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.
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.