# The Lone Wolf Strikes > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Lone_Wolf_Strikes > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Lone_Wolf_Strikes.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lone_Wolf_Strikes > Source revision: 1339379353 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1940 film directed by Sidney Salkow The Lone Wolf Strikes Theatrical poster for the film Directed by Sidney Salkow Screenplay by Harry Segall Albert Duffy Story by Dalton Trumbo Based on characters created by Louis Joseph Vance Produced by Fred Kohlmar Starring Warren William Joan Perry Eric Blore Cinematography Henry Freulich Edited by Al Clark Music by M. W. Stoloff Production company Columbia Pictures Release date January 26, 1940 (1940-01-26) (US)[1] Running time 66 minutes Country United States Language English ***The Lone Wolf Strikes*** is a 1940 American crime [drama](/source/Drama) film directed by [Sidney Salkow](/source/Sidney_Salkow) starring [Warren William](/source/Warren_William), [Joan Perry](/source/Joan_Perry), and [Eric Blore](/source/Eric_Blore).[2] The [Lone Wolf](/source/Lone_Wolf_(character)) character dates back to 1914, when author [Louis Joseph Vance](/source/Louis_Joseph_Vance) invented him for a series of books, later adapted to [twenty-four Lone Wolf films](/source/Lone_Wolf_(character)#Films) (1917–1949).[3] Warren William starred in nine of these films (1939–1943). His next film was *[The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady](/source/The_Lone_Wolf_Meets_a_Lady)*, later the same year.[4] ## Plot Wealthy banker Phillip Jordan is taken in by Binnie Weldon, a younger woman. He graciously offers her the use of a very valuable pearl necklace for her birthday celebration. She has no trouble switching it for a good imitation and giving the real one to her boyfriend, Jim Ryder. However, Jordan breaks the necklace, and the jeweler he takes them to detects the forgery. Jordan telephones Weldon that he will be coming to collect the real necklace. However, Ryder arranges a fatal car crash instead. Stanley Young, Jordan's partner, asks his friend Michael Lanyard, the notorious "Lone Wolf", for help. Lanyard has given up his shady activities but owes Young a big favor, so he accepts the challenge, much to the delight of his bored valet, Jamison. Meanwhile, Delia, Phillip Jordan's daughter, has met Ralph Bolton on a sea voyage and likes him very much, not suspecting that the man is a crook. He reports to his boss Alberts that Lanyard is now involved. Despite Lanyard's reputation, Alberts is unworried; in fact, he plans to let Lanyard retrieve the necklace and then take it from him. Lanyard manages to learn that the [fence](/source/Fence_(criminal)) Ryder plans to sell the pearls to is his old friend Emil Gorlick. Delia follows Lanyard to Gorlick's hotel. Lanyard confirms Gorlick is to see Weldon and Ryder that night (and that they have never met), then ties up Gorlick and takes his place. Delia, unconvinced by Lanyard's explanation, peeps through the keyhole of Gorlick's room. However, she is spotted by the [hotel detective](/source/Hotel_detective), who unties Gorlick. Delia flees in a taxi, but Gorlick joins her and produces a pistol. However, Lanyard is able to take the necklace before Gorlick arrives. He gives it to Young, who gifts him the fake as a memento. Young makes the mistake of informing Bolton of the recovery of the pearls. Meanwhile, Ryder telephones Lanyard and demands the necklace for Delia. Lanyard gives the thieves the fake. Lanyard explains the situation to Delia, and they go to Young's place, but find him dead and the pearls gone. Lanyard takes the fake necklace from Ryder at gunpoint and locks him and Weldon in a closet. He then has the story spread that the second set of crooks got the fake, and that the real pearls were returned to Delia. Alberts' gang goes to the Jordan mansion. Lanyard appears, convinces them he has the pearls, and leads them on a car chase to a [ferry](/source/Ferry). Jamison (at Lanyard's instruction) drives aboard too, with the police trailing him, looking for the man they think murdered Young. When the ferry sails, the crooks have nowhere to run. ## Cast - [Warren William](/source/Warren_William) as Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf - [Joan Perry](/source/Joan_Perry) as Delia Jordan - [Eric Blore](/source/Eric_Blore) as Jamison - [Alan Baxter](/source/Alan_Baxter_(actor)) as Jim Ryder - [Astrid Allwyn](/source/Astrid_Allwyn) as Binnie Weldon - [Montagu Love](/source/Montagu_Love) as Emil Gorlick - [Robert Wilcox](/source/Robert_Wilcox_(actor)) as Ralph Bolton - [Don Beddoe](/source/Don_Beddoe) as Conroy [Chief of Police] - [Fred A. Kelsey](/source/Fred_A._Kelsey) as Dickens [a policeman] - [Addison Richards](/source/Addison_Richards) as Stanley Young - Roy Gordon as Phillip Jordan - Harland Tucker as Alberts - [George Lynn](/source/George_Lynn_(actor)) as Dorgan (credited as Peter Lynn) [Alberts' other henchman] ## Critical reception *[The Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin)* wrote: "This is a good, made-to-measure, suspenseful film, although the plot is at times a trifle confused. Warren William is an attractive hero, Eric Blore an amusing and resourceful butler, while Joan Perry makes a charming heroine."[5] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-AFI_1-0)** ["The Lone Wolf Strikes: Detail View"](http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6772). American Film Institute. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170828014731/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6772) from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-BFIsearch_2-0)** ["The Lone Wolf Strikes"](https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150035332). *British Film Institute Collections Search*. Retrieved February 7, 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Arnold, Jeremy. ["Articles: The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110728112813/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81717/The-Lone-Wolf-Spy-Hunt/#articles-reviews). *[Turner Classic Movies](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81717/the-lone-wolf-spy-hunt#articles-reviews) on July 28, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Blottner, Gene (2011). "The Lone Wolf". *Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926–1955: The Harry Cohn Years*. McFarland. