Bulldog Drummond

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File:Bulldog Drummond 1st edition cover, 1920.jpg
First edition cover of Bulldog Drummond

Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, fed up with his sedate lifestyle, advertises looking for excitement, and becomes a gentleman adventurer. The character has appeared in novels, short stories, on the stage, in films, on radio and television, and in graphic novels.

After an unsuccessful one-off appearance as a policeman in The Strand Magazine, the character was reworked by McNeile into a gentleman adventurer for his 1920 novel Bulldog Drummond. McNeile went on to write ten Drummond novels, four short stories, four stage plays and a screenplay before his death in 1937. The stories were continued by his friend Gerard Fairlie between 1938 and 1954.

Drummond is a First World War veteran, brutalised by his experiences in the trenches and bored with his post-war lifestyle. He publishes an advertisement looking for adventure, and soon finds himself embroiled in a series of exploits, many of which involve Carl Peterson—who becomes his nemesis—and Peterson's mistress, the femme fatale Irma. After his first adventure, Drummond marries his client, Phyllis Benton. In later episodes, Benton becomes involved in Drummond's exploits, often as the victim of kidnapping by Drummond's enemies.

In 1921 an adaptation of the first novel was staged in London, with Gerald du Maurier playing the role of Drummond; the play was further adapted for the 1922 silent film Bulldog Drummond, with Carlyle Blackwell in the lead role. Several other Drummond films followed, either based on McNeile's stories or with unique storylines.

Fictional biography

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"Demobilised officer, ... finding peace incredibly tedious, would welcome diversion. Legitimate, if possible; but crime, if of a comparatively humorous description, no objection. Excitement essential."

Advertisement placed in The Times by Drummond in Bulldog DrummondTemplate:Sfn

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The Bulldog Drummond stories of H. C. McNeile follow Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, DSO, MC. Drummond is a member of "the Breed", a class of Englishman who were patriotic, loyal and "physically and morally intrepid".Template:Sfn Drummond is a wealthy gentleman, formerly an officer in the fictional "Royal Loamshire Regiment", who, after the First World War, spends his new-found leisure time looking for adventure. McNeile first wrote the Drummond character as a detective for a short story in The Strand Magazine, but the portrayal was not successful and was changed for the novel Bull-dog Drummond, which was a thriller.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn The character was an amalgam of McNeile's friend Gerard Fairlie, and his idea of an English gentleman,Template:Sfn although writer J.D. Bourn disputes Fairlie's claim to be a model for the character, noting that "he was still at school when Sapper created his ... hero".Template:Sfn Drummond also had roots in the literary characters Sherlock Holmes, Sexton Blake, Richard Hannay and The Scarlet Pimpernel.Template:Sfn

File:No-man's-land-flanders-field - digitally cleaned up.jpg
No man's land, where Drummond honed the skills he later used during his exploits

Drummond's wartime experience had given him a series of abilities akin to that of a hunter: stealth—"he could move over ground without a single blade of grass rustling"—and the ability to incapacitate others—"he could kill a man with his bare hands in a second".Template:Sfn During his time on the Western Front he would take himself on solitary raids through no man's land.Template:Sfn Drummond was also proficient in jujutsu and boxing, was a crack shot,Template:Sfn played cricket for the Free Foresters, and was an excellent poker player.Template:Sfn In addition to Drummond's physical attributes is his common sense, which allows him to equal and beat his opponents, even if they have a superior intellect.Template:Sfn

Drummond is characterised as large, very strong, physically unattractive and an "apparently brainless hunk of a man",Template:Sfn He is Script error: No such module "convert". tall, weighs around Script error: No such module "convert".,Template:Sfn and has a "cheerful type of ugliness which inspires immediate confidence in its owner".Template:Sfn Throughout his exploits, Drummond is joined by several of his ex-army friends and colleagues, including Algy Longworth (who would appear in many of the films, as Drummond's sidekick), MC; Toby Sinclair, VC;Template:Efn Peter Darrell and Ted Jerningham.Template:Sfn Drummond's ex-batman from his military days, James Denny, runs Drummond's flat on Half-Moon Street in Mayfair, London, along with Mrs Denny. (Denny appeared as Drummond's sidekick in the radio series, a version of the character named Tenny appeared in the films)Template:Sfn Drummond is a gentleman with a private income;Template:Sfn he is also construed as "a brutalized ex-officer whose thirst for excitement is also an attempt to reenact [sic] the war",Template:Sfn although the character was later described by Cecil Day-Lewis, author of gentleman detective Nigel Strangeways, as an "unspeakable public school bully".Template:Sfn

