''The Lone Wolf in Mexico'' is a 1947 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

film directed by D. Ross Lederman for

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

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 ...

as the title character, detective Lone Wolf. Chronologically the third-to-last Lone Wolf film in Columbia's theatrical series, it was followed by ''

The Lone Wolf in London ''The Lone Wolf in London'' is a 1947 American crime film directed by Leslie Goodwins and starring Gerald Mohr, Nancy Saunders and Eric Blore. The picture features the fictional Scotland Yard detective the Lone Wolf who travels to London, and ...

'' later in 1947 and '' The Lone Wolf and His Lady'' in 1949.

Plot

Former jewel thief Michael Lanyard (The Lone Wolf) (

) along with his butler, Jamison (

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 ...

), go to Mexico on vacation. Lanyard, once a thief has been working as a private investigator. Liliane Dumont ( Jacqueline deWit), one of the Lone Wolf's old flames, and Mrs. Van Weir (

Winifred Harris Winifred Vera Emily Harris (17 March 1880 – 18 April 1972) was a British actress with a substantial career in America. She appeared in New York plays beginning in 1914 and acted in numerous plays up to 1934. She left Broadway plays for films tho ...

) invite Lanyard and Jamison to dinner at Henderson's (

John Gallaudet John Beury Gallaudet (August 23, 1903 – November 5, 1983) was an American film and television actor. Career Gallaudet was born in Philadelphia and attended Williams College. His Broadway credits included ''Good Men and True'' (1935), ''Lost ...

) El Paseo nightclub . They meet Sharon Montgomery (

Sheila Ryan Sheila Ryan (born Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin, June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who appeared in more than 60 movies. Career Born in Topeka, Kansas, Ryan went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. Her acting career b ...

), a jeweller's spouse and gambling addict, who has lost a fortune at the casino. Leon Dumont (

Bernard Nedell Bernard Jay Nedell (October 14, 1898 – November 23, 1972) was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1916 and 1972. He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California. He was married to actress Olive Blak ...

), deWit's husband, tries to enlist Lanyard in a jewel theft. Jamison takes Montgomery home, but when he is not looking, she slips a valuable compact into his coat pocket. After the Lone Wolf steals a necklace, he discovers it is a fake and replaces it back in the nightclub safe. When Dumont is murdered, Montgomery accuses Lanyard of the murder and Jamison of stealing her compact. Mrs. Van Weir is also heavily in debt with Henderson demanding her precious necklace to clear her gambling losses. Montgomery blackmails Henderson and tries to warn Lanyard but is also murdered, leaving him no alternative, he must track down the criminal mastermind behind the murders. Mrs. Van Weir plots with Henderson but her worthless necklace is what gives her away and Lanyard calls in the police to bring Henderson and Van Weir, the real murderer to justice.

Cast

as Michael Lanyard *

as Sharon Montgomery * Jacqueline deWit as Liliane Dumont *

as Jamison *

Nestor Paiva Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American actor of Portuguese descent. He is most famous for his recurring role of Teo Gonzales the innkeeper in Walt Disney's Spanish Western series ''Zorro'' and its feature film ''The ...

as Carlos Rodriguez *

as Henderson *

as Leon Dumont *

as Mrs. Van Weir * Peter Brocco as Emil * Alan Edwards as Charles Montgomery * Fred Godoy as Captain Mendez * Jose Portugal as Policeman

Production

''The Lone Wolf in Mexico'' was directed by D. Ross Lederman and was written by Martin Goldsmith, Maurice Tombragel and Phil Magee. After a sickly Warren Williams decided to discontinue playing the title detective Michael Landyard, also known as Lone Wolf, Gerald Mohr was roped in by Columbia Pictures, the producer and the distributor, to play the character in ''

The Notorious Lone Wolf ''The Notorious Lone Wolf'' (1946) is the twelfth Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures. The picture features Gerald Mohr in his inaugural performance as the protagonist detective Lone Wolf, Janis Carter, and Ian Wolfe as Adam Wainwright, ...

'' (1946) and ''

'' (1947), as well as ''The Lone Wolf in Mexico''.Maye
2012, p. 256.
/ref> ''The Lone Wolf in Mexico'' marked the penultimate Lone Wolf film in which Mohr starred as the title character.Maltin et al
2010, p. 385.
/ref> Principal photography with the working title of ''The Lone Wolf's Invitation to Murder'', commenced on September 4, 1946, and finished on September 18, 1946, taking place in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

.Blottne
2012, p. 248.
/ref>

Reception

''The Lone Wolf in Mexico'' was theatrically released in the United States on January 16, 1947. It was written to be a "hit" at the box office. The film was still screening in American cinemas up till at least July 21, 1947. It was followed up with ''The Lone Wolf in London'' (1947z) and ''The Lone Wolf and His Lady'' (1949), after which Columbia decided to bring an end to the film series. The ''Blockbusters Entertainment Guide to Movies and Videos 1999'' found the film to be only "so-so".''Blockbuster Entertainment Guide to Movies and Videos 1999'', 1998, p. 717.
/ref>

References

Notes

Bibliography

* ''Blockbuster Entertainment Guide to Movies and Videos 1999''. Mercer Island, Washington:, Island Books, 1998. . * Blottner, Gene. ''Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926-1955: The Harry Cohn Years''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012. . * Dunkleberger, Amy, Patricia K. Hanson and Bill Ivey, eds. ''AFI Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States''. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 1999, first edition 1971. . * Maltin, Leonard, Spencer Green and Rob Edelman. ''Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965''. New York: Plume, 2010. . * Mayer, Geoff. ''Historical Dictionary of Crime Films''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2012. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lone Wolf in Mexico 1947 films 1947 mystery films 1947 crime drama films American crime drama films American mystery films American black-and-white films American detective films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by D. Ross Lederman Films set in Mexico The Lone Wolf films 1940s American films