The Greene Murder Case (1929) User Reviews

William Powell's second Philo Vance

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 17 March 2014]

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").

It Looks Like An Airtight Alibi

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 18 April 2011]

The Greene Murder Case was William Powell's second of four ventures in the role of society detective Philo Vance. In this film, he's called in as a whole family named Greene, rich society folks like Vance himself keeps getting knocked off one at a time. As Eugene Palette as Sergeant Heath says, they'd have to be crazy to keep committing the crimes while Vance and he are actually in the house investigating. Insanity is a key element in The Greene Murder Case.

The house itself holds a few clues as to the identity. And it plays a part in the crimes as they unfold because as we learn right at the beginning of the film, the terms of the late Mr. Greene has that the whole family has to live together, if not happily under the same roof for fifteen years before they can inherit. Only in these old murder mysteries do they come up with wills like that.

The Greene family is an interesting lot in and of themselves. Mother Gertrude Norman is bedridden, but keeps a tyrannical reign over her kids who consist of flapper Florence Eldridge, doormat Jean Arthur, and a pair of worthless trust fund baby sons in Morgan Farley and Lowell Drew.

The Greene Murder Case is probably the weakest of the four William Powell Philo Vance cases. It relies on some really way out solutions for Powell to identify the culprit. And if you're any kind of fan of these films you will know about a third of the way through who the murderer was. Let's say the culprit has what looks to be an airtight alibi for all the murders, especially the second of the three.

Powell of course is as debonair and smooth as always. As I did in seeing The Canary and Benson Murder Cases, I do marvel at the way Powell was able to immediately adapt almost by instinct to the requirements of talking pictures. Definitely a film if you are a fan of his.

The second of Powell's Philo Vance films...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 10 October 2015]

...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.

Antique murder mystery is creaky but fun

[wrk6539 · 5 March 2002]

As a life long fan of murder mysteries in general and William Powell in particular, I was thrilled to finally get a chance to see this early sound Philo Vance mystery. A follow-up to Paramount's THE CANARY MURDER CASE (1929), this was adapted from "SS Van Dine's" third Philo Vance novel(originally published in 1928 to runaway business) and also stars the wonderful Eugene Pallette as Sergeant Heath and a young Jean Arthur in the ingenue role of Ada Greene.

The intricate plot finds gentleman detective Philo Vance assisting his old friends District Attorney Markham and Sergeant Heath in a case of multiple and attempted murders at the Greene Mansion in New York's Upper East Side. It seems that someone is killing members of the Greene family, ostensibly for a stake in the large inheritance left by the long dead patriarch, Tobias Greene, whose fortune was accumulated (we come to suspect) by less than honorable means.

I'll admit that, although anxious to finally see this film after reading about it for years, I wasn't expecting much. I had heard that the film was talky, creaky, and static, as many early sound productions seem to modern sensibilities. Perhaps it was because of these lowered expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the great stuff found here. The film abounds with wonderfully creepy atmosphere and a real sense of menace, and the climax, set in the rooftop garden of the formidable Greene mansion (a fantastic set, by the way), is thrillingly shot, with trick photography and a last minute-in the nick time-rescue.

The screenplay is a faithful simplification of the Van Dine novel (the book's first two murder victims, for example, are compressed into one and the character of Julia Greene is jettisoned) and Powell's Philo Vance is much more likable than his literary counterpart. The identity of the murderer, while possibly surprising to the relatively innocent audiences of 1929, is fairly easy to spot by the more jaded modern viewer raised on scores of mysteries and taught to always suspect the least likely. This does not detract from the fun.

Playing the part of Philo Vance was a huge boost to Powell's career, and allowed him to move from villainous heels to debonair man-about-town roles. After a parody appearance as the detective in 1930's PARAMOUNT ON PARADE, Powell played Vance twice more [in Paramount's THE BENSON MURDER CASE (1930) and Warner Bros. THE KENNEL MURDER CASE (1933)] before moving to MGM and forever being associated with the role of Nick Charles in THE THIN MAN series (an even BIGGER boost to his career!)

Yes, the film is invariably hampered by the limitations of the early sound era, but once the modern viewer accepts these limitations, there's a lot to enjoy here.

The Butler Didn't Do It!!!