The novel Bulldog Drummond begins when Drummond places an advertisement in a newspaper looking for adventure to lift the ennui of his life in post-war London. The response comes from Phyllis Benton, who is concerned for the health and well-being of her father, over whom Henry Lakington and Carl Peterson have a hold. At the end of the novel Drummond and Phyllis marry, and remain married throughout the course of the McNeile and Fairlie series of books, in contrast to the films, which generally portray Drummond as unmarried.Template:Sfn Phyllis becomes integral to the plot of some of the novels: she is kidnapped by Irma Peterson in several stories,Template:Sfn including The Black GangTemplate:Sfn and The Female of the Species.Template:Sfn

In the matter of his personal tastes, Drummond is a member of the fictional Junior Sports Club, a gentleman's club on St. James's Square, London.Template:Sfn His preferred drink is beerTemplate:Sfn although he also enjoys drinking martinis and is knowledgeable about wines.Template:Sfn Drummond owns both a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley.Template:Sfn

Although Drummond's actions are intended to maintain the conservative status quo of Britain,Template:Sfn academic Hans Bertens considers that instead, he comes across as "a murderous exponent of a fierce competitive individualism".Template:Sfn

Carl and Irma Peterson

The first four books deal with Drummond against Carl Peterson, who becomes Drummond's arch-enemy. Peterson is also a master of disguise and uses several aliases. Peterson is killed in the fourth book, The Final Count,Template:Sfn although Fairlie brings him back for his final novel, The Return of the Black Gang.Template:Sfn Drummond forms a grudging respect for Peterson, and offers an honourable duel to the death at the end of The Third Round, instead of the usual summary justice that normally befalls members of Peterson's gang.Template:Sfn The writer Richard Usborne sees the mass-murdering terrorist Peterson as "quite a sympathetic character. Almost, in fact, a hero",Template:Sfn and wrote that "authors ... fall in love with their big villains ... Sapper came to love Carl Peterson dearly, and so did Drummond".Template:Sfn

The title of the fifth Drummond book, The Female of the Species refers to Rudyard Kipling's line "the female of the species is more deadly than the male".Template:Sfn Irma is described by Jonathon Green as "the slinky epitome of a twenties 'vampTemplate:' ",Template:Sfn and by Lawrence Treadwell as dark, sexy and from an oriental background, "a true femme fatale".Template:Sfn After Carl Peterson's death in The Final Count, Irma swears revenge on Drummond and kidnaps his wife—whom he had met in Bulldog Drummond—with the intent of killing him in the ensuing chase.Template:Sfn Irma Peterson appears in six of McNeile's books, and in a further five by Fairlie.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn

Works

Novels

File:The Black Gang.png
Cover of The Black Gang, the second Drummond novel

All were published through Hodder & Stoughton.

Title Author Date Length
(first edition) 		<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />Refs.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Bull-Dog Drummond H. C. McNeile 1920 Script error: No such module "sort". [1]Template:Sfn
Script error: No such module "sort". H. C. McNeile 1922 Script error: No such module "sort". [2]Template:Sfn
Script error: No such module "sort". H. C. McNeile 1924 Script error: No such module "sort". [3]Template:Sfn
Script error: No such module "sort". H. C. McNeile 1926 Script error: No such module "sort". [4]Template:Sfn
Script error: No such module "sort". H. C. McNeile 1928 Script error: No such module "sort". [5]Template:Sfn
Temple Tower H. C. McNeile 1929 Script error: No such module "sort". [6]Template:Sfn
Script error: No such module "sort". H. C. McNeile 1932 Script error: No such module "sort". [7]Template:Sfn
Knock-Out H. C. McNeile 1933 Script error: No such module "sort". [8]Template:Sfn
Bulldog Drummond at Bay H. C. McNeile 1935 Script error: No such module "sort". [9]Template:Sfn
Script error: No such module "sort". H. C. McNeile 1937 Script error: No such module "sort". [10]Template:Sfn
Bulldog Drummond on Dartmoor Gerard Fairlie 1938 Script error: No such module "sort". [11]Template:Sfn
Bulldog Drummond Attacks Gerard Fairlie 1939 Script error: No such module "sort". [12]Template:Sfn
Captain Bulldog Drummond Gerard Fairlie 1945 Script error: No such module "sort". [13]Template:Sfn
Bulldog Drummond Stands Fast Gerard Fairlie 1947 Script error: No such module "sort". [14]Template:Sfn
Hands Off Bulldog Drummond Gerard Fairlie 1949 Script error: No such module "sort". [15]Template:Sfn
Calling Bulldog Drummond Gerard Fairlie 1951 Script error: No such module "sort". [16]Template:Sfn
Script error: No such module "sort". Gerard Fairlie 1954 Script error: No such module "sort". [17]Template:Sfn
Deadlier Than the Male H. R. F. Keating, writing as "Henry Reymond"Template:Efn 1967 Script error: No such module "sort". [18]
Some Girls Do H. R. F. Keating writing as "Henry Reymond"Template:Efn 1969 Script error: No such module "sort". [19]

