Here we go again, but it isn't 'Africa', it's just Morocco. However, I guess they thought 'Africa' sounded more glamorous for a title. This is a superior entry into the Bulldog Drummond series, and is the thirteenth Drummond film to be made. John Howard is a terrific Drummond, compares well with Ronald Colman, and is superior to Ray Milland and Walter Pidgeon. (I do hate to say anything against Walter Pidgeon, but I am only referring to the role of Drummond, whom he played on one occasion, the 21st Drummond film, 'Calling Bulldog Drummond' in 1951.) E. E. Clive is once again the butler, and what a time he has! (As do we, just watching him.) Heather Angel is the gal this time, due to be married to Drummond of course the next morning, but then we knew that would never be allowed, didn't we? She is a great kisser, doubtless smells of heather, has a fresh face and one wants her around. And she won't leave her man alone, but insists on sharing his danger. That's a good sport, then! Nothing like a love interest who contributes to the action plot as well! J. Carroll Naish is a particularly sinister baddie in this film, with his ultra-calm demeanour and suave, reassuring ways. He out-Sanders George Sanders sometimes and out-Conways Tom Conway. A pity, as a villain, he is not allowed to get a girl after all that sophisticated behaviour and under-playing of his dialogue to insidious effect. Yes, this is a good one. And the escape from the exploding plane is worthy of Batman.
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The movie opens with a trouser-less Drummond (John Howard) and his butler Tenny (E.E. Clive), confined to Rockingham Lodge on the eve of the Captain's wedding to Miss Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel). Drummond's sidekick Algy (Reginald Denny) is holding their pants hostage to prevent his boss from getting caught up in a distraction that would disrupt the ceremony. Is it possible that they only had one pair of pants each?
Scotland Yard's Colonel Nielson (H.B. Warner) meanwhile, is about to be taken hostage himself by an old nemesis, Richard Lane (J. Carrol Naish). Lane hopes to secure information about a newly developed radio-wave disintegrator, but when Nielson becomes uncooperative, Lane hustles him aboard a plane bound for Morocco where he'll have time to work him over for the secret. The early going is marked by a frantic effort to catch Lane and Nielson, as Algy valiantly tries to deliver the pants along the way.
The ever patient and ever single Miss Clavering stows away aboard Drummond's plane as the good guys take flight to Africa. The final confrontation there involves a lion, strategically tethered to an uncertain stake with Colonel Nielson the prize should it give way.
"Bulldog Drummond in Africa" offers it's share of characteristic good humor and camaraderie between Drummond and his cohorts, though this time around some troubling elements are included as well. Nielson's butler Phillips is dispatched by Lane, and Algy takes a bullet in the arm during the finale at Lane's estate.
For J.Carrol Naish, this was his second unsuccessful attempt to outwit hero Drummond. He previously vied with John Howard in "Bulldog Drummond Comes Back", though portraying a different character. Heather Angel reprises her role as Phyllis Clavering from "Bulldog Drummond Escapes", the only film in the series with Ray Milland in the role of the title character. Howard and Angel would team up a total of four times, culminating in the 1939 entry "Bulldog Drummond's Bride". Not having seen it yet, I've got my fingers crossed for an invitation to a wedding. -
Capt. Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond still hasn't married his sweetheart Phyllis. And he won't be getting married this time, either, as he winds up investigating the kidnapping of his friend Colonel Nielsen. So Drummond, along with Phyllis and sidekicks Algy and Tenny, must go to Morocco to rescue the Colonel.
Two new additions to the cast as H.B. Warner takes over as Col. Nielsen and Heather Angel is the new Phyllis Clavering. Heather had previously played the role in the first movie in Paramount's Bulldog Drummond series, where she displayed a great chemistry with Ray Milland. She's back here but with a different Drummond, John Howard. She has fine chemistry with Howard as well and brings a pluckiness to the role of Phyllis that is a treat to watch. E.E. Clive continues to be the heart of the series as loyal butler Tenny. Reginald Denny is just there and begs the point more than ever of why Drummond needs two sidekicks instead of just one. The legendary J. Carrol Naish plays the villain here, his second appearance in the Drummond series. He's always enjoyable. Anthony Quinn has an early role as his henchman. This is one of the best of the Bulldog Drummond movies I've seen. Some good action and humor with nice atmosphere. It moves very quickly (runtime is just shy of an hour) and at times feels like a few episodes of an action serial strung together. But it works as a solid time-passer. The action-packed climax, which includes a man-eating lion, is the highlight. -
With a story that has a couple of interesting turns, rather effective atmosphere, and a good cast, "Bulldog Drummond in Africa" is one of the most entertaining of the John Howard series of 'Bulldog' features. To the usual good action and likable main characters, it adds some interesting settings that work well given the limited budget.
