Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Encyclopedia
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police is a 1939 American country house murder mystery film
directed by James Patrick Hogan
, based on an H. C. McNeile
novel
.
An absent minded Professor Downie (Forrester Harvey
) makes a call upon Drummond as he is making plans for his much-delayed wedding to fiancee Phyllis Claverling. The professor informs Drummond that a fortune was buried in one of the walled off storerooms underneath his estate, and that Downie was in possession of a book written in code that would lead them to discover the treasure. Unfortunately for the professor, someone else also wanted the riches and Drummond once again is dragged into the plot as the code book is stolen, Professor Downie is murdered, and Phyllis is kidnapped.
The film uses flashbacks from previous Drummond films and dream sequences extensively, which has led some to criticize it as tiresome. Oddly, despite the phrase 'secret police
' in the title, there is nothing relating to any secret police in the plot whatsoever. The production values are high as the sets are of high quality, but the script has not received much acclaim.
The film is noteworthy for an early appearance of actor Leo G. Carroll
.
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
directed by James Patrick Hogan
James Patrick Hogan
James Patrick Hogan was an American filmmaker.His movies included Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police and The Mad Ghoul , his last film...
, based on an H. C. McNeile
H. C. McNeile
Cyril McNeile MC was a British author, who published under the pen name Sapper.He was one of the most successful British popular authors of the Interwar period; his principal character was Bulldog Drummond.-Biography:Cyril McNeile was born in 1888 at Bodmin in Cornwall...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
.
An absent minded Professor Downie (Forrester Harvey
Forrester Harvey
Forrester Harvey was an Irish-born film actor. He appeared in 117 films between 1922 and 1946, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in County Cork, Ireland and died in Laguna Beach, California....
) makes a call upon Drummond as he is making plans for his much-delayed wedding to fiancee Phyllis Claverling. The professor informs Drummond that a fortune was buried in one of the walled off storerooms underneath his estate, and that Downie was in possession of a book written in code that would lead them to discover the treasure. Unfortunately for the professor, someone else also wanted the riches and Drummond once again is dragged into the plot as the code book is stolen, Professor Downie is murdered, and Phyllis is kidnapped.
The film uses flashbacks from previous Drummond films and dream sequences extensively, which has led some to criticize it as tiresome. Oddly, despite the phrase 'secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
' in the title, there is nothing relating to any secret police in the plot whatsoever. The production values are high as the sets are of high quality, but the script has not received much acclaim.
The film is noteworthy for an early appearance of actor Leo G. Carroll
Leo G. Carroll
Leo Gratten Carroll was an English-born actor. He was best known for his roles in several Hitchcock films and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Topper.-Early life:...
.