Bulldog Drummond Comes Back

Second - and perhaps the best - in Paramount's Bulldog Drummond series, with Howard taking over the lead from Ray Milland (whose star was rising). It boasts a waspishly nasty villain (Naish), and the Holmesian revenge plot, complete with clues in rhyming couplets, is considerably enhanced by Barrymore as a Scotland Yard detective with an irresistible flair for disguises. Then on the downgrade, Barrymore belies his demotion to a B movie series with a performance of witty relish, at one point musing (as he applies his make-up) 'You know, I really think I should have been an actor.' The series, featuring Howard throughout, continued with Bulldog Drummond's Peril, Bulldog Drummond's Revenge, Bulldog Drummond in Africa (1938), Arrest Bulldog Drummond, Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police and Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1939).