Bulldog Drummond Escapes

Today Bulldog Drummond is regarded as part of the pre-history of James Bond as a literary and cinematic hero, but in the 1920s and 1930s, H. C. McNeile’s fictional adventures of British army Capt. (ret.) Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond captured the imagination of readers and filmgoers on two continents. In Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937), the first of Paramount Pictures’ Drummond series, our hero -- portrayed by a young Ray Milland (Dial M For Murder) -- literally drives into trouble when he encounters Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel), an heiress whose life may be in danger because of her family legacy, on a back road near her home. The action comes fast and furious across 67 minutes of very busy screen-time, populated by such familiar British and American talent as Sir Guy Standing (Death Takes A Holiday), Porter Hall (Ace In The Hole), E. E. Clive, and Clyde Cook before the mystery is sorted out.