The Garden Murder Case (1936) User Reviews

Entertaining Philo Vance Movie with Great Cast

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 31 January 2014]

Philo Vance is back with a new face and minus that thick accent he had in the last film (ha!). This time Vance is investigating strange suicides. The best part of the movie is the return of Etienne Girardot as coroner Dr. Doremus. This wonderful actor steals every scene he's in. He was previously in two Philo Vance films in a row, The Kennel Murder Case and The Dragon Murder Case. But then he was noticeably absent in The Casino Murder Case. His part was played by a dull actor with no flair for comedy. This marks his return to the role but sadly is also the last time he'll play it. By coincidence or not, the three Vance films Girardot are in also happen to be the best three of the series.

The rest of the cast is solid. Edmund Lowe is not as well-known as William Powell or even Warren William, but he's charming and good with comedy. If you get a chance to see it, check out the underrated gem Espionage (1937) that he stars in. He's wonderful in that. The supporting cast here is pretty impressive. Great character actors Nat Pendleton, Gene Lockhart, H.B. Warner, Jessie Ralph, Henry B. Walthall, and Grant Mitchell -- nice lineup. Also beauties Virginia Bruce, Frieda Inescort, and Benita Hume, who would go on to be Mrs. Ronald Colman and then Mrs. George Sanders! This also happens to be the film debut of Kent Smith, leading man of the Cat People movies. This is a good B detective flick with a short runtime and quick pace. It's not the best of the series but it's up there. It's a shame Lowe didn't play Vance anymore. The series badly needed a steady actor in the role.

Fast, slick and slightly offbeat

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 27 November 2013]

All the Philo Vance films I've seen so far contain the element of clever misdirection, and "The Garden Murder Case" is no exception; although the "how" of two out of the three murders is not that hard to spot (even if you haven't read Leonard Maltin's review, which unfortunately gives the secret away!), the "who" and the "why" are more difficult to answer. This mystery is like a well-put-together puzzle. And this being an MGM production, it's considerably slicker and more expensive-looking than most of the other Vance films I've seen - lavish sets, incredible amount of extras, etc. It's also very well-cast in all parts, big and small; the one cast member I would like to single out is Virginia Bruce, who combines old-style beauty with a quite modern and individual acting style. And Frieda Inescort, in one scene, appears in a nightgown that shows just enough to make me wish the film was made a couple of years earlier, before the Code! **1/2 out of 4.

another Philo, another mystery

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 25 October 2005]

Now it's Edmund Lowe as Philo Vance as he tackles "The Garden Murder Case." It's a neat story concerning murder by hypnosis - which, as other posters point out, is a fairly obvious one, although the murder is not. The denouement makes for an exciting last minutes of the movie. Virginia Bruce costars and serves as a love interest for Vance.

Lowe is certainly very attractive and extremely likable as Philo. It's a good fit, and to me, better than either Paul Lukas or Basil Rathbone. I haven't read the books, so I am just going by the films and the fact that the definitive Philo seems to have been William Powell. "The Bishop Murder Case" features a good performance by Rathbone, but it is an early talkie and the actors are still making the transition, so the film is rather awkward. Lukas was enjoyable and certainly embraced his character but his accent got in the way.

This is an enjoyable entry in the exploits of a character who certainly served Hollywood well.

Neat little Philo Vance programmer...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 11 October 2005]

EDMUND LOWE (who reminds me somewhat of Warren William), heads the nice cast of an interesting little mystery that moves at a brisk pace and runs just a little over an hour.

Douglas Walton plays the unlucky jockey who appears to be intent on his own demise (hypnotism, anyone?), and the suspects include a good number of the supporting cast--everyone from Virginia Bruce, Kent Smith, Frieda Inescourt, Gene Lockhart, Jessie Ralph, Benita Hume, Rosalind Ivan and H.B. Warner. As an added bonus, there's Nat Pendleton as a dimwit detective--and furthermore, get a load of that art deco set decoration for the fancy interiors of a wealthy home. Must have been a set that was used in many a subsequent film.

On the plus side, the mystery is not so complicated that anyone can follow the plot with reasonable assurance of not being too baffled. It's all suddenly clear to detective Philo Vance--and then he has a final confrontation with the murderer that gives the film a nifty five minutes of unmitigated suspense.

