MartinHafer The Greene family is abiding by a strange will that required them to stay in their mansion. The problem is that SOMEONE there is a maniac and is killing people! Can Philo Vance (William Powell) get to the bottom of this and prevent more killings?"The Greene Murder Case" played a lot better back in 1929 than it does today. Today, it seems very dull and much of this can be attributed to the way they made movies back in 1929. Like most films of the day, this one lacked incidental music and was very low energy--probably because actors were stuck standing near hidden microphones. Additionally, all too often, our hero, Philo Vance makes insane guesses and makes them seem true when he's really just pulling it out of thin air!.

calvinnme ...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.

kidboots There was a sequence in "Paramount on Parade" called "Murder Will Out" (a comedy sketch) in which Sherlock Holmes (Clive Brook), Fu Manchu (Warner Oland) and Philo Vance (William Powell) put their heads together to solve a crime. Philo Vance novels were extremely popular in the mid to late 20s, although, now, only the movies are remembered. S.S Van Dine (the author) described him (Vance) as a man of unusual culture and brilliance. An aristocrat, he held himself aloof from the common man - and he often wore a monocle!!! No wonder Ogden Nash said "Philo Vance needs a kick in the pants"!!!According to Greene Snr's will, if his family are to inherit his estate, a member of the police force is to call each year on Dec. 31st to see if all the family are present - if not they will be disinherited. No wonder there is so much internal fighting and hate from the family members - all except sweet little sister Ada (Jean Arthur). Suddenly the fighting takes on a sinister look when Chester Greene is fatally shot and Ada wounded. Enter Philo Vance, a debonair private detective, who rules out the burglar theory right away when the time is reckoned at three minutes between each shot. Keeping proceedings earthy is Sergeant Heath (Eugene Palette) - "sure it's funny - so is a chicken crossing the road, but nobody's solved that yet"!!!Among the usual suspects - highly strung Rex Greene (Morgan Farley), who has to be slapped to bring him to his senses. Sibella (Florence Eldridge) who seems to have something going on with the doctor. As each of the family is killed off, the most likely person shaping up to be the killer is Sproot, the butler (Brandon Hurst). According to the will, the last man or woman left standing will inherit the lot!!! Maybe old Mrs. Greene is not a bed-ridden cripple after all!!! Maybe the doctor is not out on all the house calls he claims!!Even though it was a typical static, "two room" talkie - for it's time the plot had some intricate twists and Vance very clearly explained how he came to his deductions.Highly Recommended.

JohnHowardReid Following the sensational success of The Canary Murder Case (1929), William Powell was soon asked to reprise his role as Philo Vance in The Greene Murder Case (1929). Powell was again joined by Eugene Palette as Sergeant Heath and E.H. Calvert as the D.A. Jean Arthur was also cast, but this time as one of the main participants. S.S. Van Dine's 1928 novel (actually the third in the series) served as a basis for Louise Long's wordy screenplay, while Frank Tuttle again directed in the same studiously static, sound-bound style (aside from a brief flourish after the credits, obviously filmed with a silent camera). One point of major interest, however, and the secondary reason (Tuttle's uninvolved and uninvolving direction is reason number one) for rejecting this movie as a film noir is the toning. Whereas Canary was issued on tinted stock, for this entry Paramount opted for toning instead. Tinted stock, as the name implies, involved using film stock of different colors, e.g. blue for night scenes, yellow for interiors, etc. Toning, on the other hand, was accomplished by adding pigments to the emulsion itself. In this movie, only one color, a light pink, is used throughout. The color has been added to almost every scene, particularly to the frilly costumes worn by Miss Arthur. The effect is certainly most attractive but it does not enhance a film noir mood.As for the mystery itself, few connoisseurs will have any difficulty selecting the guilty party. The fiend is obviously not the beautiful, super-charismatic Florence Eldridge on whom all the suspicion is cast. More than that I will not reveal.Acting is of a high standard throughout. Eugene Palette is especially heartening in this one, and Powell, of course, makes for the perfect Philo. Ullrich Haupt as the doctor and Gertrude Norman as the bedridden mother also make a significant impression.