Drummond has also appeared in other works. In 1983 Jack Smithers wrote the spoof Combined Forces,[20]Template:Efn and in 1990 Kim Newman—under the name Jack Yeovil—wrote the short story "Pitbull Brittan", which features Drummond.Template:Sfn

Short stories

These short stories are all by McNeile, and are collected in the 1984 publication 'Sapper' The Best Short Stories edited by Jack Adrian.

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File:GeraldDM1205 228x390.jpg
Gerald du Maurier, who first portrayed Drummond on stage in 1921

Stage

McNeile and Gerald du Maurier adapted the first novel, for the stage; Bulldog Drummond was shown at Wyndham's Theatre during the 1921–22 season. Du Maurier played the title roleTemplate:Sfn in a run of 428 performances.Template:Sfn Du Maurier again played the role on 8 November 1932 in a special charity performance at the Royal Adelphi Theatre attended by King George V.Template:Sfn The play also ran in New York during the same season, with A. E. Matthews as Drummond.Template:Sfn McNeile also wrote The Way Out, which was staged at the Comedy Theatre, London in January 1930 with Ian Hunter as Drummond.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn A third Drummond play, Bulldog Drummond Hits Out, was co-written by McNeile and Fairlie. It went on a tour of the UK in 1937 with Henry Edwards as Drummond, and opened on 21 December 1937 at the Savoy Theatre, London, where it had a short run.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Fairlie later turned the storyline into the novel Bulldog Drummond on Dartmoor, published in 1938.Template:Sfn

In 1974 the play Bullshot Crummond, by Ron House, was staged with Alan Shearman as Crummond.Template:Sfn The play was subsequently made into the 1983 film Bullshot.

Film

File:Bulldog Drummond Poster.jpg
Poster for the 1922 film Bulldog Drummond, based on McNeile's play of the same name
Title Release Drummond Director Distributor <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />Refs.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Bulldog Drummond 1922 Carlyle Blackwell Oscar Apfel Hodkinson [21]
Script error: No such module "sort". 1925 Jack Buchanan Sidney Morgan [22]
Captain Swagger 1928 Rod La Rocque Edward H. Griffith Pathe Exchange source
Bulldog Drummond 1929 Ronald Colman F. Richard Jones United Artists [23]
Temple Tower 1930 Kenneth MacKenna Donald Gallaher Fox Film Corporation [24]
Script error: No such module "sort". 1934 Ralph Richardson Walter Summers Wardour Films [25]
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back Ronald Colman Roy Del Ruth United Artists [26]
Bulldog JackTemplate:Efn 1935 Atholl Fleming Walter Forde Gaumont British [27]
Bulldog Drummond Escapes 1937 Ray Milland James P. Hogan Paramount Pictures [28]
Bulldog Drummond at Bay John Lodge Norman Lee Wardour Films [29]
Bulldog Drummond Comes Back John Howard Louis King Paramount Pictures [30]
Bulldog Drummond's Revenge John Howard Louis King Paramount Pictures [31]
Bulldog Drummond's Peril 1938 John Howard James P. Hogan Paramount Pictures [32]
Bulldog Drummond in Africa John Howard Louis King Paramount Pictures [33]
Arrest Bulldog Drummond John Howard James P. Hogan Paramount Pictures [34]
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police 1939 John Howard James P. Hogan Paramount Pictures [35]
Bulldog Drummond's Bride John Howard James P. Hogan Paramount Pictures [36]
Bulldog Drummond at Bay 1947 Ron Randell Sidney Salkow Columbia Pictures [37]
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back Ron Randell Roy Del Ruth Columbia Pictures [38]
Script error: No such module "sort". 1948 Tom Conway Jean Yarbrough 20th Century-Fox [39]
13 Lead Soldiers Tom Conway Frank McDonald 20th Century-Fox [40]
Calling Bulldog Drummond 1951 Walter Pidgeon Victor Saville MGM [41]
Deadlier Than the Male 1967 Richard Johnson Ralph Thomas The Rank Organisation [42]
Some Girls Do 1969 Richard Johnson Ralph Thomas The Rank Organisation [43]