Nicely done and passes the time in an entertaining manner.

I'd watch this film just to see Etienne Girardot.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 29 June 2009]

Etienne Girardot is just a character actor--the sort of person people almost never would know by name. However, he once again plays the coroner--one of the only actors in the Philo Vance films that played his role more than once. I've already seen him two other times and loved him every time because he was so funny and a breath of fresh air. This film also is great to watch because in addition to Girardot, there are many other wonderful character actors along for the ride--including Grant Mitchell, Gene Lockhart, Henry Walthal, Kent Smith, H.B. Warner and Nat Pendleton. This is quite an impressive cast, and they sure made the job easier for leading man and woman Edmund Lowe and Virginia Bruce.

These great character actors are one of the big reasons I love these old B-movies. While the mystery itself is rarely that terrific, because of the breezy writing and acting, the films really satisfy. As for this film, Vance is played wonderfully by Lowe but, like I said, the mystery itself is only an after-thought--with a silly plot involving hypnosis and suicides. Unfortunately, you cannot hypnotize anyone to do anything of the sort--I have training in clinical hypnosis and if I COULD do anything like the evil guy could do in the film, I would have done it! Used car salesmen and a few of my old bosses would have been obvious targets!!

Overall, while not the best Philo Vance film, it was very good and it's a darn shame Lowe only played this role once. In fact, aside from William Powell (who played Vance five times), the series was hindered by a long, long succession of actors such as Basil Rathbone, Wilfred Hyde-White and Warren William (and many others) playing Vance. This is a similar problem that also plagued the Bulldog Drummond series--just too many different actors playing the leading man.

Well worth seeing and exciting--though also quite impossible.

Good Murder Mystery

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 8 November 2007]

Edmund Lowe plays the role as Philo Vance a detective who tries to solve a series of murders in the Hammle Family who live in a 22 room apartment in NYC. The first member of the family is murdered, Edgar Lowe Hammle,(Gene Lockhart) and then Zalia Graem, (Virginia Bruce) appears on the scene and is accused of being a murderer when a woman falls to her death from a double decker bus. Zalia Graem and Philo Vance gave an outstanding performance together and there is a spark of romance between the two of them as Philo tries to help prove her innocence in the murder case. This is a low budget B film from 1936 but has a great story with even hypnoses being utilized. Enjoy.

Edmund Lowe's turn at playing Philo Vance

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 18 June 2023]

This mystery involves the death of three people that may be suicides and again might be murder. The dead are - a jockey, a wealthy corrupt man who was hated by many, including his own family, and a woman who called the police and said she could tell them something about the death of the corrupt man.

These Philo Vance mysteries from 1930 to 1940 are all over the place as far as the persona of the titular character, the pace, and even the studio at which they were made. In this entry, Philo Vance is played by Edmund Lowe who gives a dapper and restrained performance, much along the lines of William Powell's interpretation of the character in the four Philo Vance films in which he starred. Lowe's portrayal brings out the detective's wit, charm, and sharp intellect, capturing the essence of Vance's original literary persona. Also, this Philo Vance loves dogs!

A negative aspect of the production is the pacing occasionally slows down in certain scenes. Additionally, a few characters receive less development than others, leaving their motivations feeling slightly underexplored. A positive aspect is that in this film Vance's resolution to the mystery does come from the various clues he uncovers, not pulled from almost thin air as was the situation in the Dragon Murder Case.

I really liked the performances in this one, especially Edmund Lowe as Vance although I couldn't figure out why he would begin to fall for the murdered Hammle's niece and heir, Zalia. At best she is someone who blows hot and cold on relationships - she impulsively breaks an engagement with somebody because he is a bit naive. And at worst she could be the murderer!

Edmund Lowe makes a personable Philo Vance, but the script is pretty dumb.

[Art-22 · 5/10 · 1 December 1998]

Of the ten actors who portrayed Philo Vance in the series, Edmund Lowe seemed the most personable, but in this script the audience is way ahead of the famed detective. After all, when the jockey, Douglas Walton, stares blankly in space, obviously hypnotized, and says something like "I must ride and be killed," I felt it was dumb that no one picked up on it after he does get killed. The police thought it was a suicide because he said he would do it! After hated horse owner Gene Lockhart gets shot and killed, Frieda Inescort does the same thing, saying she's going out to be killed, and then fatally jumps off a bus. I laughed when Lowe finally yells "I got it," as though it were a revelation. The guilty party, however, was cleverly concealed and there was considerable suspense generated when that party starts to hypnotize Lowe to get him to jump off a roof.

