Sir Hubert Ware is a baronet of the old school- he has lost some of his money on horses, some on mistresses and the rest he has wasted- mainly on detective stories. Probably the only reason he doesn't twirl his mustachios is that they aren't long enough to be effectively twirled. He is also about to go bankrupt. That doesn't stop him having a large country house and a London house with plenty of servants in each and spending time in Cannes, where we seem him disposing of one mistress, because he is going to have to live off his wife's money now, and- despite that- acquiring another.
Oh yes, and he's accused of murdering his wife's brother- another disgrace to the British ruling class, with a taste for torturing wasps- so that she could have that money. His wife (who he married because she is "straight as a die"- and how straight is a die?) is in love with a barrister but doesn't divorce Sir Hubert- 'though she has cause, as we have seen- and he also has a male secretary with no apparent duties but an attractive wife who is very sympathetic to Lady Ware. None of which stops him being a friend of the head of Scotland Yard.
In short, you couldn't get a much more preposterous and hackneyed plot; despite that, however, the film is effective. One reason is the skillful camera-work and the well-judged selection of shots and scenes- one instance is in the trial we see the judge waiting in his chambers to resume his role; it's irrelevant to the plot but it sets the film wonderfully effectively. Equally, in the first scene, the secretary's position is shown when he takes his wife's cup so they can dance and Eustace gives him his cup too and snatches the wife; the momentary look of anger on the secretary's face makes him suspect for the death in future with no further mention needed. Another is the superb acting and the selection of actors- in reality faces don't reflect their owners, but here they do- deliberately do- and very well too. The Attorney General, leading the prosecution, has the look of a puritanical predator; Sir Hubert is both charming and irresponsible, Inspector Watkins looks the bulldog part effectively as he builds up the circumstantial evidence against Sir Hubert. In short, not the masterpiece its admirers claim, but well worth seeing for incidental pleasures along the way.
Oh yes, and he's accused of murdering his wife's brother- another disgrace to the British ruling class, with a taste for torturing wasps- so that she could have that money. His wife (who he married because she is "straight as a die"- and how straight is a die?) is in love with a barrister but doesn't divorce Sir Hubert- 'though she has cause, as we have seen- and he also has a male secretary with no apparent duties but an attractive wife who is very sympathetic to Lady Ware. None of which stops him being a friend of the head of Scotland Yard.
In short, you couldn't get a much more preposterous and hackneyed plot; despite that, however, the film is effective. One reason is the skillful camera-work and the well-judged selection of shots and scenes- one instance is in the trial we see the judge waiting in his chambers to resume his role; it's irrelevant to the plot but it sets the film wonderfully effectively. Equally, in the first scene, the secretary's position is shown when he takes his wife's cup so they can dance and Eustace gives him his cup too and snatches the wife; the momentary look of anger on the secretary's face makes him suspect for the death in future with no further mention needed. Another is the superb acting and the selection of actors- in reality faces don't reflect their owners, but here they do- deliberately do- and very well too. The Attorney General, leading the prosecution, has the look of a puritanical predator; Sir Hubert is both charming and irresponsible, Inspector Watkins looks the bulldog part effectively as he builds up the circumstantial evidence against Sir Hubert. In short, not the masterpiece its admirers claim, but well worth seeing for incidental pleasures along the way.