[kidboots · 7/10 · 31 January 2011]

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.

An improvement over "The Canary Murder Case"

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 18 March 2017]

The second Philo Vance film with William Powell in the central role was made in the same year as the first ("The Canary Murder Case"), but it is somewhat less of an antique. It's still often static, but at least there are a few panoramic shots of the house of the Greenes, and a more cinematic finale. Perhaps more importantly, the mystery is much more complicated than that of "Canary"; having read Maltin's comment about an obvious killer and remembering how easy it was to spot the killer in "Canary", I was certain I had it all figured out but I was fooled; I found the ending thoroughly surprising. Fans of Jean Arthur (she also appeared very briefly in "Canary") will be glad to know that her part is much bigger this time. **1/2 out of 4.

Murder in a Mansion

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 2 February 2024]

Philo Vance (William Powell) is back in action solving murders. He, D. A. John Markham (E. H. Calvert), and the rotund Sgt. Ernest Heath (Eugene Pallette) were delivered a doozy of a murder mystery. Several members of the Greene family were killed at different intervals.

First, Chester Greene (Lowell Drew) was shot to death while Ada Greene (Jean Arthur) was wounded by a gunshot. A week later Rex Greene (Morgan Farley) was killed. By the time it was all said and done three members of the Greene clan were murdered and with it at least two early suspects.

I didn't know who the murderer was from the start, but I certainly knew who I wanted to be the murderer(s): Ada (Jean Arthur) and Sibella Greene (Florence Eldridge). Both of them were annoying characters that I didn't care for at all. Ada because she was so posh and delicate. In a way she wasn't any different from a lot of the women on screen in that era, but I still don't like it. She was the proper type who breathed heavily and fainted at the slightest displeasing news. Sibella because she was a smug flippant woman who didn't place importance on anything.

Also of note as far as suspects were Dr. Arthur Von Blon (Ullrich Haupt),the family doctor and Sibella's lover, Sproot (Brandon Hurst), the head servant, Mrs. Gertrude Mannheim (Augusta Burmeister), another servant, and Hemming (Marcia Harris), also a servant.

As you can tell by the many servants the Greenes were a wealthy family, so naturally anyone of them could've had a motive especially since so much was at stake. The deceased patriarch, Tobias Greene, had all of them in the will contingent upon certain conditions.

Unlike "The Canary Murder Case," this one was not as obvious to me. I had my suspicions, but you gotta let Philo figure it out

Free on YouTube.

Dated But Still More Than Fascinating!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 1 October 2008]

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.

Murder within a Dysfunctional Family

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 23 October 2022]

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.

"Different Strokes for Different Folks"

[rgcabana · 8/10 · 19 July 2022]

The reviews printed here are all over the place subject-wise. It's unfortunate that some of these were written by contemporary viewers with apparently little or no appreciation for the age of a motion picture, the date of its making, or the public's taste at the time. Myself, I usually find early-talkies of much interest, having been produced when sound was new (as opposed to film shows with live musicians providing the score), and revealing the maker's lack of creativity, or, conversely, creativity of a high order, still impressive today. "The Greene Murder Case" (Paramount; 1929) is rather an amalgam of both. Mysteries at the time were often very atmospheric; this seemed to be part and parcel of the attempts at sound recording. And Frank Tuttle, who directed this effort, was a fine craftsman who went on to direct motion pictures now regarded as classics. Some shots were done silently so as to free up the camera (a scene where it quickly ascends a staircase comes to mind), but most impressively, a cable was strung well over the exterior of the Greene mansion, itself a full-scale set, so that the attached camera could (unexpectedly) be hoisted, revealing the intimidating height of its roof garden, this serving to intensify the film's climax wherein the murderer plummets from it to certain death. In the 1928 S. S. Van Dine novel, the climactic car chase - one of the most exciting things I've ever read - was probably considered too difficult to film effectively; hence the top of the mansion serving as a similarly-exciting substitute. The sequence, as related by Van Dine, was, in effect, effectively achieved by director John Cromwell's car-chase finale to "The Mighty", a George Bancroft crime opus also made at Paramount in 1929, wherein he, Cromwell, took his mobile camera out into busy Los Angeles streets! An irony is that he had been a successful Broadway director, brought, with others, to Hollywood because they knew how to deal with dialogue, and here he was, refusing to have his motion pictures restricted by "talkie" requirements. "The Greene Murder Case", incidentally, is one of Van Dine's finest murder-mysteries (popular author John Dickson Carr, no less, selected it in the Forties as being one of the very finest of all such fare!); but, unfortunately, moviemakers of the day could not have done cinematic justice to its elaborate, yet brilliantly subtle, writing.