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780786486724](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780786486724). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The Lone Wolf Strikes"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305805924). *[The Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin)*. **7** (73): 113. January 1, 1940. [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest) [1305805924](https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305805924). ## External links - [*The Lone Wolf Strikes*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032726/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*The Lone Wolf Strikes*](https://web.archive.org/web/1/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81718/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb) (archived) - [*The Lone Wolf Strikes*](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/6772) at the *[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](/source/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films)* v t e Lone Wolf films Silent films The Lone Wolf (1917) The False Faces (1919) The Lone Wolf's Daughter (1919) The Lone Wolf (1924) The Lone Wolf Returns (1926) Alias the Lone Wolf (1927) Sound films The Lone Wolf's Daughter (1929) Last of the Lone Wolf (1930) Cheaters at Play (1932) The Lone Wolf Returns (1935) The Lone Wolf in Paris (1938) The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940) The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940) The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1941) The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance (1941) Secrets of the Lone Wolf (1941) Counter-Espionage (1942) One Dangerous Night (1943) Passport to Suez (1943) The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946) The Lone Wolf in Mexico (1947) The Lone Wolf in London (1947) The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949) Actors Warren William (9 films as Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf) Bert Lytell (5 as Lanyard) Gerald Mohr (3 as Lanyard) Henry B. Walthall (1 as Lanyard) Bertram Grassby (1 as Lanyard) Jack Holt (1 as Lanyard) Thomas Meighan (1 as Lanyard) Melvyn Douglas (1 as Lanyard) Francis Lederer (1 as Lanyard) Ron Randell (1 as Lanyard) Eric Blore (11 as Jamison/Jameson, the Lone Wolf's butler and assistant) v t e Films directed by Sidney Salkow Four Days' Wonder (1936) Girl Overboard (1937) That's My Story (1937) Behind the Mike (1937) The Night Hawk (1938) Storm Over Bengal (1938) Fighting Thoroughbreds (1939) She Married a Cop (1939) Flight at Midnight (1939) Street of Missing Men (1939) Woman Doctor (1939) The Zero Hour (1939) Cafe Hostess (1940) Girl from God's Country (1940) The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1940) The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940) The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940) The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance (1941) Tillie the Toiler (1941) Time Out for Rhythm (1941) The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942) Flight Lieutenant (1942) City Without Men (1943) The Boy from Stalingrad (1943) Faithful in My Fashion (1946) Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947) Millie's Daughter (1947) Sword of the Avenger (1948) Shadow of the Eagle (1950) Fugitive Lady (1951) The Golden Hawk (1952) Scarlet Angel (1952) The Pathfinder (1952) Prince of Pirates (1953) Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953) Jack McCall, Desperado (1953) Sitting Bull (1954) Las Vegas Shakedown (1955) Robbers' Roost (1955) Toughest Man Alive (1955) Gun Brothers (1956) Chicago Confidential (1957) Gun Duel in Durango (1957) The Iron Sheriff (1957) The Big Night (1960) Twice-Told Tales (1963) Blood on the Arrow (1964) The Quick Gun (1964) The Last Man on Earth (1964) The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) The Murder Game (1965) v t e Dalton Trumbo Screenplays Road Gang (1936) Love Begins at 20 (1936) Devil's Playground (1937) Fugitives for a Night (1938) A Man to Remember (1938) Five Came Back (1939) Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939) Sorority House (1939) The Flying Irishman (1939) Curtain Call (1940) A Bill of Divorcement (1940) Kitty Foyle (1940) The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940) We Who Are Young (1940) You Belong to Me (1941) The Remarkable Andrew (1942) Tender Comrade (1944) A Guy Named Joe (1944) Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) Gun Crazy (1950) He Ran All the Way (1951) Rocketship X-M (1951) The Prowler (1951) Roman Holiday (1953) Carnival Story (1954) They Were So Young (1954) The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) The Boss (1956) The Brave One (1956) The Deerslayer (1957) The Green-Eyed Blonde (1957) From the Earth to the Moon (1958) Cowboy (1958) Spartacus (1960) Exodus (1960) The Last Sunset (1961) Town Without Pity (1961) Lonely Are the Brave (1962) The Sandpiper (1965) Hawaii (1966) The Fixer (1968) The Horsemen (1971) F.T.A. (1972) Executive Action (1973) Papillon (1973) Ishi: The Last of His Tribe (1978) Screenplay/Directed Johnny Got His Gun (1971) Novels Eclipse (1935) Johnny Got His Gun (1939) Night of the Aurochs (1979) Adaptations Roman Holiday (1987) Portrayals The Hollywood Ten (1950 documentary) Hollywood on Trial (1976 documentary) Trumbo (2007 documentary) Trumbo (2015 film) Related Christopher Trumbo (son) Hollywood blacklist Cortes (unproduced miniseries, based on Trumbo's screenplay Montezuma) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Lone Wolf Strikes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lone_Wolf_Strikes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lone_Wolf_Strikes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.