Guilty Hands

I always say "never underestimate a movie made in the 1930s" and this is a key example. Even though we see who commits the murder, it has the flavor of a well done who-done-it. Sumptuous sets, great costumes, the proverbial dark and stormy night -- all set a wonderful mood. The camera work sustains it, but above all, the excellent acting by Lionel Barrymore and Kay Francis make for a suspenseful thriller.

I had heard of Kay Francis, but I don't recall having seen her in anything. She is fantastic! Barrymore is best known these days for playing the heavy in "It's a Wonderful Life", but here he is quite a bit younger, very spry, and marvelously expressive, both in inflection and mannerisms.

I wouldn't dream of giving away the ending, which has two nice touches, but I'm proud to say I saw it coming - about thirty seconds before the climax. I was thinking, "wait, they couldn't possibly ..., not the ... " but it was. Superb! Highly recommended.

• henry

Guilty Hands (1931) Kay Frances, Lionel Barrymore, Madge Evans, Alan Mowbray. Babs(Evans) is wooed and won away from her young sweetheart by older cad, Gordan Rich(Mowbray). Her father, Barrymore(Richard Grant) vows to kill him and get away with it if he won't stop seeing Babs. Marjorie(Kay Francis) loves Gordan and sees what happens. . She threatens to unmask the real killer. It would take a few more years to have films made from the camera point-of-view This is melodrama 1931 style. Most actors came from the stage; lots of scripts were reworking Plays; directors also had mainly stage training. So, if we today criticize, using todays standards, it is very unfair. This is a fairly interesting plot, with mostly pros in the title roles. The star in Barrymore and he is good. Kay Francis has lovely fashions to wear, and holds her own. And because it is pre-code, a surprising ending. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021933/

Lionel Barrymore is a former district attorney and now a successful defense attorney, with some vague theories about justifiable homicide. He finds he has to put them into practice when his daughter, Madge Evans, tells him she is going to marry one of his clients, whom he knows to be a bad man.

Barrymore co-directed this with W. S. Van Dyke. Between the two of them, it makes for good performances and a story that moves right along. A fine cast helps, including Kay Francis, Polly Moran and the always enjoyable C. Aubrey Smith. It's the sort of thoughtful movie that could not be made once the Production Code began to be seriously enforced.

Pretty good murder story in a pre-code kind of way. Lionel Barrymore plays the local legal-eagle, as well as the irate father of the soon-to-be-bride, his daughter intending to marry his old friend, the biggest cad he knows. He tells the fellow he will murder him-justifiably in his mind-if won't give her up, and we see him do so. He even has arranged witnesses to "prove" he could not be the murderer, but the dead man's longtime love, played by a lovely Kay Francis, suspects him from the start.(Her scene at his body is not her best, however.) She then discovers the imprint on a piece of paper of a note the dead man had written before he was murdered, showing that Lionel had threatened to murder him. Of course Lionel is right there when she finds it, and explains in lawlerly detail how she will appear in a trial, since she is the beneficiary of the will.

So will Lionel be caught for his misdeed? Or is the one of the pre-codes when murderers do not have to pay for their crime? Lionel Barrymore gives his usual strong, if sometimes over-the-top, performance. Kay plays well in a major supporting role. The rest of the cast is adequate in their roles, but the film is mostly between Lionel and Kay.

Don't read up on this before watching or you'll never experience the brilliance of what has to be one of the cleverest, most unexpected endings ever.

It's easy to stick with this great and entertaining little picture. Lionel Barrymore is at his quirky, most engaging best, you hang onto every word he says; it's a magnetic performance. One minute he's a loveable avuncular old character who makes you laugh, the next he's a cold and calculating killer whom you can believe would be terrifying to meet in the flesh - a very talented guy.

Director Woody Van Dyke, as always, gives his film a very natural and real feel, light years away from a lot of the stagey, over-theatrical pictures which infested the cinemas of the early thirties. He delivers a fast moving and immediately immersive story which is enhanced by some fabulously imaginative cinematography; it's a beautifully composed and lit film. The use of shadows, reflections and camera angles is certainly as good as anything seen a decade later in film noir. I'll say it again: it's a beautifully composed film.

Apart from waiting until the ending (DON'T look it up!) it's a fun watch. It's from 1931 but isn't that dated - in fact it feels more modern than a lot of films made later. If you enjoy a Columbo type murder mystery that's a little bit clever without being pretentious then this is for you.