Look Into My Eyes................!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 12 July 2019]

"The Garden Murder Case" from MGM boasts a cast that includes three former silent screen stars. As Philo Vance we have Edmund Lowe (What Price Glory? - 1926), H.B. Warner (King of Kings (1927) and Henry B. Walthall (The Birth of a Nation - 1915) as well as an excellent supporting cast.

Edmund Lowe makes an excellent Philo Vance. He has the poise and class of an upper crust detective unlike some of the previous actors (William Powell excepted) who played the part.

The film opens during "a day at the races" where millionaire Lowe Hammle (Gene Lockhart) is holding court, counting his winnings. With him are his niece Zalia Graem (Virginia Bruce), Mr. and Mrs. Fenwicke-Ralston (Warner, Frieda Inescourt), and gigilo Woode Swift (Kent Smith) who is pursuing Zalia much to the dismay of Hammle and jockey Floyd Garden (Douglas Walton) who seems to be in some sort of trance. Joining the group is Philo Vance (Lowe).

Floyd mutters that he must fall and break his neck as he mounts his horse for the next race. He does just that. Vance rushes to his side but he dies. Vance becomes suspicious. D.A. Marham (Grant Mitchell) and Sgt. Heath (Nat Pendleton) take up the case. They meet at Hammle's 22 room Apartment where we learn that everyone hates him for one reason or another. You knoe what's likely to happen to him at some point.

Zalia hates to be under her uncle's control, Nurse Beeton (Benita Hume is trying to blackmail him over a previous affair, Swift is suddenly transferred to South America to get him away from Zalia and Dr. Garden (Walthall) is distraught of his son Floyd's untimely death. Later a shot rings out and a woman's scream is heard. Hammle is found murdered in his office. Enter cranky coroner Dr. Dorameous (Etienne Girodot) who determines how the man died.

Vance suspects that a woman is guilty because of the weapon that was chosen for the murder. Hammle's crusty old mother (Jesse Ralph) begins accusing Zalia of the crime. Vance takes pity (or more than pity) on the young woman. Mrs. Fenwick-Ralston comes down the stairs apparently oblivious to her surroundings and boards a bus and unexpectedly commits suicide by jumping off the double decker.

While walking with Zaliia, the pair are forced to take refuse from a storm in a museum, Vance has a revelation when he shows Zalia how a python hypnotizes his intended victim. He now realizes how the crimes were committed. He confronts the killer who then apparently hypnotizes Vance and.............................................................

One of the better non-Powell entries in the series.

Just Your Garden Variety Philo Vance

[BaronBl00d · 5/10 · 5 July 2009]

Edmund Lowe plays Philo Vance(making him now the fifth actor after William Powell, Basil Rathbone, Warren William, and Paul Lukas)to assay the role of the urbane detective. His characterization is okay but he doesn't really seem to have the wit of most of his previous precursors. The mystery here too is somewhat thin and when added with Lowe comes out a bit weak. This time around a jockey gets killed after saying he must go out and ride and be killed as does a woman getting on a bus. Vance makes friends with a young woman who hates her rich uncle(the sparring between Lockhart and Bruce might just be the best part of this film). Vance meets a strange nurse and H. B. Warner affecting a British accent trying to make sense out of the third murder - that of Lockhart. The film is loaded with some great character actors like H. B. Warner, Henry Walthall, and Gene Lockhart to help make things go smoothly yet the film meanders here and there, and some scenes just look incredibly cheesy as the bus scene does. The ending with Vance confronting the killer was convincing though. The female lead and future Vance bed-mate is played by Virginia Bruce and she does a nice turn with a somewhat complicated role. This Vance is an acceptable mystery but a definite notch below those that came before it.