The story opens with some light comedy about the ongoing obstacles to Drummond and Phyillis's wedding plans, and then they are plunged into another adventure when Phyllis herself witnesses Colonel Neilson being kidnapped. The story shifts to Morocco for the rest of the action, where the story takes some interesting turns, with the usual snappy pace. Even though it shows signs of having been filmed on a shoestring, the climactic confrontation with the lions creates some suspense.
The cast has Howard, Reginald Denny, and E.E. Clive from the previous features, and they are joined by Heather Angel (returning to the role she had played in an earlier Drummond feature with Ray Milland), who is engaging and energetic as Phyllis, plus H.B. Warner as Neilson. This is the feature in which Warner took over from John Barrymore, who was always so enjoyable in the part, but Warner works well enough in his own right in this feature. His confrontations with the villains give him some decent material to work with.
The main characters are given help from the supporting cast, with J. Carrol Naish doing a solid job as the traitorous Lane, and a young-looking Anthony Quinn making very good use of his opportunities. Strictly as light entertainment, it's an enjoyable combination. -
Hitchcoc21 June 2006There is a lot of funny stuff, from two men being locked in a room without any pants, so that Drummond won't get involved and miss his wedding, to them cutting the phone cord and dancing a highland fling in a home-made kilt. As it turns out, the one who wanted the wedding to go one is the one responsible for getting them into another adventure. As usual, it's a secret that could turn the face of the war. The one who knows the most is kidnapped and may be fed to the lions that the villain has in his courtyard if he doesn't reveal the secret code. There is a long standoff. Meanwhile, Drummond and the gang have arrived without proper papers to stay in Morocco. They become targets of the people they are pursuing and nearly get blown out of the sky. There are a whole series of wonderful things between Drummond and Tenny. A very young Anthony Quinn makes an appearance as a cold blooded assistant to the bad guys. This one is much more watchable than some of the others and moves to a nice boil.
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Spondonman20 June 2004The opening ruse to keep Drummond & Co. from finding Adventure and to find Marriage wears thin after 10 minutes or so, but this potboiler soon picks up speed - the plane taking them all to Morocco was slower.
J. Carroll Naish as the baddie kidnaps the goodie from Scotland Yard, H. B. Warner for his state secrets, flies him out of the country with Drummond in pursuit. I won't give the game away as to whether he, Algy, Tenney and Phyllis succeed in releasing Warner, properly chastise the baddies (including the cub Anthony Quinn) and fly back home into a happy ending - you'll have to bite your nails and watch it!
At times utterly predictable, even with a rather savage lion in some shots - what did they have to do to make it so mad - but as usual a very watchable entry in this series. -
JohnHowardReid20 December 2017Bulldog Drummond in Africa (1938) , was the 13th and one of the better entries in the 24-picture "Bulldog Drummond" series. This installment not only brings Heather Angel back to the role of Phyllis Clavering, but replaces a rather seedy John Barrymore with the far less hammy H.B. Warner.
Of course, the irritating Reginald Denny is still very much on hand, but he is far more subdued than usual in this entry; and it's always a joy to see young Anthony Quinn as the heavy's accomplice.
Despite a rather silly start to the tale, the accent here is this installment rotates more firmly on thrills than comedy.
Although his work is nothing special, Louis King directs with reasonable competence. -
Bulldog Drummond in Africa is a 1938 entry into the series, with John Howard again as Hugh Drummond, Heather Angel as Phyllis, E.E. Clive as Tenney, Reginald Denny as Angy, and instead of Barrymore, we have H.B. Warner, the first Demille Christ, as the Colonel.
Hugh again is trying to marry Phyllis. This time they've decided that Hugh will stay in the house and not answer the phone until it is time to leave; this way, he can avoid becoming involved in any case.
When Phyllis arrives at the Colonel's house to pick him up, she meets a man who says he is the new tenant, which seems strange to her. She sees the Colonel's briefcase, though she is told he isn't there, but has gone to Africa. She parks in a hidden spot and sees men carrying out the Colonel.
So Hugh is on another case.
Fast-moving and quite good, the men who have taken over the Colonel's house are trying to locate some top secret government process - these things are real McGuffins, just an excuse for the story. The Colonel won't give them any information. They then take him to Africa.
