Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police finds ace busybody and freelance adventurer Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond and his beloved Phyllis sequestered away in Drummond's home on the eve of their wedding. This would be about the ten thousandth attempt they've made at a getting married, only to have each wedding spoiled by some crazy mystery or adventure that sends them off solving a murder, combating spies, or some other activity far more fun than getting married. But Phyllis is determined to see that nothing gets in the way of this wedding.

Unfortunately, if Drummond doesn't go looking for a mystery, one is sure to come looking for him. And sure enough, it arrives in the form of a bumbling professor who happens to have knowledge of a secret treasure hidden in the catacombs of Drummond's very own home. When a murderous assistant shows up to off the prof and claim the booty as his own, Drummond and the usual crew of Phyllis, stolid Scotland Yard inspector Nielson, goofball best friend Algy, and well-armed war veteran butler Tenny find themselves hunting for the killer and the treasure when they were supposed to be memorizing vows and preparing the soup for the wedding.

Bulldog Drummond films are perfect Saturday afternoon/late night fare. They movie quickly (most of them, including this one, clock in at barely an hour), boast scripts that are jammed with witty dialog and exchanges, and sustain themselves with a steady diet of shenanigans and intrigue. Even the comedy is usually pretty funny, which is a rare thing for comedy to be. Like many long-running film series, they can tend to get repetitive, relying on cookie cutter plots that are tweaked just slightly enough to pass for a new movie, but this really doesn't bug me since the end results are always so much fun. Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police is another winner, and the do-or-die treasure hunt beneath Drummond's estate is a swell setting for lots of adventure, booby traps, and guys falling into underground rivers. The cast is familiar with their roles by this point, and they perform admirably. As Drummond, John Howard positively bursts with enthusiasm. Drummond is a man who absolutely thrills like a child at the scent of an adventure, and Howard conveys that perfectly. Here's hoping he and Phyllis never get married.

Labels: Set: Mystery Classics