The Lone Wolf
| Like Jack Boyle's Boston Blackie,, Louis
Joseph Vance's MICHAEL LANYARD, better known as THE LONE WOLF,
didn't start out as a private eye, but as a criminal. However, like Blackie,
thanks to his numerous re-creations in film, radio and television, The Lone
Wolf is now best remembered these days, if at all, and more often than not,
incorrectly, as a P.I....still, his long career and popularity, and the
changes his character went through, warrant a look....
All of Vance's books feature Lanyard as a charming sort of rogue, a European jewel thief with a soft spot for damsels in distress, trained in the criminal arts by the mysterious Irishman, Bourke. It's said The Lone Wolf was the inspiration for Leslie Chartis' The Saint. He certainly proved to be popular, be he thief, reformed thief, spy or private eye. His first appearance in film was in 1917, only three years after the first novel appeared. He remained a criminal right into the talkies, but by the third effort with sound, 1939's The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt, he was a reformed gentleman thief on the side of the good guys, and by the The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940), he had acquired a valet, Jamison, whose chief job, it seemed, was to provide comic relief, and to become hopelessly entangled in the plots. In 1948, after appearing in fourteen talkies, and perhaps as many as half a dozen silent films, The Lone Wolf moved to radio, and began a new career, with the cultured European jewel thief now an American private eye, even if the cops still didn't trust him. The radio series also proved successful enough to eventually spawn a television series, in 1954. The TV show had a rather schizophrenic hero, with actor Louis Hayward playing the character as a retired French gentleman by day, and the shadowy, wall-crawling Lone Wolf by night. |
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| Virtually all follow a formula type plot, with usually one or several of Charlie's children thinking that they will be an asset in helping their "pop" solve the case. In fact, Charlie had 14 children. | |
These movies are also on DVD...scroll to the bottom of this page
These movies are also on DVD...scroll to the bottom of this page
| Name of "Lone Wolf" Movies | # of Vcds | Cost | Paypal |
| The Lone Wolf and his Lady | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf in Counter Espionage | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf in London | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf in One Dangerous Night | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf in Passport to Suez | 1 | $7.00 | |
| Secrets of the Lone Wolf | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf in Mexico | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf in Paris | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf Returns | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf in Spy Hunt | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf Strikes | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance | 1 | $7.00 | |
| The Notorious Lone Wolf | 1 | $7.00 |
These Movies are available on DVD
| 14 of the above movies on 3 DVD's Cost was $49 new low price $29 |