Actually they are in Morocco.
Loved seeing the old plane. Angy is really out of it this time, and Drummond is his usual dapper, mostly relaxed self.
Fun episodes. I really like this cast but of course would have loved to see Barrymore again. He made a much more vital, worse tempered Colonel.
Anthony Quinn plays a thug. -
gridoon202423 June 2012The (hungry) lions (and a young Anthonny Quinn, as a bad guy) are what may help you remember this entry in the "Bulldog Drummond" series, since by this point the films have started to blend together completely. The lions also offer pretty much the only "African flavor" to the film - if it weren't for them, the action could just as well have taken place in, say, Canada instead of Morocco. The film gets a slight boost from the return of Heather Angel in the role of Phylis (her Phylis is more adventurous and danger-loving than the one played by Louise Campbell), and Tenny ("I rather like it, sir!") continues consistently to be funny; on the other hand, Algy continues consistently not to be. ** out of 4.
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mark.waltz29 September 2023With the kidnapping of the colonel (now played by H. B. Warner), the on again, off again wedding plans of Bulldog and Phyllis (John Howard and Heather Angel) is on hold, another repeat of the regular play element that insinuates they'll never get hitched. They're off to rescue him with valet E. E. Clive and unfortunately pal Reginald Denny who can't figure out what to do when he finds he's not wearing his pants.
The villain this time around is Michael Brooke whom the audience knows is a villain because he's got slicked back dark hair and a goatee and speaks with a Bela Lugosi like accent. Anthony Quinn has a blink or you'll miss him small part as Brooke's henchman. Pretty entertaining and action packed, involving the good guys forced to deal with a fierce lion sicked in them by the bad guys. -
bkoganbing20 January 2012Bulldog Drummond In Africa finds John Howard once again postponing his plans to marry Heather Angel whose been left at the altar more times than Adelaide in Guys And Dolls. It's her fault really at this point because she's the one that has discovered that Drummond's good friend from Scotland Yard H.B. Warner has been kidnapped and spirited to Morocco.
Angel stows away on Howard's plane along with his two friends Reginald Denny and E.E. Clive. Warner has been kidnapped by international spy and man of mystery J. Carrol Naish and wants Warner to give him the secret of something called a disintegrater ray. Sounds like lasers way before they were perfected.
Of course Howard affects a rescue lest Warner's character Colonel Nielsen not be around for the next film. As usual Reginald Denny provides the bumbling comic relief. I swear Drummond keeps Algy around strictly for laughs the way the Cisco Kid used to have Pancho along. The guy who is really useful is E.E. Clive who's like a Boy Scout in that he's always prepared.
Anthony Quinn has a small part as one of Naish's henchmen and I noticed in the credits that Anne Bauchens did the editing. Annie B was a most trusted employee of the Cecil B. DeMille group, in fact C.B. had it in his contract that only she was allowed to edit his films. I'm wondering if she was there to take care of Quinn in the rushes because Quinn at the time was DeMille's son-in-law.
Bulldog Drummond In Africa is a pleasant enough B film from the Paramount lot. -
coltras3513 April 2021On the eve of his wedding Captain Hugh Drummond is off to Morocco when Scotland Yard's Colonel J. A. Nielson is kidnapped by international criminal Richard Lane( played by J. Carroll Naish). With his fiancée Phyllis Clavering, friend 'Algy' Longworth and his trusty valet 'Tenny' Tennyson, Bulldog flies his own plane 1200 miles only to find the local British Consul ordering him home without delay. Drummond isn't an easy man to get rid of however and they soon mount their rescue plan.
Highly enjoyable Drummond entry. The plot is smooth, the atmosphere and the action are effective. The finale where a lion is well fed is thrilling. Great fun. Watch out for young Anthony Quinn as a bad guy. -
wes-connors11 June 2015British adventurer John Howard (as Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond) is all set to marry girlfriend Heather Angel (as Phyllis Clavering). After several unexpected wedding postponements, Drummond isn't taking any chances. He is sequestered himself in his mansion. So that he can't go out and stumble into some crime scene, Drummond has surrendered his trousers and money to pal Reginald Denny (as Algernon "Algy" Longworth). Manservant E.E. Clive (as Tenny) is also left in his underwear and shirt-tails. Meanwhile, a mystery connected to Africa develops. Drummond's old friend and colleague H.B. Warner (as Colonel Nielson) is kidnapped. Of course, the Drummond wedding is canceled...