In 1933 Alfred Hitchcock was set to direct a Bulldog Drummond film[44] with a screenplay by Charles Bennett entitled Bulldog Drummond's Baby. The rights to the character of Drummond were then held by British International Pictures, who would not sell the rights to use the characters for Bennett's screenplay. Bennett and Hitchcock turned the film into The Man Who Knew Too Much without Drummond.[45]

Radio

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". A Bulldog Drummond radio series ran on the Mutual Broadcasting System from 13 April 1941 to 12 January 1949. An attempt was made at a revival between 3 January and 28 March 1954. Drummond was initially portrayed by George Coulouris, before being taken over by Santos Ortega and Ned Wever after 1942; Cedric Hardwicke took over in 1954.Template:Sfn

Television

A 30-minute episode of Douglas Fairbanks Presents featured Drummond in "The Ludlow Affair", first broadcast on UK television on 16 December 1956. Drummond was played by Robert Beatty; he was aided by Kelly, played by Michael Ripper.[46] A 1973 BBC documentary Omnibus, "The British Hero", featured Christopher Cazenove playing Drummond, as well as a number of other such heroic characters, including Richard Hannay, Beau Geste and James Bond.[47]

Graphic novels

Adaptations of the first and fourth novels appeared in Super Detective Library #3 and #13 respectively. In 2004 Moonstone Books released a Bulldog Drummond comic book written by William Messner-Loebs and illustrated by Brett Barkley,[48] while in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, a thinly disguised, elderly version of Drummond, called "Hugo Drummond", is one of the three Secret Service agents tasked to hunt down the heroes of the piece.[49]

Reception

The Drummond series proved popular with contemporary audiences, with Bulldog Drummond selling 396,302 copies between 1920 and 1939, exceeding the 100,000-copy benchmark for "best-sellers".Template:Sfn At his peak in the 1920s, McNeile was the highest-paid short-story writer in the world,[50] and it was estimated that in the last five years of his life he was earning around £10,000 a year (approximately Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[".);[51] the Daily Mirror estimated that during his writing career he had earned £85,000.[52]

When reviewing Bulldog Drummond Strikes BackTemplate:Efn for The New York Times, the critic observed that "if you like a good knock-down-and-drag-out yarn with excitement and violence on nearly every page, you can't go wrong on Bulldog Drummond";[53] for the novel Bulldog Drummond at Bay, the reviewer considered that "as a piece of fictional melodrama, the book is first rate".[54] In the British market, The Times Literary Supplement also characterised McNeile as a mass-market thriller writer, which contrasted with its consideration of his earlier works.Template:Sfn

Throughout the Drummond stories, much of the language used by McNeile's characters relating to ethnic minorities or Jews is considered by the academic Joan DelFattore to be "intensely conservative by modern standards";Template:Sfn Green observes that while the characters of other contemporary writers, such as Agatha Christie, "exhibit the inevitable xenophobia and anti-semitism of the period, McNeile's go far beyond the 'polite' norms".Template:Sfn J.D. Bourn considers his language to be "rather distasteful",Template:Sfn while the academic Michael Denning observed that "Drummond is a bundle of chauvinisms, hating Jews, Germans, and most other foreigners".Template:Sfn The author and publisher Ion Trewin comments that for the readers of the 1920s and '30s, McNeile was seen at the time as "simply an upstanding Tory who spoke for many of his countrymen".Template:Sfn

Influence

Drummond later became a model for other literary characters created in the 1940s and 1950s:Template:Sfn W. E. Johns used McNeile's work as a model for his character Biggles,Template:Sfn while Ian Fleming stated that James Bond was "Sapper from the waist up and Mickey Spillane below".Template:Sfn

Notes and references

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

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  44. ↑ British Film Production The Times 1 February 1933
  45. ↑ Chandler, Charlotte (2008). It's Only a Movie: Alfred Hitchcock A Personal Biography, Simon and Schuster, Template:ISBN?
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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Sources

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External links

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Template:Bulldog Drummond Template:Authority control

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