Sometimes you just can't retire. We know this guy will never settle in peacefully. The plot is simplistic but it does carry us along and there is quite a good villain, even though he acts rather stupidly at times. As a matter of fact, he is so careless, it's a wonder he wasn't caught numerous times. Also, we have the carelessness of protagonist, who sees but doesn't see. We really ought to be protecting, even if we don't know where the danger lies (sort of like the guys in the Lugosi Dracula leaving the scene of a potential tack on the heroine and dinging around). There is some pretty good stock footage here, lots of fires, and a plot that, though predictable, works OK. Take a look at it if you have a chance.
13 Reviews
George Pembroke is the reason to watch
kidboots9 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
J. Farrell MacDonald was a fantastic character actor who seemed to play roles where Captain or Sergeant preceded his name. His role in this film is reminiscent of his role in "The Phantom Express" (1932) in which he plays a retired railway worker who comes back to solve a series of murders. The female lead in that film was the beautiful Sally Blane, whose sister, Polly Ann Young, is the female star of "The Last Alarm".
Captain Jim Hadley (J. Farrell MacDonald) has just retired from the fire department and is not too happy about it. He is bored and the only people that have any time for him are his old cronies. An arsonist has put fear into the city and Jim is just itching to get involved. The fire sequences are very exciting (obviously stock footage of real fires and explosions). When Jim's retirement buddy dies in the latest fire, Jim is determined to find out who is lighting the fires.
His daughter, Joan, (Polly Ann Young) has her eye on a pair of ornate salt and pepper shakers in an antique shop window. It is completely obvious that the proprietor is the pyromaniac. He lights fires in the back room of his shop and he gets a mad gleam in his eye whenever he sees flames. When he delivers the salt and pepper shakers and Joan lights a match he almost goes into a trance. Of course Joan is then suspicious.
George Pembroke is fantastic as the pyromaniac with his maniacal grin and glittering glasses. He also has a stature of Vulcan, God of Fire in his shop window, that he takes to the fires with him. When he drops the stature at one of the fires, Jim picks it up and puts it in the back of his car but it mysteriously disappears. The case is solved but not before Joan and her mother (popular character actress Mary Gordon) are menaced by the pyromaniac, who tries to burn down their house.
Polly Ann Young, the oldest of the Young sisters, retired soon after this film to wed. She didn't have the career of Loretta or Sally, starring in a few westerns, one "The Man From Utah" with John Wayne. Also did anyone think the brush salesman that Jim cornered for a chat sounded very much like Elmer Fudd????
Recommended.
Captain Jim Hadley (J. Farrell MacDonald) has just retired from the fire department and is not too happy about it. He is bored and the only people that have any time for him are his old cronies. An arsonist has put fear into the city and Jim is just itching to get involved. The fire sequences are very exciting (obviously stock footage of real fires and explosions). When Jim's retirement buddy dies in the latest fire, Jim is determined to find out who is lighting the fires.
His daughter, Joan, (Polly Ann Young) has her eye on a pair of ornate salt and pepper shakers in an antique shop window. It is completely obvious that the proprietor is the pyromaniac. He lights fires in the back room of his shop and he gets a mad gleam in his eye whenever he sees flames. When he delivers the salt and pepper shakers and Joan lights a match he almost goes into a trance. Of course Joan is then suspicious.
George Pembroke is fantastic as the pyromaniac with his maniacal grin and glittering glasses. He also has a stature of Vulcan, God of Fire in his shop window, that he takes to the fires with him. When he drops the stature at one of the fires, Jim picks it up and puts it in the back of his car but it mysteriously disappears. The case is solved but not before Joan and her mother (popular character actress Mary Gordon) are menaced by the pyromaniac, who tries to burn down their house.
Polly Ann Young, the oldest of the Young sisters, retired soon after this film to wed. She didn't have the career of Loretta or Sally, starring in a few westerns, one "The Man From Utah" with John Wayne. Also did anyone think the brush salesman that Jim cornered for a chat sounded very much like Elmer Fudd????
Recommended.
