''The Lone Wolf and His Lady'' is a 1949 American

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by John Hoffman and starring

Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

June Vincent June Vincent (born Dorothy June Smith, July 17, 1920 – November 20, 2008) was an American actress. Life and career Vincent was born in Harrod, Ohio, the daughter of Sybil Irwin and the Rev. Willis E. Smith. Stage Vincent's acting career began ...

and

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in Wo ...

. It is the 15th and final Lone Wolf film produced by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, and was written by Edward Dein and Michael Stuart Boylan. ''The Lone Wolf and His Lady'' features

in his first and only appearance as the former jewel thief turned private detective, the Lone Wolf. (He had played

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, ...

twice.)

Plot

The much-valued Tahara diamond is looted during its opening showcase. A suspicious Inspector Crane (

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

) suspects reformed jewel thief and current private detective Michael Lanyard (

), alias "the Lone Wolf", to be the perpetrator and promptly arrests him. In actuality, the true masterminds are Steve Taylor ( Robert H. Barrat) and Joe Brewster (

Philip van Zandt Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958. Life and career ...

). An eagle-eyed Jamison (

), Lanyard's butler, spots the two criminals' hideout. It is revealed that they are involved with precious stone cutter Myriber Van Groot ( Steven Geray). Nearby news anchor Grace Duffy (

) decides to join Jamison and the Lone Wolf, who has evaded capture, in storming the jewel thieves' hiding spot. Taylor and Brewster are handcuffed but in the middle of the scuffle, the Tahara is accidentally flung out of the window. Upon retrieval by Duffy, the jewel is found to be a fake. Lanyard deduces that Van Groot took away the real diamond and has the police capture him.

Cast

as Michael Lanyard / The Lone Wolf *

as Grace Duffy *

as Jamison, Lanyard's Valet *

as Inspector J.D. Crane *

Collette Lyons Collette Lyons (October 3, 1908 – October 5, 1986) was an American stage, film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences ...

as Marta Frisbie *

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

as John J. Murdock * James Todd as Tanner * Steven Geray as Mynher Van Groot *

Robert Barrat Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor. Early years Barratt was born on July 10, 1891, in New York City and was educated in the public schools there. He ...

as Steve Taylor (credited as Robert H. Barrat)

Production

After

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

stopped portraying the title character Lone Wolf, also known as Michael Lanyard, the production company and distributor Columbia Pictures selected Australian actor Ron Randell as his replacement. In addition, Alan Mowbray replaced

Eric Blore Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...

as Lanyard's butler Jamison. Randell's casting was announced in July 1948. Columbia said they hoped to star Randell in "three or four" of these movies "if they click".

Lois Maxwell Lois Ruth Maxwell (born Lois Ruth Hooker; 14 February 1927 – 29 September 2007) was a Canadian actress who portrayed Miss Moneypenny in the first fourteen Eon-produced ''James Bond'' films (1962–1985). She was the first actress to play the ...

was announced as his co star. John Hoffman served as director of the film. Rudolph C. Flothow was in charge of production for Columbia Pictures, while Michael Stuart Boylan wrote the screenplay based on a story by Richard Dein.

Philip Tannura Philip Tannura (March 28, 1897 – December 7, 1973) was an American cinematographer who worked on over a hundred films during his career. Tannura also directed and acted in several short films and worked on a number of Three Stooges shorts as c ...

signed on as cinematographer. The set decorator was James Crowe. Mischa Bakaleinikoff headed the musical direction, and James Sweeney edited the film. Principal photography officially began on August 9, 1948, and ended on August 20, 1948.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' said the film "fills out the prescribed running time". ''Variety'' said "it answers all demands for the supporting market."Review of movie
at Variety Film historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

described the film as, "The Wolf turns newshound to cover the exhibition of a famous gem, and of course it's stolen, and of course he's suspected. Randell previously helped kill the Bulldog Drummond series, and does the same here in this final entry. Mowbray inherits Eric Blore's role as Jamison the valet." As a "relaunch" of the series, ''The Lone Wolf and His Lady'' was not considered successful, subsequently, Columbia ended the film series.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * . * . * . * .

External links

* *
Review of film
at Variety {{DEFAULTSORT:Lone Wolf and His Lady, The 1949 films 1949 crime films American crime films Columbia Pictures films American black-and-white films The Lone Wolf films Films directed by John Hoffman 1940s American films