But I admit Angel was better so I'm not terribly upset over the replacement. The rest of the cast of regulars that would continue on with the series (John Howard, Reginald Denny, E.E. Clive) are fine. Clive has some of the movie's best scenes. There's a nice supporting cast that includes Halliwell Hobbes and Porter Hall.

As with most of the entries in the Paramount series, this is a middling B detective flick with a short runtime. This one passes the hour mark (barely) but the last couple didn't even do that. I don't mind the runtime. It works fine for this type of picture. It's not like Paramount was doing anything innovative or unique with this series, after all. It's just this one is pretty dull. Still, if you're fan of the series you will want to see it. If nothing else, see it for the scene with the cool old-school sci-fi laboratory.

"You always break the law with the best intentions, don't you?"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 5 April 2006]

Miss Phyllis Clavering (Louise Campbell) is oh, so close to getting married to Captain Drummond this time out; they've made it all the way to the Clavering Villa in Geneva, Switzerland for the ceremony. However one of the wedding gifts gets it the way, a synthetic diamond that looks just like the real thing. It was made by Gwen Longworth's father, Professor Bernard Goodman (Halliwell Hobbes), and it appears so genuine, Sir Raymond Blantyre (Matthew Boulton) wants to steal it's secret formula to prevent the worldwide decline in value of real diamonds. I wonder what he would have thought of cubic zirconium?

The plot relies on the theft of the fake diamond in the early going, though the whole lights out trick and murder of the detective assigned to guard the wedding presents seems to have been a bit much. Couldn't the bad guys have waited till everyone was asleep? Speaking of wedding presents, the Longworth penguin seemed a fitting touch. He winds up knocking over a statue of a cherub that Drummond and Tenny conspired to have fall victim to an accident.

One of the highlights of the film is the rather elaborate looking lab used by Professor Goodman. There's a great long shot with a view of all the impressive equipment, with glowing tubes and sparking wires to lend credibility to the professor's experiments - Dr. Frankenstein would have been envious.

The story may have taken on a bit too many twists and turns by the time it really got going in the second half. A rival scientist Dr. Botulian (Porter Hall) is introduced, performing the same kind of synthetic gem experiments as Goodman. His presence turns out to be a wedge between the original villains and good guys, hoping to cash in on the the whole fake diamond thing himself.

Drummond's regulars are all on hand here. His associate Algy (Reginald Denny) doesn't have as much to do in this adventure, while butler Tenny's (E.E. Clive) role gets more physical. One of the more humorous scenes involves a frantic Tenny aboard a motor bike chasing down a van. Tenny must be in his sixties, but he's as agile as Yakima Canutt climbing aboard the speeding vehicle. John Barrymore reprises his role as Scotland Yard's Colonel Neilson, with repeated warnings to Drummond to mind his own business, and falling victim to a crooked tie gag twice.

More so than most Drummond adventures, you'll really have to pay attention once the plot thickens with the real and fake Dr. Botulian. As usual, good guys and bad guys trade the upper hand repeatedly until Drummond's side achieves victory. The film probably could have used the penguin for a humorous send off, however by the time it's all over you get the feeling that Drummond and Miss Phyllis are one step closer to the altar.

A low point in the series

[gridoon2024 · 3/10 · 15 June 2012]

"Bulldog Drummond's Peril" is the first film that makes me think that maybe I should stop watching this series altogether. You'd think a story (with a heavier-than-usual sci-fi quotient) about a formula for creating artificial diamonds that could pass for the real thing would be interesting; some people want to use the formula themselves, others want to destroy it. You'd be wrong: there is nothing remotely interesting about this film. The cast is bland; the sole survivor, as usual, is E.E. Cliver as the butler, with his trademark "I rather like it, sir!" phrase; this time, he even turns into an action hero! His jump from a (speeding) motorcycle to a (speeding) van is the one memorable scene in the movie; the other is the final sword vs. whip fight involving Drummond and one of the villains. Otherwise, this film is strictly for the completists. * out of 4.

Potboiler of the era

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 26 September 2023]

BULLDOG DRUMMOND'S PERIL is the first film I've seen in this late 1930s series and it feels very much par for the course for both the age and genre. It starts off with our hero getting married abroad, but he soon discovers that someone's stolen a valuable diamond and before long he sets off on a globetrotting adventure to get hold of the criminals responsible. It's resolutely low budget fare, quite fast paced at times, and includes some fun action sequences that seem to have been influenced by the likes of Errol Flynn - expect a sword fight or two and a villain wielding a whip. John Barrymore is there for name value only at the beginning and end of the film.

