Watch Calling Bulldog Drummond For Free

Boring

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Blistering performances.

Having just watched "Bulldog Drummond" (1929) with Ronald Coleman, this film suffers greatly by comparison. In the first place, Coleman was the perfect screen Drummond, whereas Walter Pidgeon the lead in this picture lacks much of the bon vivant, devil may care persona of Coleman.The story takes place in London where a gang of criminals led by Arthur Gunns (Robert Beatty) and directed by an unseen boss, has been robbing big businesses all over London. Scotland Yard Inspector McIver (Charles Victor) goes to the retired Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond Walter Pidgeon), now raising prize pigs, for help. Drummond reluctantly agrees to come out of retirement to help.Drummond fakes his flight to Africa under the guise of having cheated at cards in an exclusive men's club, to "disappear" from sight. He is teamed up with Scotland Yard Sgt. Helen Smith (Margaret Leighton) to pose as rival crooks in order to infiltrate the gang.Gunns, suspicious at first, takes a liking to Smith much to the dismay of girl friend Molly (Peggy Evans). Molly by chance, discovers the plot by Drummond and Smith and......................................Walter Pidgeon, although a competent actor in his own right, was totally miscast as the sleuth Drummond. He has none of the humor and romantic nature or the British accent of either Coleman or of John Howard, who starred in the late 30s Drummonds. Margaret Leighton, on the other hand, is excellent as the undercover detective. David Tomlinson as Algy Longworth provides what humor there is but has little to do otherwise. In fact he doesn't appear with Pidgeon until three quarters of the way though the film. Robert Beatty, a Canadian sans British Accent, is a competent adversary. Bernard Lee ("M" in the early James Bond films) plays Colonel Wetson a member of Drummond's men's club.As a stand alone mystery, the film is not to bad but, as a revival of the Bulldog Drummond series, it fails miserably.

"Calling Bulldog Drummond" is my first exposure to this character, so I can't judge the film or the acting the way others on this site do. I will be seeing more Bulldog films in the future, and perhaps I can look at this one again.Walter Pidgeon is Bulldog Drummond, and his costar is Margaret Leighton. Both are working undercover to unmask a gang of thieves.I always enjoy Walter Pidgeon, and he acquits himself well. Is he Bulldog? I don't know because I haven't seen the other films. He is certainly charming and has a light touch on the material. Victor Saville does a good job of directing. The film moves along, and the story is interesting.The standout here is Margaret Leighton, a wonderful stage actress whom I believe played the original Hannah in "Night of the Iguana" on stage - I could be wrong there. She is excellent, slipping into her low-rent character and back into her policewoman persona beautifully. A real find.Very enjoyable, but I take it NOT if you're familiar with the entire Bulldog Drummond series, which I'm looking forward to seeing.

A very well-plotted and well-written entry, though, as noted before, it doesn't have the usual cast of characters we know and love. No E. E. Clive. No Heather Angel. BUT, it is a really well shot and directed movie. It moves along briskly. No wasted scenes or moments.The big treat for me is the performance of Leighton. She doesn't just hold her own alongside Pigeon, I think she outshines him. She has a subtle touch and has no problem shifting from tart to Scotland Yard operative within the same scene. Her classic training on the English stage shows...in all the right ways.MrMovieGuy.com

And one only, in my opinion.That reason is Margaret Leighton. She is a wonderful actress, on-stage as well as on the screen. We have few chances to see her, though. I think that's especially true in the United States.Here she plays a sympathetic role. Not only that but she is also very pretty and meant to be something of a bombshell.Walter Pigeon does not hold up the tradition of Drummond performers. He is always reliable but he's not much fun. He's not a rascal or a knave. Consequently, this seemed to me a talky endeavor with little action or suspense. But check it out for Leighton.