INTRIGUING BULLDOG DRUMMOND ARCHIVE
Movie Lover:
SHADOWER from
LOUISVILLE, KY US -- April, 20, 2016
THIS NEW RELEASE FROM WB-ARCHIVE IS AN ARCHIVE IN ITS OWN RIGHT OF THE CLASSIC BULLDOG DRUMMOND CHARACTER. BULLDOG DRUMMOND, STARRING RONALD COLMAN ONE YEAR BEFORE RAFFLES, HAS BEEN ELEVATED AS THE DEFINITIVE BULLDOG DRUMMOND FILM WITH THE COLEMAN SEQUEL, BULLDOG DRUMMOND STRIKES BACK IN 1934. THIS LED TO THE PARAMOUNT SERIES IN WHICH RAY MILLAND, RALPH RICHARDSON AND JOHN HOWARD GROOVED THE CHARACTER OVER EIGHT FILMS. THE ARCHIVE ADVANCES OVER 20 YEARS TO CALLING BULLDOG DRUMMOND IN WHICH WALTER PIDGEON PLAYED THE CHARACTER FOR MGM IN 1951. CALLING...EXHIBITS THAT UNDENIABLE MGM GLOSS, AND SHOWCASES SUCH BRITISH TALENT AS BERNARD LEE (M IN 11 JAMES BOND FILMS), ROBERT BEATTY (WHO WOULD PLAY DRUMMOND IN A LATER TV SERIES FOR DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR., MARGARET LEIGHTON AND LAURENCE NAISMITH (WHO WOULD APPEAR IN THE 1967 DRUMMOND FILM, DEADLIER THAN THE MALE WITH RICHARD JOHNSON AS DRUMMOND). ONE CAN CLEARLY SEE CERTAIN CHARACTERIZATIONS,ELEMENTS, NUNANCES AND PLOT SITUATIONS IN THE MORE BONDIAN-INSPIRED JOHNSON FILMS, WITH THE LIKES OF ELKE SOMMER, NIGEL GREEN, SYLVA KOSCINA, DALIAH LAVI, JAMES VILLIERS, LEONARD ROSSITER AND A CAMEO BY FLORENCE DESMOND. A SEQUEL, SOME GIRLS DO, FOLLOWED IN 1969... ARCHIVE INDEED. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FPOR DEVOTEES OF THIS FASCINATING CHARACTER, ENCOMPASSING HIS LITERARY AND CINEMATIC ORIGINS.
