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A wealthy family’s household becomes the scene of intrigue when a series of shocking crimes threatens its members. Suspicion falls heavily within the walls of their imposing home, and the air grows tense as Philo Vance works to uncover the truth. Mystery, secrets, and a shadow of danger hang over each clue in this chilling early talkie.
Originally released in U.S. theaters on August 11, 1929
The film stars William Powell, in one of his earliest detective roles, alongside Jean Arthur and Eugene Pallette. The ensemble also features Florence Eldridge, Ullrich Haupt, E. H. Calvert, Gertrude Norman, and Lowell Drew in key roles that bring depth to the unfolding drama. Together, the cast weaves a suspenseful tale that blends family tension with classic mystery atmosphere.
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“The Geene Murder Case” (1928), “The Bishop Murder Case” (1929) and “The Dragon Murder Case” (1933) by S.S. Van Dine are my three favorite mystery novels, each masterfully combined with a sense of horror that all but predominates the narratives. I recall a reader of “Greene” stating that, while not knowing why, it had scared him! This understandably despite that reader’s haziness on the matter; for the book, while not an “old house” mystery per se, stands, in my estimation, as the most effective rendering of anything having that motif. Van Dine, if I recall aright, committed an oversight by having the murderer venture alone to the mansion’s kitchen in the middle of the night — not something an innocent person would’ve done in that dreadful dwelling (the matter finally addressed by the author, albeit innocuously, two entries later in a footnote of “The Scarab Murder Case” [1930]). “The Greene Murder Case” was remade by Paramount in 1937 as a “B” movie entitled “Night of Mystery”: the murderer appearing in the finale wearing a face-concealing shawl, the actor originally playing the part having unexpectedly died! This film, and the other American “Philo Vance” features produced by Paramount, were originally released to TV by MCA in the late Fifties, but were later pulled from circulation, all having been again made available with the exception of the 1937 release. The mid-Thirties British Paramount version of “The Scarab Murder Case” has long been missing. “The Greene Murder Case” was considered by detective-story master, John Dickson Carr, to be one of the ten finest mystery novels ever written; it truly is a tour-de-force!
To Ray Cabana, Jr.–Your comments are fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing your obvious wealth of knowledge.