SUPERIOR RUNNER UP TO THE KENNEL MURDER CASE

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 21 March 2021]

While there were not that many filmed Philo Vance mysteries, THE GARDEN MURDER CASE is a standout in the series and, perhaps, a close second to the dynamic KENNEL MURDER CASE that starred William Powell. This is an elaborate murder mystery with the dapper Edmond Lowe doing the honors as the master detective. The only debit in this case is quite obvious as Lowe did not continue the series, which needed a debonair gent, and he definitely fit the bill. Beautiful Virginia Bruce plays the damsel in distress, naturally suspected of murder and the object of Lowe's affection. They make a superior couple, too. This screenplay is extremely clever, dealing with hypnotism, and is similar in concept to THE WOMAN IN GREEN, a Sherlock Holmes entry, starring Basil Rathbone (and yes, he too played Philo Vance!) which makes us armchair detectives lean in the direction that the writers at Universal may have "borrowed" a few ideas from this screenplay to keep their famous detective in business! Another interesting footnote is that the hilarious Nat Pendleton was cast as the long arm of the law(!), quite the same type of role he played in the original THIN MAN. Those casting directors were an intuitive bunch! Whatever the case, THE GARDEN MURDER case will keep your attention through and through, a tad campy at times, and guessing the murderer is worth the wait. Add this one to your dvd collection.

Playing with the Format

[profh-1 · 7/10 · 23 April 2022]

Every Philo Vance story seems to involve a large house full of people who hate each other. S. S. Van Dine's trick was making each one stand out from the others. This one starts with a jockey dying as a result of what is painfully obvious to the audience as either drugs or hynotism. Next thing, in pure Agatha Christie tradition, there's one man who every single person in the house hates and has a motive to kill-- and sure enough, he gets it next. But the twist is when we learn... his death was a case of accidental mistaken identity!

MGM followed their own "CASINO" and crazy enough, recast ALL 5 regulars in the process. And I'd say, good job, ALL 5 were improvements over the actors in the previous film. Edmund Lowe is like a more laid-back William Powell, who for only the 2nd time in the series gets romantic with a woman. (Though one might think MGM wanted audiences to forget the Paul Lukas film ever happened, when Lowe says, "For the first time in my life...")

Grant Mitchell had played a horrible, obnoxious D. A. in "THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG", here he plays D. A. Markham, more recognizably in character than the forgettable Purnell Pratt, yet at the same time, less friendly and harsher toward his longtime "friend" Philo.

Nat Pendleton is the new dimwit Sgt. Ernest Heath, having also played a similar character in "...HOWLING DOG"! He would go on to fame as the ambulance driver in the "Dr. Kildare" series, and be the original inspiration for the character of chauffer Happy Hogan in the "Iron Man" comic-book series.

Surprisingly, Etienne Girardot returns for his 3rd (and sadly, final) turn as cranky coroner Dr. Doremus, having previously been seen in 2 Warner Bros. Films.

And then there's Olaf Hytten as Currie, Vance's butler, much more suitable than the comical Eric Blore was in "CASINO". Currie has so far only appeared in 3 Vance films, oddly enough, all 3 ones from MGM.

I'm not the only one who noticed that the climax of this film was blatently swiped for the climax of "THE WOMAN IN GREEN" with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes 9 years later. What a wild coincidence-- Olaf Hytten plays a butler in BOTH films! (I love picking up on stuff like this.) Several of the Rathbone-Holmes films swiped from earlier films, but until tonight, I never realized "GREEN" was one of them.

Where there's smoke there's Philo!

[sol-kay · 5/10 · 28 May 2009]

**SPOILERS** Overly boring Philo Vance mystery movie with Edmund Lowe playing the famous suave and dapper detective.

In this film Philo gets involved with the accidental death of jockey Flyod Garden, Douglas Walton, who in a state to total oblivion, acting as if his brain was detached from his body, ends up falling off from his mount in a steeplechase race breaking his neck. This was exactly what,the what looked like mind controlled, Garden predicted will happened to him just before the race started!

Philo soon suspects that Garden's death wasn't an accident but murder. This has multi-millionaire horse owner, whom Garden was riding for, Edger Lowe Hammle, Gene Lockhart, get a bit hot under the collar in that he becomes the prime suspect in Garden's death or as Philo thinks murder! Things get even worse for the beleaguered Hammle when Floyd's distraught dad Dr. Garden, Henry B. Waithall, accuses him of his son's murder after he recovered, when confronting Hammle, from a major fainting spell at the Hammle estate.

