Bulldog Jack (1935)

Written by CinemaSerf on February 26, 2023

Atholl Fleming - the real "Bulldog Drummond" features only sparingly in this cheerily entertaining and quickly paced jewellery caper. He is involved in a car accident and luckily the brave - but not so useful - "Pennington" (Jack Hulbert) steps up to the plate to help the damsel in distress, in this case "Ann" (Fay Wray). Her problem is that her grandfather - who makes fine necklaces - has been kidnapped by a gang who need to make a counterfeit version of one they intend to steal from the British museum, no less! Soon, the pair are engaged in a perilous search through the tunnels of the London Underground in search of the secret hideout of the would-be robbers and her missing grandad whilst still aiming to thwart the plans of their cold and calculating nemesis. Now we know pretty quickly whom this dastardly fellow is - if only because of his star status in the film, but that doesn't really impede the adventure and the ending is quite an excitingly filmed feat of cinematography as much as of acting. It does take it's time to get going, true, but once it's into third gear it's quite a fun film that effortlessly passes 75 minutes.