A memorable little forgettable film
Weaselsarefree26 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The Last Alarm Staring, J. Farrell MacDonald and Polly Ann Young is a delightful little 1940s poverty row melodrama, with low frills and a short running time. Not unlike the other Dramas that the Monograms and the Republic pictures were extolling out every month to the general public in the one theatre Saturday morning manatees in years before the war. I write this review under the assumption that if you have wondered to this particular page on the IMDb website you have at least some familiarity of the lower budget pictures of this era.
With that said, I have found that many of these poverty row films have been rather forgettable. The method is always the same. Start with the most basic of a plot and premise, and get some cinematic newbies or washed up old timers to act quickly enough to have the film wrapped in five days. I've seen it several times, and frankly I chose to watch this movie when I was bored one night. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. The film is about an elderly fire fighter who is forced into retirement when he reaches a mature age. The old firefighter, Jim does not want to retire, as fire fighting is his life. He reluctantly collects his pension (when there still was such a thing) and takes it easy for a little while as he settles into his new lifestyle. Unfortunately, trouble is brewing out in the world. A creepy antique store owner by day and arsonist by night is setting fires around the city. During one of these fires Jim's ex firefighting partner and best friend is killed in the blaze. Jim secretly goes out of retirement to hunt for this arsonist.
Without divulging too much into the plot, with it's somewhat, "it's all better now," style ending, The Last Alarm is a very memorable and well acted film. As a b-movie aficionado I have seen and forgotten many many films. However, as of this review it has been two years since I have seen the Last Alarm, and it still sticks out to me. I think one of the key selling points of this movie is with the actor, J. Farrell MacDonald who plays Jim. I believed his acting, I believed his frustration when he was forced into a retirement he didn't want, and I believed his sorrow and hopelessness he projected upon the death of a person who was his work partner for decades. This is of no shock as MacDonald had been playing in movies since even D.W. Griffith was an unknown. The story was interesting, reminding me somewhat of the 1990s firefighting drama, Backdraft. Most of these old Monograph films are romantic melodramas, and while this was a melodrama, it was an interesting story without the cliché romantic overtones. The actor wasn't a young cad trying to whoo a young starlet, it was an old man trying to find out who killed his friend, and re-find his purpose in life.
While technical proficiency and pacing issues do effect this film, it is a winner. And one I could certainty recommend.
With that said, I have found that many of these poverty row films have been rather forgettable. The method is always the same. Start with the most basic of a plot and premise, and get some cinematic newbies or washed up old timers to act quickly enough to have the film wrapped in five days. I've seen it several times, and frankly I chose to watch this movie when I was bored one night. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. The film is about an elderly fire fighter who is forced into retirement when he reaches a mature age. The old firefighter, Jim does not want to retire, as fire fighting is his life. He reluctantly collects his pension (when there still was such a thing) and takes it easy for a little while as he settles into his new lifestyle. Unfortunately, trouble is brewing out in the world. A creepy antique store owner by day and arsonist by night is setting fires around the city. During one of these fires Jim's ex firefighting partner and best friend is killed in the blaze. Jim secretly goes out of retirement to hunt for this arsonist.
Without divulging too much into the plot, with it's somewhat, "it's all better now," style ending, The Last Alarm is a very memorable and well acted film. As a b-movie aficionado I have seen and forgotten many many films. However, as of this review it has been two years since I have seen the Last Alarm, and it still sticks out to me. I think one of the key selling points of this movie is with the actor, J. Farrell MacDonald who plays Jim. I believed his acting, I believed his frustration when he was forced into a retirement he didn't want, and I believed his sorrow and hopelessness he projected upon the death of a person who was his work partner for decades. This is of no shock as MacDonald had been playing in movies since even D.W. Griffith was an unknown. The story was interesting, reminding me somewhat of the 1990s firefighting drama, Backdraft. Most of these old Monograph films are romantic melodramas, and while this was a melodrama, it was an interesting story without the cliché romantic overtones. The actor wasn't a young cad trying to whoo a young starlet, it was an old man trying to find out who killed his friend, and re-find his purpose in life.
While technical proficiency and pacing issues do effect this film, it is a winner. And one I could certainty recommend.
