Bryan Edgar Wallace Movies
- 1940
Will Fyffe makes another appearance as Mr. Reeder, the seemingly absent-minded Scotland Yard sleuth created by Edgar Wallace. This time, the canny Reeder is hot on the trail of a counterfeiting gang. In his own disshevelled fashion, he puts the criminals off guard long enough to swoop in for the kill in the final reel. Among the suspects is George Curzon, the eye-twitching murderer from Hitchcock's Young and Innocent. In keeping with his character's essential Britishness, Will Fyffe dispenses with his trademarked Scottish accent in this outing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Will Fyffe, Kay Walsh, (more)
- 1939
Inspector Hornleigh was the first of three lively British crime films inspired by the popular BBC radio serial "Monday Night at Eight". Hornleigh is played by Gordon Harker, while Alastair Sim assumes the comic-relief responsibilities inherent in the character of Sergeant Bingham. The "maguffin" in this film is a set of bags stolen from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Hornleigh and Bingham set about to retrieve. The principal suspect is an unscrupulous millionaire who hopes to corner the British stock market. Based on characters created by Hans Wolgang Priwin, Inspector Hornleigh inspired two cinematic sequels, both filmed in 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim, (more)
- 1937
Raoul Walsh, best remembered for his rough-and-tumble action pictures, made this film on a rare loan-out to a British studio. Jim Tracey (Wallace Ford) is an American gangster who, while on the run from the law, flees to England, where he joins the British army by posing as a Canadian. Jim and his new friend Bert Dawson (John Mills) go through training together, and they both get to know Sally Briggs (Anna Lee), the daughter of their commanding officer. While Jim and Bert vie for Sally's attentions, Jim discovers that his girlfriend Jean Burdett (Grace Bradley) has followed him to England and is threatening to reveal his true identity. Jim ships out to China with his regiment before Jean's word can get too far; it turns out that Sally is also on board the ship, but that bit of good news turns sour when band of Chinese bandits attempt to seize the ship and take Sally with them. O.H.M.S. was also released under the more American-sounding title You're in the Army Now. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wallace Ford, John Mills, (more)
- 1937
Raised by her wealthy relatives, young October (Constance Cummings) balks when her guardians hand-pick her prospective husband (James Arnold). In a fit of pique, she declares that she'd sooner marry a hobo, which serves as a cue for the appearance of "gentleman tramp" Quigley (Hugh Sinclair). Forced to go through with the wedding, October is marching down the aisle when Quigley, who's been plied with liquor by the jealous bridegroom, shows up unexpectedly. The groom mockingly asks October if she still prefers the inebriated Quigley; she does, and as luck would have it, Quigley is really a nobleman in disguise. A cousin of the jilted bridegroom hires a couple of American thugs (Noah Beery, David Burns) to knock off Quigley, whereupon the film veers towards its unexpectedly melodramatic denouement. Strangers on Honeymoon is based on the equally schizophrenic Edgar Wallace yarn The Northern Tramp. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Constance Cummings, Hugh Sinclair, (more)
- 1937
Based on an Edgar Wallace novel, this is an involved story of the consequences within the underworld of a big-time diamond heist. It also tells the story of a disgraced inspector who is trying to catch the infamous jewel fence known as the "Squeaker" to help clear his name again. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Sebastian Shaw, (more)
- 1935
Claude Rains is a phony psychic who makes a good living fleecing the suckers with his wild prognostications. But after Rains is plagued by severe headaches, he discovers that he truly does have "visions". Suddenly his predictions begin to come true, and Rains is elevated to a position of prominence in European social and political circles. Despite the protestations of his loving wife (Fay Wray), Rains becomes intoxicated by his own power, which leads to disaster. Also known as The Evil Mind, The Clairvoyant is an elaborate British-made cautionary fable, with an excellent performance by Claude Rains and a remarkably good one from Fay Wray. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Claude Rains, Fay Wray, (more)
- 1934
Its title inspired by Albert Chevalier's world-famous music-hall ballad, My Old Dutch is a treacly tale of mother love. Marrying against her wealthy father's wishes, young Betty Balfour is left a widow when her husband is killed in WW I. Doing her best to raise her baby by herself, Balfour is challenged by her own father, who wishes to gain custody of the child and raise him in a "proper atmosphere." All sorts of misfortunes are heaped upon the hapless heroine before the tear-stained climax. The screenplay for My Old Dutch was put together by two "second generation" screenwriters, Leslie Arliss (son of George) and Bryan Wallace (son of Edgar). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Betty Balfour, Gordon Harker, (more)
- 1933
White Face was one of the last cinematic endeavors of the prolific novelist Edgar Wallace, who died several months before the film's release (his son Bryan worked on the screenplay). In typical Wallace fashion, the story concerns a master criminal who adopts a clever disguise to throw the coppers off the scent. In this case, the miscreant is a blackmailer, known only as "White Face." Reporter Michael Seeley (Hugh Williams) and Scotland Yard inspector Mason (Norman McKinnel) team up to track down the elusive crook, with the aid of a doctor (John H. Roberts) who seems to know a lot more than he should. For the benefit of American audiences, the soundtrack of White Face was redubbed to eliminate the original film's thick, sometimes impenetrable regional dialects. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1932
A young woman seeks to avenge her brother's death after she returns from a Parisian art school in this thriller. She does so by joining a gang of narcotics smugglers. She then discovers that her brother was killed by a police inspector who knew full well that he was planning to leave the gang and go straight. Somehow the girl falls in love with her brother's killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carol Goodner, Harold Huth, (more)
- 1932
The Criminal at Large in this quota quickie murders his victims in the dark of night. There seems to be a pattern to the killer's activities, but darned if Chief Inspector Tanner (Norman McKinnel) can figure it out. It looks as though dilettante sleuth Lord Lebanon (Emlyn Williams) will have to come to Scotland Yard's rescue, as the killer stalks his prey in a musty old castle. Criminal at Large was based on Edgar Wallace's stage play The Frightened Lady (which was also the film's alternate title). Wallace also worked on the screenplay -- one of his final assignments before his untimely death in 1933. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Emlyn Williams, Cathleen Nesbitt, (more)
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