The Casino Murder Case (1935)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Florence Ryerson (screenplay) and
Edgar Allan Woolf (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 March 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

When Philo Vance receives a note that harm will befall Lynn at the casino that night, he takes the threat seriously while the DA dismisses it...

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Will | Philo Vance | Attorney | Fencing

Cast

Paul Lukas	...	Philo Vance
Alison Skipworth	...	Mrs. Priscilla Llewellyn
Donald Cook	...	Lynn Llewellyn
Rosalind Russell	...	Doris Reed
Arthur Byron	...	Richard Kinkaid
Ted Healy	...	Sergeant Ernest Heath
Eric Blore	...	Currie - Vance's Butler
Isabel Jewell	...	Amelia Llewellyn
Louise Fazenda	...	Becky - the Maid
Purnell Pratt	...	District Attorney John Markham (as Purnell B. Pratt)
Leslie Fenton	...	Dr. Allen Kane
Louise Henry	...	Virginia Llewellyn
Leo G. Carroll	...	Smith - the Butler (as Leo Carroll)
Charles Sellon	...	Dr. Doremus - the Coroner

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #646) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Gene Perry as French Waiter, William Worthington as First Bidder and Edward Van Sloan are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Philo Vance's Gamble (1947)

Soundtrack:

Blue Moon

Watch as a Comedy, Not a Mystery

In the wake of the success of The Thin Man, the studios began to churn out scads of little mystery movies that are really more like screwball comedies than problems in deduction or thrillers. This is a pretty good sample of the type, with Rosalind Russell showing a flair for the genre that would be exploited in His Girl Friday. It even takes about 15 minutes or so before anyone gets murdered.

Paul Luckas is fine as the sleuth in the picture. Any resemblance between him and the Philo Vance depicted in the series of novels by S.S. Van Dine is a coincidence. This Philo is charming, polite, and doesn't mind when Roz complains that his mystery stories are wordy and complicated. And shouldn't come as a surprise that this Philo is more seems more interested in Roz than the mystery at hand. The actual crime is mildly intriguing, but the solution is mildly ridiculous.

Treat this as a pleasant way to spend a little more than an hour, and look at cool 30s cars, clothes and decor. Don't look for great art here.