The Spanish Cape Mystery

The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Detective Ellery Queen (Donald Cook) and his buddy Judge Macklin (Berton Churchill) decide to go on vacation to get away from all the crime but once they arrive in Spanish Cape, CA they get mixed up with a murder case. THE Spanish CAPE MYSTERY isn't going to go down in history as one of the greatest murder-mysteries ever made but it's mildly entertaining thanks in large part to the cast. Cook is in fine form playing the slick, laid back Detective who always has something smart to say about everything. I really liked the way Cook played Queen as he managed to bring a fun style to the character and he also managed to be smart, give rude remarks and be in-your-face without becoming annoying. Churchill is also very good in his bit and I thought the two had some good comic timing together that really paid off in their scenes. Helen Twelvetress plays the love interest/suspect and she adds a lot to the picture as do the rest of the supporting players who are all basically just suspects. Like many mysteries from this era, I think the screenplays could leave a lot to be desired but for the most part what we get here is entertaining. The mystery actually works and while there might be a few questionable points, for the most part you're able to buy and enjoy the outcome of the case. There's also a very fun, pre-vacation sequence where Queen shows off his Detective skills.

Little read today, Ellery Queen mysteries were highly popular in their day. In this outing, Donald Cook plays Ellery Queen. While he is suave enough and occasionally shows a spark of humor, Cook lacks the pizazz of other B mystery series detectives, (such as Warren William, Chester Morris, George Sanders, or Tom Conway) which is probably why it didn't become a series with Cook as the lead (a few years later, Ralph Bellamy starred as Ellery Queen in a series of movies). The plot is typical of many 30s mysteries – a big house filled with odious relatives and guests with murder after murder happening and the survivors continuing to stay in the house. And it has the young pert ingénue as well as the dumb loud-mouthed police chief flitting from one suspect to another with each suspect then cleared by the detective. Queen traps the killer and all the loose ends are nicely tidied up. There are a few notable character portrayals such as Berton Churchill and the always humorous Ed Gargan. It was kinda cool seeing George Cleveland in a small role – to me, he will always be Gramps in the Lassie television show. This movie is mildly enjoyable and worth a watch, but it is not a top notch mystery even for a B movie.

Nice little movie ! My question to all who read this is where was the film location ? The home is obviously a million dollar mansion on the California coast . Is the mansion still there ? I noticed another mansion on a hilltop above this mansion , could that be Hearst Castle ? Anyone who knows the location of the Mansion please respond ! Thankyou.

The first Ellery Queen story to hit the big screen was The Spanish Cape Mystery and it starred Donald Cook as the intellectual crime solver and mystery writer. After solving a jewel theft, Cook decides he needs a vacation and he and Judge Berton Churchill take a cottage on the California coast.

But no sooner do they get there than they get involved with a whole series of murders perpetrated against the Godfrey family who have gathered together. All the possible heirs to a fortune are there as the bodies start dropping.

Cook develops a special interest in the family, especially in regard to Helen Twelvetrees. He also as a nasty antagonistic relationship with the local sheriff Harry Stubbs who finally has come begging for Cook's help.

I have to say that Cook was all right in the part, not as bad as Eddie Quillan the following year. This film and Quillan's were made by Republic Pictures, but when the Ellery Queen series was picked up again it was by Columbia where Ralph Bellamy took over the part. Bellamy was far better in what my conception of Ellery Queen was.

Still this one is all right and competently made.

Since a few years already, I've been deliberately delaying my viewing of "The Spanish Cape Mystery". Not because it's old and clearly low-budgeted, but merely due to my own personal wonderment if I needed yet another franchise revolving around an all-knowing, cocky, and despotic detective. After all, there's already Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Mr. Wong, Jules Maigret, Miss Marple, etc. What possible added value could Ellery Queen bring to the table? Short answer: nothing, but it was a surprisingly amusing acquaintance nonetheless!

Much more so than I expected, this little sleuth-tale is compelling, inventive, and fast enough moving to keep you glued to the screen. The super-detective character, Ellery Queen, is clever and deductive, but he's often also called upon his arrogance by the supportive characters, and this never happens to Holmes or Poirot. The denouement of the mystery is fairly easy to predict, but well built up to for a mid-30's movie. Harry Stubbs has a terrific role as the local police Sheriff who goes around accusing random people of the murders without any tangible evidence.

PS: the answer to the riddle in the review's subject line is: twelve. Helen Twelvetrees was an exquisite starlet of cinema in the 1930s. Sadly, though, her career ended rather abruptly at the end of the decade and she passed away at the (too) young age of 49.