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Bulldog Drummond (radio program)

Bulldog Drummond
Other names The Adventures of Bulldog Drummond
The American Adventures of Bulldog Drummond
Genre Crime drama
Running time 30 minutes
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
Syndicates Mutual
Starring George Coulouris
Santos Ortega
Ned Wever
Cedric Hardwicke
Everett Sloane
Luis Van Rooten
Rod Hendrickson
Announcer Ted Brown
Henry Morgan
Written by Allan E. Sloane
Leonard Leslie
Edward J. Adamson
Jay Bennett
Directed by Himan Brown
Produced by Himan Brown
Original release April 13, 1941 – March 28, 1954

For a broader look at the character on which this program was based, see Bulldog Drummond.

Bulldog Drummond was a radio crime drama in the United States. It was broadcast on Mutual April 13, 1941 – March 28, 1954. Garyn G. Roberts wrote in his book, Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context, "With its trademark foghorn, Bulldog Drummond was one of the premiere mystery programs of its time."

Bulldog Drummond was "a British investigator called 'Bulldog' because he was relentless in the pursuit of criminals." The character was created by British author H. C. McNeile. In addition to McNeile's books, Drummond was featured in a series of films from Paramount Pictures in the 1930s. Drummond was described as "a polished man-about-town, whose hobby is crime detection and the apprehension of criminals."

Radio historian John Dunning commented, "With his sidekick Denny, Captain Hugh Drummond solved the usual run of murders, collected the usual run of bumps on the head, and ran afoul of underworld characters ranging from radium thieves to counterfeiters." In a 1948 column in the Oakland Tribune, media critic John Crosby called the program "the first of the more successful exemplars of radio espionage and intrigue."

One notable aspect of Bulldog Drummond was its opening (created by producer-director Himan Brown), which "evoked a London ambiance with footsteps, a foghorn, shots, and three blasts of a police whistle." Following the sound effects, an announcer introduced the program with the line, "Out of the fog ... out of the night ... and into his American adventures ... comes ... Bulldog Drummond."

The program was initially set in Great Britain, but after two months the setting was moved to the United States, thus leading some sources to identify it as The American Adventures of Bulldog Drummond. In another change from the books, the radio program omitted Drummond's wife "and his gaggle of ex-army comrades." He did, however, keep his butler, Denny.


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