In the Nick of Time…
Phantom Raiders (1940), dir. Jacques Tourneur, w/ Walter Pidgeon (Nick Carter), Donald Meek (Bartholomew the Bee-Man), Joseph Schildkraut (Al Taurig), Nat Pendleton (“Gunboat” Jacklin).
This is the 2nd of only 3 Nick Carter films made with Walter Pidgeon as the detective. I’m not sure why Walter Pidgeon, a British actor, was chosen to play a rough and ready American detective, but he is quite enjoyable to watch. Carter is a strange detective in that he doesn’t seem to want to work, but simply to take it easy. In this film, he has to be cajoled into taking the case by his follower, Bartholomew, perhaps the strangest detective side-kick in film history. A man who raises bees for a living, Bartholomew always has a few on him (in his pocket) which he can use as a means to freaking out the criminal opposition, who are ready for guns, but not bees. In this film, Nick is on vacation and doesn’t want to be bothered, but eventually allows himself to be pulled in to stop a scheme where ships are destroyed to collect on the insurance. It’s a good thing Bartholomew is on the job or Nick might not make it to the third and final film.
Great drama this is not, but it is a pleasant way to spend a little more than an hour.