• Ray Cabana, Jr.

Incredibly dull and difficult to believe

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 15 November 2015]

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!.

Good early talkie of William Powell

[cynthiahost · 13 February 2013]

This was possibly made right after Cecil B. Demille's first talkie ,when he removed the camera out of the sound booth and had it covered up with towels ,so that the camera could move .There are some shots ,like in the hallway,where William Powell and Eugene Pallet are disusing the murder and the camera is following them.that's not zoom lenses.For some reason they don't get a lot of close ups.Obviously the camera was very heavy.This is an early Philo Vance mystery on film starring William Powell ,who would repeat his role in later films.A very young Jean Aurthur Frederich Marches wife,Florence Eldridge, is in it too.I don't know if this was her first talkie,it might have been.The adult Children Green,played by Florence Eldridge as Sibella ,Jean Aurthur as Ada,a fat Lowell Drew as Chester and Morgan Farley as Rex .Under their fathers will they all have to stay in the house for 15 years in order to inherit their fathers money.Their mother is an invalid,unable to walk,played by Gertrude Norman as the widow.Very controlling against her adult children.Then their the German cook or maid,Gertrude played by Augusta Bermiester.It seemed that their late father had business in Germany and taught his kids the language.One night some one shows up at Chester's room and shoots him.Then Ada gets shot but is injured.It's time for William Powell and Eugene Palette to go to the Greene's house and investigate.The families personal doctor,also German American,Dr Arthur Von Blon,what a name,played by Ullrich Haupt, does the autopsy.He and Sibella have a yen for each other.Then Morgen Farley gets killed.The surprising result of this film it turn out that Jean Arthur has been killing the family ,poisoning her mother,so she can get the inheritance.But, she ends up getting killed as she tries to push Florence out of the balcony into the cold lake.Aurthur end up in the lake instead.Powell Rescues Eldridge from the second story of the house.This was the only time Jean played a bad guy.nice early talkie.Available at Amazon,Bonanza,i offers. 02/14/13

William Powell is NOT Philo Vance.

[edalweber · 8/10 · 8 April 2015]

It is a pity that the studio didn't change the name of the detective, because while William Powell is good in these movies, Philo Vance he is not. Eugene Palette is superb as Heath, and most of the other actors are good. It is extremely strange that Philo Vance, one of the most popular characters in American detective fiction, has been so universally trashed by critics. The hostility of contemporary critics, who gave the books grudging admiration, seems to have been the result of personal dislike of the author, who has been described by one as"the most fascinating UNLIKABLE man I ever met". It seemed that nobody loved Vance but the American public! Vance really was not a snob in the ordinary sense. Members of society came in for contemptuous remarks more often than not, and he liked and respected simple, unpretentious people, such as Heath.Vance could be described as an "American Lord Peter Whimsey", and very likely was partly based on that character. The same critics who like Whimsey hate Vance! Strange that the studios so altered Vance's character, because they thought that the public would resent Vance's erudition and "elitism", the same public that loved those quirky characteristics in the books! Had the studios made the movies more faithful to the books, they likely would have been more successful;as it was they never really caught on. As it is, this movie is a very good atmospheric murder mystery, well worth watching. With different casting(Warren William was the best Vance) and making the character more faithful to the books, it would be a real classic.

Psychology and the Serial Killer

[profh-1 · 5/10 · 18 December 2019]

Stylistically, this reminds me quite a lot of the 1931 "FRANKENSTEIN", only with a murder mystery plot instead of a science-fiction horror story. I love both, and have great tolerance for old (and REALLY old) films, so this was right up my alley.

The 2 most outstanding characters in here, of course, are the urbane Vance (William Powell) and the gruff, too-confident police sergeant (Eugene Pallette). It's nice to see so much mutual respect between them, refreshing after seeing far too many stories with the cop constantly berating the "wild theories" of the talented amateur or private eye.