As things soon turn out Hammle himself ends up getting murdered which not only keeps him from standing trial in Garden's murder but exonerates him, as if that would bring him back to life, of his death altogether. It's obvious to everyone, but Philo Vance, now that the person who murdered Hammle was the same one who murdered Garden

As Philo starts to put all the pieces together he sets off an number of evens that end up with the elegant and globe trotting, as well as good friend of Hammle, Major Fenwick-Ralston, H.B Warner, wife Madge, Frida Inescort, herself getting killed! Madge like, Floyd Garden, seemed to have lost her mind and decided to go out and, as she told her shocked maid, get herself killed! this Medge did by jumping off a double decker bus and getting herself run over in the heavy traffic below!

Puzzled by all these weird happenings Philo soon gets to the bottom of all this by simply watching-at the local zoo- together with the late Edger Hammle's niece Zalia Graem, Virginia Bruce, a deadly reticulated python having his lunch a live, he wouldn't touch it if was dead, rabbit! It's not what the big snake ate but how he got his victim to be eaten by him that helped him solve the baffling murder case: With the pythons use of total mind control over his confused rodent victim!

Decent Philo Vance flick with newcomer, as Philo, Edmound Lowe in the title role. There's also Jessie Ralph as the loud mouth and bed-ridden pill popping Momma of Edger Hammle who has it in for her nurse Gladys Beeton, Benita Hume, whom she feels is falling down on the job. As it turned out Nurse Beeton was blackmailing Momma Hammle's son in revealing an affair he was having with a married woman friend of his.

There's also Net Pendlton as police Sergeant Ernest Heath who despite being given charge of solving the case screws everything up to the point where he almost has the actual killer get away Scot-free. Pendelton will later become immortalized in the Dr. Kildare and Dr. Gillespie series as the not so bright and bumbling Blair General Hospital, he seemed to be the only one in the entire sprawling medical facility, ambulance driver Joe Wayman.

Dull

[Michael_Elliott · 28 February 2008]

Garden Murder Case, The (1936)

** (out of 4)

Philo Vance (Edmund Lowe) looks into some deaths where the murder seems to have been committed by hypnosis, which forced the people to kill themselves. This film starts off very good but really doesn't go anywhere and even the 61-minute running time seems very long. The story is an interesting one but the screenplay does very little with it due to some very boring characters, which just aren't that interesting. I've never been a fan of Lowe and that feeling continues here. He's decent in the role but he's just as tad too laid back to me. Virginia Bruce is the best part of the film as the woman Vance is interested in. Henry B. Whalthal plays a small, supporting role.

Now that horse and dog tracks are closing all across America . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 6 December 2018]

. . . how can anyone care about dead jockeys, most of Today's viewers will ask themselves toward the beginning of THE GARDEN MURDER CASE. (Tip to movie producers: When you wish to name your flick about a FICTIONAL slaying after one of the victims, do NOT try to confuse movie fans by selecting a surname that doubles as a common noun! Legions of "Miss Marple" devotees queued up this flick in the hopes that it would stretch out the canon with corpses potted between rows of cabbage and rutabaga, only to be sorely disappointed!) Furthermore, it's hard to imagine the world of the early 1930s, when globe-trotting Brit ex-pats were bringing home all kinds of exotic killing methods from the far corners of their so-called "Empire." The characters of "Lowe Hammle" and "Maj. Fenwicke-Ralston" seem doubly contrived, since their hidden talents for mimicry and mesmerism, respectively, emerge so late in the story. I, for one, would have like to see more of the servant filching caviar, and a lot less of Major Ralston at the end.

MGM Programmer

[boblipton · 4/10 · 22 March 2021]

Having won the screen rights to the latest Philo Vance book -- or lost it, depending on your viewpoint -- MGM put it together in the most desultory manner they could, producing a movie that ran 61 minutes -- not their shortest feature, but not one calling for an intermission. While casting Edmund Lowe is an obvious choice for Vance, he's loaded down with love interest, the underused Virginia Bruce, and the filled the cast with the usual MGM regulars: Nat Pendleton, Jessie Relph, H. B. Warner, Henry B. Walthall, and topped it all with Edward Marin to direct.

How can you expect anything terribly interesting from that description? You can't, and that's what you get. Oh, the mystery portion of it is good. There's even a point at which Lowe snaps his fingers, informing the audience that we have all the clues we need to figure it out. Did I solve it? I got half of it, which I think makes it a fair mystery. As a movie, it's a programmer, and the pacing, on reflection, seems a lot slower than it might have been. Whether that's good or not, I cannot say.