Solid thriller about a firebug on the loose
dbborroughs6 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Good mystery concerning a fire bug. When a fire chief retires he does so just as a fire bug begins to burn the city. Called back into action because his daughter works for an insurance company hard hit by the arson and because a friend is injured in one of the fires, he quickly sets to work trying to sort out who is behind it all.
Its a neat little thriller, I won't say mystery since you know as soon as he appears who the bug is. If there is any flaw its that a bit of logic goes out the window when the fire bug intentionally hangs around one of his fires to gloat. Its a minor flaw in an otherwise solid thriller.
7 out of 10
Its a neat little thriller, I won't say mystery since you know as soon as he appears who the bug is. If there is any flaw its that a bit of logic goes out the window when the fire bug intentionally hangs around one of his fires to gloat. Its a minor flaw in an otherwise solid thriller.
7 out of 10
This guy has issues.!!
planktonrules8 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The film begins with an elderly Fire Chief, Jim Hadley (J. Farrell MacDonald) being forced to retire. It's obvious his job is his life and he sure misses it--and continues to spend an incredible amount of time hanging around the station after retirement. At the same time, a psycho arsonist is burning down building after building and no one on the force seems to be able to get a handle on it.
As for the arsonist, I love the guy they got to play him. With his glasses, glazed look and expression of glee with the fire occurs, it's pretty funny watching the guy as he sees the fruits of his labor! The only negative is that throughout these unintentionally funny scenes, they keep cutting to stock footage of fires--some of which is very grainy and obvious NOT created for this low-budget film. Too much of a reliance on stock footage severely damages any film.
When an old friend of Jim's is killed just before his own retirement, Hadley decides it's time for him to get to the bottom of the crime spree--for his friend's sake. In a seemingly unrelated incident, Jim's daughter buys something from an antique shop--the one run by the arsonist. Because of this chance meeting, eventually Jim is going to get his lead--as up until then, the case seemed unsolvable.
In the wild finale, you see the arsonist become totally unhinged. Some may hate this because it does lack subtlety, but frankly I enjoyed it--it was so over the top that it made me laugh and was very entertaining. Worth seeing for B-movie fans--even if the Alpha Video copy is, as usual for Alpha, quite terrible.
As for the arsonist, I love the guy they got to play him. With his glasses, glazed look and expression of glee with the fire occurs, it's pretty funny watching the guy as he sees the fruits of his labor! The only negative is that throughout these unintentionally funny scenes, they keep cutting to stock footage of fires--some of which is very grainy and obvious NOT created for this low-budget film. Too much of a reliance on stock footage severely damages any film.
When an old friend of Jim's is killed just before his own retirement, Hadley decides it's time for him to get to the bottom of the crime spree--for his friend's sake. In a seemingly unrelated incident, Jim's daughter buys something from an antique shop--the one run by the arsonist. Because of this chance meeting, eventually Jim is going to get his lead--as up until then, the case seemed unsolvable.
In the wild finale, you see the arsonist become totally unhinged. Some may hate this because it does lack subtlety, but frankly I enjoyed it--it was so over the top that it made me laugh and was very entertaining. Worth seeing for B-movie fans--even if the Alpha Video copy is, as usual for Alpha, quite terrible.
Nothing to Get Excited Over
boblipton23 December 2018
J. Farrell MacDonald reaches retirement age for the fire department. When a friend of his is killed in a fire, however, he comes out of retirement to find the pyromaniac who has been setting the deadly blazes.
It's a barebones procedural from Monogram, in which the culprit is known within the first ten minutes as he crosses paths with MacDonald's family; the clues, however, don't come together until the very end. In the meantime there is stock footage of fires, and the principals: Farrell, of course, Mary Gordon as his wife, daughter Polly Ann Young (looking just like her better-known sister, Loretta) and Warren Hull as his future son-in-law. There's nothing much in this movie that can be said to be particularly good except for the pleasure of looking at these performers.
MacDonald had entered the movies in 1911, and had quickly proven a winner. He directed Oz movies for L. Frank Baum and achieved stardom that he sustained until the coming of sound. He slipped to supporting roles, but continued acting, racking up almost 300 features, until his death in 1952 at age 77.