Two things caught me by surprise. The first was when, halfway thru the film, I SUDDENLY had a strong suspicion as to who the killer might be, based on an incident and how I related it to an earlier murder.

The second was, when Vance spelled everything out, ONE of the shootings used the IDENTICAL method seen in the CAMPION story "Police At The Funeral" (which was published in 1931!). Like this one, that story involved an old house populated by eccentrics waiting for the elderly mother to die so they could inherit, and some of them being bumped off ONE-BY-ONE. Of course, there was enough differences to avoid any thought of plagiarism.

That particular murder method had been used much earlier-- in the SHERLOCK HOLMES story "The Problem At Thor Bridge". And, amazingly, it was re-used in a 1950s CHARLIE CHAN tv episode. Rather than spell it out, I urge mystery fans to seek out those stories and have fun comparing!

Watch For Powell, NOT for Arthur

[davidjanuzbrown · 8/10 · 26 July 2012]

This is a film that has two extreme performances: Great for William Powell, awful when it comes to Jean Arthur. Lets start with the bad: Gladys Georgianna Greene, is not only the last name of a character from the film "The Greene Murder Case" (Ada Greene), but the real name of Jean Arthur (No wonder it was changed. It does not fit hyperactive image of Jean Arthur classic film fans know). I do not know where to start complaining about her character, but here are a few basic complaints with her in the film. Her voice does not fit the character, she is skinny, ugly, and got under my skin, every time she popped up. This was shocking, because you can pick about a dozen films that are bona-fide classics that she was in (Included in this list is "The Ex-Mrs Bradford" also with Powell), but the good Jean Arthur, will not show up for another 6 years ("The Whole Town's Talking" with Edward G. Robinson). The reason to watch is Powell. His Philo Vance is very much like Nick Charles in training: Classy, sophisticated and brilliant, but not perfect. For example: Although he gets things right: Spoilers (Like when he questions Gertrude about her illegitimate daughter (A key point in uncovering the identity of the killer)), and when he shows Sgt. Heath (Eugene Palette) how the crime was committed). He also makes a major mistake in letting the murderer alone with an intended victim, in a place where Vance or the police cannot save that person in time (The victim is lucky and survives while the killer dies, but not because of Vance or the police). It goes without saying, Nick Charles would not make that kind of mistake. I actually preferred him as Vance in this film to "The Kennel Murder Case" (Which all around is a better film, because it did not have Jean Arthur (That is how bad she was)). What is interesting is that he already has the Nick Charles persona down pat (A full five years before he shows up in the "Thin Man"). This is a film that should be remastered and put in a DVD Box Set of William Powell Detective Films (Warners has all of MGM "The Thin Man" films, plus "Bradford" (RKO), maybe, Universal should sell the rights to this film, "Canary Murder Case" & "The Benson Murder Case" to Warners so we might see that. My grade? 8/10. 10 for Powell -2 for Arthur.

Film is guilty of boring me to death.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 4 November 2023]

While the painfully slow pacing of the first scenes does speed up a little, it never gets to the point where it moves at a regular flow. This Philo Vance murder mystery mention the previous case, the canary, which had actually mentioned this one! That film has the scene where William Powell encounters Eugene Pallette who says he hasn't seen him since the Greene murder case. Perhaps it was meant for a little advertising for this film, but then Jean Arthur mentions reading about the canary murder case in the newspaper, ironically having played another role in it! This film focuses on an eccentric family living in a large mansion, they must stay in for a certain theory of time and the series of deaths that leads to Powell and Pallette working together for the first time.

The problem with the film is the pacing as it moves very slowly, even though the screenplay is rather intelligent. Other members of the family includes bedridden matriarch Gertrude Norman, Arthur's sister Florence Eldridge and Morgan Farley. There's also frightened servants including one who emotes overly dramatically like she was Sarah Bernhardt playing Hedda Gabler and another one who quits in fury after bashing every one of her employers. A few scenes are filled with some great tension so it's not a complete fiasco, most notably one with someone hanging onto a ledge over an ice covered body of water beneath the house. Fortunately shorter than its predecessor.