Average At Best

[atlasmb · 5/10 · 4 December 2018]

This Philo Vance murder mystery features a solid cast, though I think Edmund Lowe's portrayal of the main character is relatively uninspiring. His heavy-lidded persona seems to counter the impression that he is a man of genius.

The story is about a series of deaths that might be suicides, though viewers probably ascertain early on the true nature of the deaths. Even the title of the film is a spoiler; the word "murder" is right there. The real mystery is the cause of these obvious murders.

My main issue with this film is the way Philo makes a mental leap in solving the case that is not entirely logical. Such details always bother me in a plot that should be entirely logical if it is to impress the viewer. In a sixty-one minute film, such expediencies might be considered necessities by some, but I rather they extend the length of the film and make the detective's deductions airtight.

Good entry for the Philo Vance series

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 12 October 2005]

S.S. Van Dine must have been a shrewd businessman in dealing with Hollywood. Most of the film series' from the studio days were usually confined to one or two studios. But apparently Van Dine must have sold his rights to each book about Philo Vance one at a time. Note that Paramount, MGM, Warner Brothers, and more all released Philo Vance films. Only Tarzan seemed to get around Hollywood more.

MGM produced the Garden Murder Case and starred Edmund Lowe as the fashionable detective. Of course MGM had the screen's original Philo under contract at the time, but Bill Powell was busy doing The Thin Man at the time and I guess Louis B. Mayer decided to concentrate him there.

Edmund Lowe is a pretty acceptable Philo Vance. Lowe had started out pretty big at the tail end of the silent era with What Price Glory and then with a string of films with Victor McLaglen with their Flagg and Quirt characters. But after McLaglen got his Oscar for The Informer, Lowe seemed to fade into the B picture market.

The Garden Murder Case involves three separate victims, Douglas Walton, Gene Lockhart, and Frieda Inescourt. The sinister atmosphere around the perpetrator kind of gives it away, the mystery is really how all the killings are connected and how they are accomplished.

I will say this though. Vance takes a very big chance in exposing the villain and the last 15 minutes are worthy of Hitchcock.

Philo Vance hypnotize scene repeated in 1945

[bllest · 9/10 · 12 October 2005]

When Philo Vance (Edmund Lowe) is standing precariously on the edge of a balcony high above the city, apparently hypnotized and just about to step to his death,it immediately reminded me of a nearly identical scene in another film made nine years later, "The Woman in Green" in which Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone)is similarly about to hurl himself into space while being hypnotized.

Happily, both Philo Vance and Sherlock Holmes survive these attempts at murder by unscrupulous criminals. Exciting cinematic suspense in both these scenes. When will they learn you can't cloud the minds of great fictional detectives ?

Not the book but fun in its own right.

[Bernie4444 · 10/10 · 5 March 2024]

This is a fun movie with Edmund Lowe playing Philo Vance. Also one of my favorite actors H. B. Warner as Major Fenwicke-Ralston; he was in 136 titles including "Topper Returns" (1941).

Screen Play by Bertram Millhouser. Because the first scene in the movie is a racetrack and the first location in the book is a rooftop garden the title is a little confusing to cinephiles that do not here the name of the first victim.

The opening scene is at a racetrack where all the characters get introduced. Floyd Garden (Douglas Walton) says "I have got to break my neck". Everyone puts it down as being moody however we as the observers already guessed the problem. Still, all in all, this movie makes for a pretty good murder mystery. As usual, it is always the last person you suspect (or it is supposed to be).

This is a keeper and worth rewatching.

The Garden Murder case

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 19 November 2023]

A series of mysterious suicides surrounding millionaire Lowe Hammle (Gene Lockhart) and the death of Hammle himself has detective Philo Vance (Edmund Lowe) working overtime to learn the truth.

Edmund Lowe takes over as Philo Vance and does a fine job, coming across a bit more human and he even has a pet dog - he's quite dapper but shrewd, though he does a soft spot for one of the suspects, a niece of the murdered control freak. The plot is engaging and the mystery surrounding the "suicides" is quite enticing. The set-up is quite good, which leads a satisfying finale. The misdirection is well done.