Diamonds aren't forever.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 29 September 2023]

The creation of synthetic diamonds are the motive for a slew of murders in this Bulldog Drummond film, the second to co-star John Howard as Drummond and John Barrymore as his boss, the colonel. It also features a return appearance by Louise Campbell as Drummond's fiancee, their wedding ceremony not going off without a hitch. A cute penguin in top hat and tails threatens to steal the scenery, even though someone is out to steal something far more valuable, the formula for making phony gems.

I guess that even an expert couldn't tell the difference between the real and phony diamonds and certain elements, and the series of murders results in the introduction of some really odd characters. Lots of suspense but a weird plot, the best moments outside of the sophisticated Antarctic bird being the banter between Howard and Barrymore. Elizabeth Patterson as Campbell's aunt, Zeffie Tillbury from the previous film in another role and Halliwell Hobbes as an expert on the creation of synthetic diamonds are other highlights. Not a great film, but certainly audacious and frequently funny.

Another Weak Bulldog Episode

[Rainey-Dawn · 1/10 · 22 January 2017]

All assassinations that happened in this "episode" happened over a diamond. Bulldog must find who is killing them.

A real yawn. A very weak plot, poorly filmed. Nothing special, very average and basic. The plot is an over used plot that has nothing new to bring us to the table of 1930s crime films. How this one plays out is not all that grand either.

Seems to me they could have put Bulldog in films that will bring a new story or at least find a good way to change up an over used plot to make it more interesting.

I'm sorry but this one is the worst of all the 6 Bulldog films I have in the Mill Creek Mysteries 50-pack.

1/10

OK but far from Bulldog's best

[Panamint · 5/10 · 3 October 2015]

"Bulldogs Drummond's Peril" has an outstanding cast but is not very well written and is slowly directed at times. It lacks the verve and lacks the dialog sparkle that is necessary for a b- movie to be entirely successful. In fact, there are better movies than this available in the John Howard "Bulldog Drummond" series.

Despite these problems, the cast is very watchable featuring the indomitable E.E.Clive and also Halliwell Hobbes. John Howard is handsome and charming and although personally lacking screen impact, can be adequate as Drummond with more dynamic direction than he gets here. Barrymore provides energy and brightens up the proceedings but is less steady in this outing than in his other Drummond appearances, and sadly appears to be an aging alcoholic on the verge of unraveling. Although he looks unwell and is clearly struggling, I don't have any complaints about Barrymore's effort- he is trying to give the best he had left.

The plot and script are sub-par, and combined with stodgy direction provide us with a rather nondescript film that is not as good as the better "Bulldog" movies of the era. But worth your time if you are a Clive or Hobbes fan.

John Howard just does not make a good Bulldog

[Bernie4444 · 4/10 · 17 October 2023]

It looks like Bulldog (John Howard) is getting married to Phyllis (Louise Campbell) and giving up the detecting racket. One of the wedding gifts is an artificial or man-made diamond. Naturally, this is seen by a diamond mine owner, Sir Raymond Blantyre (Matthew Boulton.) He realized his economy is in peril. The diamond and Sir Raymond go missing and there is a body left behind. It does not take long to figure out what happened. From here things get crossed and double-crossed. There are explosive scenes and goofy chase scenes. Col. Neilson (John Barrymore) of Scotland Yard is after Captain Drummond for his indiscretions and only confuses things.

The whole film is pretty much Drummond formula (screenplay by Stuart Palmer and based on "The Third Round" by H. C. (Snapper) McNeile) but there is no spark among the characters or satisfaction in the chases or discoveries or conclusions.

A Diamond Of Great Value

[StrictlyConfidential · 4/10 · 10 October 2021]

"Bulldog Drummond's Peril" was originally released back in 1938.

Anyway - As the story goes - Bulldog is about to wed his long-suffering fiancee at her families' Swiss villa. The wedding is postponed when the Swiss police who are guarding their wedding gifts is killed. The murderer had a hidden agenda, as one of the gifts was an artificial diamond developed by the scientist father of the couples' friend, Gwen Longworth.

For Barrymore

[arfdawg-1 · 4/10 · 3 May 2014]

In this episode captain Drummond tries to find the killer of various people.

All assassinations were provoked by a diamond of great value, but Drummond will face the danger.

John Barrymore is in this, but not playing Drummond.

I've seen a few of these Drummond films and am not a huge fan of them.. Maybe because they are so dated. Unsure.

This one is typical of the others but Barrymore is interesting to watch.

That's about it.