The Lone Wolf Keeps A Date
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''The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date'' (1941) is the sixth
Lone Wolf A lone wolf is a wolf not belonging to a pack. Lone wolf or Lone Wolf may also refer to: Literature *''Lone Wolf'', a book by Kathryn Lasky, part of the series called ''Wolves of the Beyond'' *''Lone Wolf and Cub'', a 1970 Japanese graphic nov ...
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 ...
. It features
Warren William Warren William (born Warren William Krech; December 2, 1894 – September 24, 1948) was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, immensely popular during the early 1930s; he was later nicknamed the "King of Pre-Code". He was the first actor to play Pe ...
, in his fourth appearance as the title character Lone Wolf, and Edward Gargan, Lester Matthews and Don Beddoe as the film's antagonists. The film was directed by
Sidney Salkow Sidney Salkow (June 16, 1911 – October 18, 2000) was an American film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulf ...
and written by Salkow and Earl Felton. The film centers on former jewel thief Michael Lanyard, also known by his alias Lone Wolf, who aims to recover his stamp collection and rescues a damsel in distress. Filming took place in August and September 1940. ''The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date'' was released in the United States in January 1941.


Plot

After adding a rare Cuban stamp to his coveted collection and admonishing his butler Jamison for winning money in a rigged
dice game Dice games are games that use or incorporate one or more dice as their sole or central component, usually as a random device. The following are games which largely, if not entirely, depend on dice: Collectible dice games Patterned after the su ...
in Havana, retired jewel thief and unofficial private detective Michael Lanyard (the Lone Wolf), flies to Miami, meeting gorgeous Patricia Lawrence aboard the
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
. Initially reserved, Lawrence confides in Lanyard about her troubles; one of her boyfriend Scotty's clients was killed some time ago after retaining Scotty to send a package stuffed with $100,000 in
bank note A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...
s. At the Miami airport, they are ambushed by kidnappers Chimp and Mr. Lee, employees of Big Joe Brady. The Lone Wolf swiftly outruns the criminals with Lawrence. He hides the retrieved stack of money in a hotel safe, but he is discovered by Inspector Crane and his buffoonish assistant Wesley Dickens along with Miami police captain Moon. Lanyard evades capture and sets out to expose the three villains on his own. The detective also realizes that his prized stamp collection has been swiped by Big Joe Brady. He tracks them down and has them arrested. After many chases, double-crosses and switches, the Lone Wolf exonerates himself and mulls missing an important
philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...
convention with his prize collection.


Cast


Production

The Lone Wolf title character is played by Warren William, his fourth time doing so. Although
Walter Baldwin Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born in Lima, Ohio, into a theat ...
is listed in studio documents as playing a night watchman in the film, he did not actually appear in it.
Sidney Salkow Sidney Salkow (June 16, 1911 – October 18, 2000) was an American film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulf ...
directed the film for Columbia Pictures, while Salkow and Earl Felton cowrote the screenplay based on the detective character created by
Louis Joseph Vance Louis Joseph Vance (September 19, 1879 – December 16, 1933) was an American novelist, screenwriter and film producer. He created the popular character Michael Lanyard, a criminal-turned-detective known as The Lone Wolf. Biography Louis Jo ...
in a series of eight novels published between 1914 and 1934. Barney McGill was the film's as cinematographer, Morris Stoloff headed the musical direction and Richard Fantl edited the film. Principal photography began on August 21, 1940 and ended in mid-September 1940.


Release and reception

Through the release print lists a copyright date of 1940, the film was officially released in North American cinemas in January 1941. It is alternatively known as ''Revenge of the Lone Wolf'' and ''Alias the Lone Wolf''. In his 2010 book ''Mystery Movie Series of 1940s Hollywood,'' Ron Backer wrote that the film "is the best of the Warren William Lone Wolf movies," although "it seems to lack that certain something that made the earlier Lone Wolf movies so entertaining." He concluded that the film made "a good entry in the Lone Wolf series, with less sexual violence this time round." In contrast,
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 fil ...
wrote in his ''Movie & Video Guide'' (1998) that the film was "listless."


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lone Wolf Keeps a Date 1940 films American crime films 1940 crime films Columbia Pictures films American black-and-white films The Lone Wolf films Films directed by Sidney Salkow 1940s American films