It's a barebones procedural from Monogram, in which the culprit is known within the first ten minutes as he crosses paths with MacDonald's family; the clues, however, don't come together until the very end. In the meantime there is stock footage of fires, and the principals: Farrell, of course, Mary Gordon as his wife, daughter Polly Ann Young (looking just like her better-known sister, Loretta) and Warren Hull as his future son-in-law. There's nothing much in this movie that can be said to be particularly good except for the pleasure of looking at these performers.
MacDonald had entered the movies in 1911, and had quickly proven a winner. He directed Oz movies for L. Frank Baum and achieved stardom that he sustained until the coming of sound. He slipped to supporting roles, but continued acting, racking up almost 300 features, until his death in 1952 at age 77.
He's not going to give up the hook and ladder that easy.
mark.waltz10 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
An above average programmer from Monogram that gives veteran character actor J. Farrell MacDonald a great role to sink his teeth into as a man forced by his age to retire as fire chief. Sitting at home and getting in the way of his wife Mary Gordon's running of the house, he's deadly bored and when he visits his old firehouse, he finds he's unprepared when an alarm goes off and he can't join them. It turns out there is a fire bug out there in the city and MacDonald is determined to find the culprit. George Pembroke is seeing grinning maniacally at the sight of fire in his own living room, and as the fires get more explosive, so does his mind.
Polly Ann Young ("The Invisible Ghost") may not have been able to rise to leads in A pictures because of her strong resemblance to her more popular sister Loretta, but she is very good as MacDonald and Gordon's daughter, engaged to fireman Warren Hull. The scene between MacDonald and Pembroke in the antique shop is very chilling as is a confrontation Pembroke has with Gordon and Young. His final moments are reminiscent of Lugosi and Karloff's exits in their string of classic horror movies. My only regret about this movie was that there wasn't another 10 minutes of just Pembroke alone to further develop his delightfully nutty character.
Polly Ann Young ("The Invisible Ghost") may not have been able to rise to leads in A pictures because of her strong resemblance to her more popular sister Loretta, but she is very good as MacDonald and Gordon's daughter, engaged to fireman Warren Hull. The scene between MacDonald and Pembroke in the antique shop is very chilling as is a confrontation Pembroke has with Gordon and Young. His final moments are reminiscent of Lugosi and Karloff's exits in their string of classic horror movies. My only regret about this movie was that there wasn't another 10 minutes of just Pembroke alone to further develop his delightfully nutty character.
On the Trail of an Elusive Arsonist
Uriah4325 May 2020
This film begins with a senior fireman by the name of "Jim Hadley" (J. Farrell McDonald) being honored at a banquet for his service on the last day before his retirement. Having worked in the fire department for 40 years Jim is sad to leave his friends and colleagues and somewhat bitter at being forced to retire due to his age. Still, he accepts the facts with as much grace and dignity that he can muster and tries his best to adapt to his new circumstances at home. However, he soon becomes bored at home and longing to see his old friends he ventures back to the fire station to spend some time with them. It's during this time that his friends are sent off to put out warehouse fires on multiple days leading everyone convinced that an illusive serial arsonist is at work and is endangering the lives of innocent men, women and children. Yet, because he is retired Jim doesn't quite feel it is his responsibility to investigate. That changes, however, when his best friend is killed putting out one of the fires. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an okay grade-B movie which had a basic plot and adequate acting. Admittedly, the ending was a bit unrealistic but all things considered I liked this film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
"This is getting serious".
classicsoncall14 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I can't think of another firebug film from the Forties that I might have seen before. This one features J. Farrell McDonald as a retired fire captain drawn back into unofficial service to hunt down a dangerous pyromaniac. You couldn't pick a better actor to portray the arsonist; George Pembroke has just the right look of gleeful menace in his eyes. Along with his creepy looks, he has this fixation for a statue representing Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, sort of a good luck charm just before he sets apartment buildings and warehouses ablaze using gasoline and a 'time bomb'. I thought that description of a timing device was a little over the top, but everyone in the picture sort of went with it, so who am I to say.
