The Greene Murder Case

William Powell returns as Philo Vance, this time under the direction of Frank Tuttle. The Greene family -- matriarch Gertrude Norman, daughters Florence Eldrege and Jean Arthur, sons Lowell Drew and Morgan Farley, are required to meet every year to satisfy the will of Miss Norman's late husband; after seven years, any survivor inherits, and the library goes to the New York Police Department. But following the latest get-together, they are murdered one by one. Sergeant Eugene Pallette calls in Powell to help him investigate.

Unlike the earlier entry in the series, this was planned as a talkie from the beginning. Because of the still-primitive sound equipment, it is a visually dull movie. Like most mysteries so constrained, it is very talky. The cast, composed of former stage actors, offer restrained performances under Tuttle. While the mystery is a good one, there are too many clues offered after Powell has made his conclusion. Its principal interest is in the performers themselves, several of whom would become important stars in sound films.

This all starts with a sort of roll-call where a lawyer checks the presence of the "Greene" family at the bedside of their mother. A condition of their late father's will is if they don't all live together for fifteen years after his demise, then they don't get a sou. Not surprisingly, they don't exactly see eye to eye so when one of them is shot, it's hardly a shock. The police - the instantly recognisable Eugene Palette as "Sgt. Heath" - duly arrive and enlist the help of detective "Philo Vance" (William Powell) who quickly discovers that any one of them could have done it. Thing is, the killer isn't content with just the one - and when the family start to drop like flies, the investigators must get a move on in case it is just them who are actually left at the end! It's very stage-bound, this, but the pace is break-neck and there are a few characters - not least the bed-ridden and grumpy mother (Gertrude Norman), to keep the investigation moving along until it's slightly unexpected conclusion. It's a bit of an hybrid of other "Dark House" style stories, but Powell and Pallette deliver simply and quite well here.

...and how far his film persona has traveled since 1928's Forgotten Faces! In the silent era, Powell had played a heavy. But that distinguished sounding voice may not have been what the audience expected, but it was what they wanted once they heard it. So parts arrived for him that matched that distinguished voice.

This film opens with the dysfunctional Greene family going over the terms of the late Mr. Greene's will that says the family must live in the estate for 15 years before anything more than living expenses is awarded to any of the heirs. All share equally, and if any die or decide to live somewhere else, their share is distributed to the others. They are 10 years into the 15 years, so New Year's Eve 1934 gives them all their money and their freedom. And none of them likes the other. Mrs. Tobias Greene is bedridden because she cannot walk. Ada (Jean Arthur) dotes on her, and Ada is always being taunted by Sibella Greene (Florence Eldridge) as an outsider since she is adopted. Sibella has some secret between herself and her mother's doctor.

Then, one by one the members of the Green family begin turning up dead. The police call in Philo Vance to help, and lest the audience think it strange that a civilian is helping in police matters, several references are made to "The Canary Murder Case" in which Vance solved the crime. Vance keeps emphasizing that these things usually boil down to psychology, and that is his focus throughout the film - the psychology of the members of the Greene family, both the dead and the living. Did I mention that the servants share some in the will too and there are some very strange household servants? Eugene Palette plays Sgt. Ernest Heath of the police, and does the most interfacing with Vance. Paramount paired Powell and Palette quite a bit in the early years of sound and their contrast seemed to be very synergistic, both of them with trademark voices of a very different kind from one another.

I'll let you watch and see how this all turns out. There are quite a few surprises in the plot. I'd recommend it.

This film begins with an old and extremely ill widow by the name of "Mrs. Tobias Greene" (Gertrude Norman) lying in bed waiting for the family lawyer to discuss her late husband's will with the rest of the family. As it so happens, none of the adult children like one another and, as a result, whenever they get together there is quite a bit of acrimony amongst them. This is especially true with an adopted daughter by the name of "Ada Greene" (Jean Arthur) being especially disliked by both Mrs. Tobias Greene and her biological daughter "Sibella Greene" (Florence Eldridge). Further contributing to this mutual disdain among each of them is the fact that the will specifies that all of the money will be divided equally among all five members of the family. Things change, however, when on the very night they all meet at the family mansion, one of the adult sons named "Chester Greene" (Lowell Drew) is shot and killed in what everybody believes to be a botched burglary attempt. Everyone, that is, except for the detective in charge of the case by the name of "Philo Vance" (William Powell) who suspects that one of the members of the family is involved--and his suspicions increase as the death count within the family rises. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be an okay mystery film which benefited by several twists and turns along the way. Admittedly, there were a couple of scenes which were a bit too unrealistic, but even so the film managed to pass the time fairly well and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

1929's "The Greene Murder Case" was the second of three early talkie Paramounts starring William Powell as Philo Vance, coming six months after the first, "The Canary Murder Case," eight months before the third, "The Benson Murder Case." Storywise, it's perhaps the best of all three, while technically it's a huge improvement on its predecessor, the pacing agreeable, the acting more natural, and Powell again joined by District Attorney Markham (E. H. Calvert) and Sgt. Ernest Heath (Eugene Palette). Also returning as a different character is young Jean Arthur, in a far more substantial role than her cameo in "The Canary Murder Case." The Greene household, consisting of bedridden matriarch and four offspring, are beholden to the will of the late patriarch Tobias Greene, requiring everyone to remain under the same roof for 15 years before the estate can be divided evenly between them. One dark midnight, both Chester (Lowell Drew) and Ada (Jean Arthur) end up shot (Chester fatally), but the robbery motive piques the curiosity of Philo Vance, particularly as the two shots were fired minutes apart. Always intrigued by the psychological aspects of each case, Vance has his hands full under this roof, where Tobias kept an extensive library on the history of crime. He may wind up solving this one by having only one suspect left! Florence Eldridge (Mrs. Fredric March) is an assured scene stealer, but her doctor boyfriend is played by dull as dishwater Ullrich Haupt (hard to believe that two women would be interested in him). Powell is far more involved here, and his amusing rapport with Eugene Palette never goes over the top. Struggling in a role few actresses could credibly pull off, beautiful Jean Arthur was still an unknown quality at the time, but remained one of Powell's favorite leading ladies (later seen to best advantage in "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford").