Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Michael_Elliott The Drums of Jeopardy (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Mildly entertaining mix of melodrama, horror and thriller as Dr. Boris Karlov (Warner Oland) seeks vengeance against the noble family he blames for the death of his daughter. The "drums", of the title, refers to a mysterious necklace that the doctor steals and whoever gets a piece of it is officially warned that they're going to die next. As far as "B" mystery-horror-thrillers go, THE DRUMS OF JEOPARDY isn't too bad but at the same time it's not all that good either. If you've seen enough of these types of films from the 1930's then you know that it seems they were being released weekly so you never quite know what you're going to get. Some of them feature nice budgets that allow their director's to do something with their weak screenplays whereas others have no effort behind them. This film is really split into two because it appears the first half was working on a decent budget and it almost feels as it was slashed because the second half of the picture takes away most of the action and instead features mostly dialogue scenes.The first half of the film is without question the best because it gives us a great set-up and a pretty effective scene as the grieving father confronts his dying daughter and this is followed up with a scene where he witnesses her death and takes it out on the family. From here we're given a couple effective murders scenes including one where we just see the shadows of the killer's hand going towards the victim. With that said, the second half really gets dragged down due to some boring locations as well as some dialogue scenes that just really drag on without much excitement.Oland, coming off playing Dr. FuManchu and a getting ready to take on a long Charlie Chan series, is in fine form, although, to be fair, this is the type of role that he could have played in his sleep. He's at least got enough energy to help carry the picture and a certain screen presence to help take the lower tier screenplay and bring it up a notch. The supporting cast isn't nearly in the same league and no one really stands out among them. THE DRUMS OF JEOPARDY isn't going to win any major awards and there are certainly much better thrillers out there but if you're a fan of the genre or Oland it's still worth watching.

kidboots Even though Harold McGrath's novel "The Drums of Jeopardy" had been filmed in 1923 with Wallace Beery, Tiffany's all talking remake featured Warner Oland and was actually a reworking of Florence Ryerson's script "The Return of Fu Manchu" - a character that by 1931 Oland had made his own. It may have been only a Tiffany (probably the most prestigious of poverty row studios) but this must be one of Oland's best films and Mischa Auer, who for years had been playing eccentric bits, finally broke out with his characterization of a decandent syncophant.When scientist Dr. Boris Karlov (Oland) learns his daughter has attempted suicide but refuses to divulge her lover's name, he finds one clue - a necklace known as the "drums of jeopardy", that belongs to the aristocratic Petrov family. Doesn't take the viewer long to figure out which is the cad - the guilty, shifty looks of Prince Gregor (Wallace MacDonald) leave no doubt and with Karlov vowing to return the drums "one - by - one" (as only Oland can deliver that line) the game is now afoot!!1930, New York and Karlov has managed to intercept a letter to Martin Kent (Hale Hamilton) in which the desperate Petrov's ask for help before the crazed Karlov wipes out the entire family!! It's hard not to feel pity for Karlov - for coming to Petrov's house and confronting the family about the suicide of his daughter (Florence Lake, older sister of Arthur) he was sent to Siberia but with the Petrovs fleeing to America, he has more than had his revenge.This is just a rip snorter action packed film - before the boat docks, Nicholas (trusty Lloyd Hamilton) and Gregor are just one step ahead of Karlov, sometimes not even that!! Nicholas receives a blow to the head and finally collapses after convincing apartment owner Kitty (luminous June Collyer) that he is not a bad guy and getting her and her crotchety aunt (Clara Blandick) thoroughly involved in the doings of the mad doctor. For once the romance doesn't slow down the action - Collyer is not a damsel in distress but a vital part of the proceeding - it's the men who are collapsing around her!!A highlight of the film are the witty exchanges between criminologist Martin Kent and Karlov ("I'm disappointed in you Kent, I didn't think you would have walked into my trap so blindly", "Would it surprise you to find out I deliberately let your man lead me here etc...") Gregor, the real villain goes to Karlov's laboratory to point the finger at his unsuspecting brother in exchange for his life. The laboratory is a treasure trove of bubbling test tubes ("I am just going to test this mixture" ... and as the room is filled with blood curdling screams - "Ah yes, it's perfect"!!) - there is also a dungeon where Nick and Kitty are thrown. Nick has to kill Kitty with this huge butcher's knife ("as you killed my daughter, so you must kill the one you love" drawls Karlov who still believes Gregor's lies). Once back with his test tubes he chortles that he hopes they look for an escape, as they loosen the bricks water spurts from nowhere, quick enough to send them to a watery grave!!The production has a sumptuous look - lavish sets (the Petrov palace with a huge oval dining table, an art deco studio flat that has more of the look of a Park Avenue penthouse, an ocean liner and a State of the Arts laboratory)!!!!

nylaandrew Totally implausible/ridiculous but good fun. A pre-Charlie Chan Warner Oland, a Swede, is Russian this time. He's bent on revenge and hams it up all the way.Neither Oland or the other Russian characters utter a word of Russian. The fleeing royals reach New York and bump into an ingenue and her peppery aunt who, of course, shelter the strangers in their country house. Wouldn't you?The lights go out more than once. The phone is dead. A claw-like hand jumps out of the curtain to grab the girl. Stuff used a thousand times. The plot creaks and the print used for the DVD is battered, but you could do worse for an early talkie.Mischa Auer lurks around in a pre-screwball role.

gengar843 WARNING: SPOILERS: It doesn't matter to me how many reference books place this under the genre "fantastic cinema," this does not qualify. The only possible "horror" is that Warner Oland is a bit more sadistic than the normal grieving father, but then again I've seen Mel Gibson in revenge films that far surpassed this one - and Gibson's are not horror either. In fact, "Karlov" (nod to Boris) is more akin to Lenin in this film so, in that regard, this is an anti-Communist message. As for the supposed "curse" of the jewelry, it's a mcguffin that has only a few moments, and no real link to the film. On to "science fiction," the closest we come is a mysterious formula that we know nothing of, that has an effect we don't see. The mere idea that he's a "scientist" is of little interest, even if, in the beginning of the film, we see him tinkering with some test tubes in a secret lab.Now, the film itself is OK, with many clichéd characters, such as Oland's "Fu Manchu" type, gangsters, cops, spunky women, etc. Additionally, the print I saw was choppy with much film damage, but I tried not to let it cloud my judgment. 6 of 10.