This one's actually pretty interesting, but you have to look past the slow pacing and uninspired acting. The casting in a lot of these era films relied on actors who were a lot older than you'd expect to see in a modern picture. Interestingly, McDonald was exactly sixty five when he made this flick, the same age as his character who was retiring from the force. The idea of adult daughter Joan (Polly Ann Young) living at home with her elderly parents struck me as a bit odd, but it did look like she was ready to make the move with fiancée Frank Rogers (Warren Hull), an insurance investigator who helped break the case with Captain Hadley (McDonald).
The film utilizes some cool stock footage of major blazes that looked quite dramatic. One of the arsonist's targets wound up causing the death of Hadley's friend and fellow fire fighter, making the antique dealer Wendell appear even more diabolical. The picture ends in a race against the clock as Hadley and company make it back to the apartment just in time to make the save.
Say, did you catch the Magnificent Brush Company salesman Hadley welcomes into the apartment shortly after his retirement? Close your eyes when he speaks and think - Elmer Fudd!
This one's actually pretty interesting, but you have to look past the slow pacing and uninspired acting. The casting in a lot of these era films relied on actors who were a lot older than you'd expect to see in a modern picture. Interestingly, McDonald was exactly sixty five when he made this flick, the same age as his character who was retiring from the force. The idea of adult daughter Joan (Polly Ann Young) living at home with her elderly parents struck me as a bit odd, but it did look like she was ready to make the move with fiancée Frank Rogers (Warren Hull), an insurance investigator who helped break the case with Captain Hadley (McDonald).
The film utilizes some cool stock footage of major blazes that looked quite dramatic. One of the arsonist's targets wound up causing the death of Hadley's friend and fellow fire fighter, making the antique dealer Wendell appear even more diabolical. The picture ends in a race against the clock as Hadley and company make it back to the apartment just in time to make the save.
Say, did you catch the Magnificent Brush Company salesman Hadley welcomes into the apartment shortly after his retirement? Close your eyes when he speaks and think - Elmer Fudd!
almost a docu... like an ep of dragnet
ksf-23 June 2018
Hmmm... the fact that this is one... the FIRST.. of only three films directed by William West gives us an idea of the quality of film we are about to see. Farrell MacDonald is "Jim", trying to retire from the fire department. MacDonald had been in films since the silents. Polly Young is his wife.. this was one of the last things she did. It all moves pretty slowly. Monogram Pictures. Almost like a documentary, we follow along as the insurance company and the arson squad investigate. SO much old footage of petroleum tanks burning... buildings burning. That must have been a thing at the time. Some firebug is burning things up, and Jim Hadley must figure out who it is! mehhhhhhh... its all so-so. Showing on Epix Vault channel. Not good, not bad. somewhere in-between......
Great rousing entertainment!
Spuzzlightyear28 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I love it when directors mix it up and show stuff that we haven't seen before, mixing up two genres. That's exactly what happens in 'Night Alarm', when a generational neglect movie mixes in with a suspense movie! When Jim Hadley retires from the Fire department, he hardly knows what to do with himself, he's 65 you see, and the fire department kicked him off because of his age. But when an arsonist lets loose on the city, Jim is at first reluctant to going back into firefighting, but caves in when his best friend on the force dies. The race is on to find the arsonist before it hits too close to home! This actually was a LOT of fun. Aside from the stock footage of fires which was great (a lot of it I've actually seen before), I truly LOVED the arsonist played by George Penbrooke, He brought a great sinister quality mixed in with some ridiculousness for good measure. His intensity could easily be matched with someone like Willem Defoe. I always looked forward to seeing him on the screen again. Didn't really like the ridiculous ending. Why was he remaining in the house?
Very straightforward, less than exceptional, yet decent enough as it is
I_Ailurophile7 March 2023
Early exposition rides a fine line between light comedy and rueful drama as protagonist Jim Hadley struggles with newfound retirement; writer Al Martin could have taken it either direction if he so wished. In that story thread 'The last alarm' is perhaps a tad common; it's a little less so for the way a senior citizen is more or less centered as a lead character (relatively uncommon even in 2023), and also for the fact that this crime film that focuses on arson and pyromania rather seems to do so before the notions really began to otherwise take hold in popular culture. Moreover, given subtle but definite differences in the staged photography from Harry Neumann versus footage of blazes and firefighting, it becomes clear that the picture employs video of real-life blazes and firefighting. None of this is to say that William Beaudine's movie immediately leaps out as a unique must-see, but one can't help but ponder the particulars and think, "Huh. How about that."
