The Bishop Murder Case (1930)

Director:

Nick Grinde

Writers:

Lenore J. Coffee (writer)
S.S. Van Dine (book)

Release Date:

3 January 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

The murders start with the body of Robin. He is found with a arrow through the heart, but Vance deduces...

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Chess | Murder | Old Dark House | Philo Vance

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Philo Vance
Leila Hyams	...	Belle Dillard (professor's niece)
Roland Young	...	Sigurd 'Erik' Arnesson (Dillard's adopted son)
George F. Marion	...	Adolph Drukker
Alec B. Francis	...	Prof. Bertrand Dillard
Zelda Sears	...	Miss Drukker (Adolph's sister)
Bodil Rosing	...	Grete Menzel
Carroll Nye	...	John E. 'Johnny' Sprigg
Charles Quatermaine	...	John Pardee (as Charles Quartermaine)
James Donlan	...	Sgt. Ernest Heath
Sidney Bracey	...	Pyne, Dillard's butler (as Sydney Bracey)
Clarence Geldart	...	Dist. Atty. John F.-X. Markham
Delmer Daves	...	Raymond Sperling
Nellie Bly Baker	...	Beedle, the maid

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate number not assigned)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Since The Bishop Murder Case was released 3 January 1930, this categorizes it as a "1930" film, a "fact" mentioned by several of the comments. More correctly, it was produced in the fall of 1929, and is truly a 1929 film in every sense of the word.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Benson Murder Case (1930)

Soundtrack:

The Nutcracker Suite

A very satisfying Philo Vance entry though a little creaky in spots

"The Bishop Murder Case" is one of the best in the Philo Vance film series. The mystery seems a bit silly at first when children's nursery rhymes are used by the perpetrator of the crimes to publicize his murders, not unlike methods used by present-day serial killers. But once the plot unfolds the nursery rhyme angle makes complete sense. The Bishop is a key figure in solving the mystery as the title indicates. So keep your eyes focused on that clue. I won't say any more except to add that this is a complex mystery.

Basil Rathbone is second only to William Powell in breathing life into S.S. Van Dine's famous private investigator. It's obvious from this performance why Rathbone was chosen at the end of the decade to play Sherlock Holmes. The other actor who shines in this movie is Roland Young. Though much of the acting hearkens back to the silent era which was coming to an end, Rathbone and Young seem modern in their approach. From playing on stage and in silent pictures, actors were used to wild exaggerations and outlandish gesticulations which were no longer needed now that movies could talk. Several of the characters in "The Bishop Murder Case" have not yet adjusted to working with sound. Not so Rathbone and Young.

Another early talky distraction for modern viewers is the absence of music for dramatic effect. Since live music was used to accentuate the silent screen action and mood, it seems strange that music was not immediately utilized for the same purposes on the talky screen. Producers were misinformed that music coming from nowhere would puzzle and confuse the audience. So it took a few years for Hollywood to rid itself of this misconception. The decision not to use music plus fairly primitive sound effects (the viewer will readily recognize the sound of thunder as the sound of huge sheets of metal being snapped)take away from the overall effects of this otherwise clever and well-written murder mystery.