Drummond, Algy and Tenny take a flight to Africa. Phyllis is a stowaway...
Drummond and his supporting cast are really on the road to Morocco, which somehow doesn't seem like the Africa promised in the title. However, Morocco is on the continent. And, there are lions hanging around. For this entry in the series, John Barrymore has been replaced in the role of Scotland Yard investigator Nielson. Another veteran actor with a stellar list of credits, Mr. Warner was a good choice to fill Mr. Barrymore's shoes. Less obviously, Ms. Angel returns to play Phyllis, for the duration. J. Carrol Naish (as Richard Lane) has fun in the bearded villain's role. As his henchmen receiving generous on-screen time, good-looking young Anthony Quinn makes a striking impression.
***** Bulldog Drummond in Africa (1938-08-05) Louis King ~ John Howard, H.B. Warner, J. Carrol Naish, Reginald Denny -
Public Media Inc. has released a neat two film set of Bulldog Drummond films on one tape. The other film paired with "Bulldog Drummond in Africa" is "Arrest Bulldog Drummond." If you like The Thin Man series, you may like this as well. If you absolutely love The Thin Man series, you'll probably be disappointed with Bulldog Drummond. John Howard plays "Bulldog," which is something of a misnomer as played here because he's rather quiet, handsome & shy, not what one would expect from a "bulldog." Heather Angel matches well with Howard as his Fiancee in Perpetuity. The movies have charm, wit, a bit of mystery, & solid acting. If you're not expecting William Powell & Myrna Loy, you should be pleased. Anthony Quinn fans note: a very young Quinn has a neat little part in "...Africa." George Zucco fans note: he has a good part in "Arrest...." I rate "Bulldog Drummond in Africa" 7/10, & I rate "Arrest Bulldog Drummond" 6/10.
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planktonrules28 April 2007Drummond stumbles onto a kidnapping and brings his friends to Morocco in search of his missing friend and to put a stop to baddies. Like the last Drummond film I saw starring John Howard, this one is over in less than an hour.
Here we are again. Drummond, as usual, is on his way to marry his fiancée, Algie is coming along for no particularly good reason and Drummond's manservant is along for a few laughs. The usual formula is definitely intact here. And as a result, there are few surprises but it is still campy fun and worth a look for fans of B-movies. I'd say more about the film, but frankly it was so ordinary (like eating toast actually) that I think I am done.
By the way, in a relatively small role is a very young and not yet famous Anthony Quinn. -
StrictlyConfidential10 October 2021"Bulldog Drummond In Africa" was originally released back in 1938.
Anyway - As the story goes - Bulldog's wedding plans are put on hold when his fiancee, Phyllis, witnesses the violent kidnapping of long-time pal and wedding guest Colonel Neilson of Scotland Yard. The chase leads to far away Morocco where a foreign spy ring, headed by the ruthless Richard Lane, holds the Colonel prisoner. -
Rainey-Dawn22 January 2017In this "episode" Bulldog, his girlfriend and butler are in Africa trying to free a kidnapped Scotland Yard member.
Again, there is nothing overly special to see here as far as a good crime film goes. It's a typical "episode" based around the adventurer Bulldog Drummond. The only person that interests me in this flick is J. Carrol Naish - nice to see him in a different kind of a role. The film gets one extra point from me for J. Carrol Naish alone.
The movie is your average crime film of the 1930s that was cranked out in a hurry for the audiences that would eat it up. I have found myself unimpressed with Bulldog Drummond. I'm more of a fan of Sherlock Holmes.
3/10 -
boblipton26 March 2002...and they're excellent actors too, yet somehow, this mish-mosh of wasted talent manages to stumble the way through this lifeless second feature without any more than occasional signs of interest. There is a lion which roars with some energy and plays pat-a-cake with a dummy with some evident hope of making it as Leo's replacement at MGM. I wonder what happened to that lion.
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Leofwine_draca4 October 2023BULLDOG DRUMMOND IN AFRICA sees Paramount's regular screen hero returning in the form of John Howard, once again playing a somewhat laid back variant of Sapper's hero. As the title would suggest, he heads off to Africa in this one when he becomes involved in a disappearance which he believes to be a kidnapping. The film has plenty of low rent peril and action to enjoy, countered with drier dialogue sequences. Where this instalment does sparkle is the supporting cast: you get seasoned character actors like E. E. Clive and J. Carroll Naish playing in support alongside an up-and-comer in the form of Anthony Quinn.