In keeping with the common film-making sensibilities of the time, this isn't necessarily characterized with especial nuance. That's not to say that everything is as painfully plain as day, but there's a distinctly blunt edge to no small amount of Beaudine's direction, in instances of extra curt editing, or in performances including that of George Pembroke. The plot also generally progresses with a flat, matter-of-fact conciseness that doesn't exactly help to instill a sense of tension or suspense, and while I don't necessarily blame editor Russell F. Schoengarth himself, there are times when the proceedings cut back and forth between concurrent scenes with such casual repetition that the result is mildly off-putting. None of these are flaws so terrible as to wholly extinguish the entertainment value of the feature, yet the peculiarities do stack up and - well, they give one minor pause to reflect, "Huh. How about that."
Despite such matters, still 'The last alarm' is fairly well made overall. Where applicable the effects are well done; there are some nice little details in the scene writing that help to offset some of the duller heavy-handedness. In fact, I rather believe Martin's screenplay is probably the single best element of the production; everything is swell on paper, and some of it is just mildly deficient in execution. As far as the cast goes, some acting comes off stronger than others, and star J. Farrell MacDonald manages to fight through some of the tonal issues to give a welcome, earnest portrayal. And so on, and so on. All this is to say that this movie might not be anything majorly special - a mix of comparative novelties, comparative weaknesses, a few discrete strengths. It might not really stand out in the grand scheme of things. If you do have a chance to watch, though, it's suitably well crafted, duly entertaining and compelling, and a decent way to spend a mere one hour.
In keeping with the common film-making sensibilities of the time, this isn't necessarily characterized with especial nuance. That's not to say that everything is as painfully plain as day, but there's a distinctly blunt edge to no small amount of Beaudine's direction, in instances of extra curt editing, or in performances including that of George Pembroke. The plot also generally progresses with a flat, matter-of-fact conciseness that doesn't exactly help to instill a sense of tension or suspense, and while I don't necessarily blame editor Russell F. Schoengarth himself, there are times when the proceedings cut back and forth between concurrent scenes with such casual repetition that the result is mildly off-putting. None of these are flaws so terrible as to wholly extinguish the entertainment value of the feature, yet the peculiarities do stack up and - well, they give one minor pause to reflect, "Huh. How about that."
Despite such matters, still 'The last alarm' is fairly well made overall. Where applicable the effects are well done; there are some nice little details in the scene writing that help to offset some of the duller heavy-handedness. In fact, I rather believe Martin's screenplay is probably the single best element of the production; everything is swell on paper, and some of it is just mildly deficient in execution. As far as the cast goes, some acting comes off stronger than others, and star J. Farrell MacDonald manages to fight through some of the tonal issues to give a welcome, earnest portrayal. And so on, and so on. All this is to say that this movie might not be anything majorly special - a mix of comparative novelties, comparative weaknesses, a few discrete strengths. It might not really stand out in the grand scheme of things. If you do have a chance to watch, though, it's suitably well crafted, duly entertaining and compelling, and a decent way to spend a mere one hour.
Monogram's arson thriller
Leofwine_draca14 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
THE LAST ALARM is a not-bad thriller from Monogram about a crazed arsonist and the old-timer who vows to bring him to book. The film includes lots of stock footage of out-of-control fires in order to make it realistic and expansive, and it's short enough and with a fast enough running time to make it worth your time, just.
The main character is an old boy who comes out of retirement to go after an arsonist busy burning down all and sundry. There's a whodunit aspect to the crimes although the mystery side of things is quite obvious to any viewer. Things are lively, however, and they pick up for a climax which is done quite well on a low budget.
The main character is an old boy who comes out of retirement to go after an arsonist busy burning down all and sundry. There's a whodunit aspect to the crimes although the mystery side of things is quite obvious to any viewer. Things are lively, however, and they pick up for a climax which is done quite well on a low budget.
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