The Greene Murder Case

1929

1h 9m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

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Mystery

Philo Vance investigates when a murderer preys upon members of a wealthy family on New York's Upper East Side.

Directors

Frank Tuttle

Writers

S.S. Van Dine(novel by)

Louise Long(screenplay by)

Bartlett Cormack(dialogue by)

Stars

William Powell

Florence Eldridge

Ullrich Haupt

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Top cast

Philo Vance

Sibella Greene

Dr. Von Blon

Ada Greene

Sergeant Heath

John F. X. Markham

Mrs. Tobias Greene

Chester Greene

Rex Greene

Sproot

Mrs. Mannheim

Hemming

Nurse (uncredited)

Medical Examiner (uncredited)

Charles E. Evans

Lawyer Canon (uncredited)

Helena Phillips Evans

Miss O'Brien (uncredited)

Mildred Golden

Barton (uncredited)

Harry Strang

Policeman (uncredited)

Directors

Frank Tuttle

Writers

S.S. Van Dine(novel by)

Louise Long(screenplay by)

Bartlett Cormack(dialogue by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

This all starts with a sort of roll-call where a lawyer checks the presence of the "Greene" family at the bedside of their mother. A condition of their late father's will is if they don't all live together for fifteen years after his demise, then they don't get a sou. Not surprisingly, they don't exactly see eye to eye so when one of them is shot, it's hardly a shock. The police - the instantly recognisable Eugene Palette as "Sgt. Heath" - duly arrive and enlist the help of detective "Philo Vance" (William Powell) who quickly discovers that any one of them could have done it. Thing is, the killer isn't content with just the one - and when the family start to drop like flies, the investigators must get a move on in case it is just them who are actually left at the end! It's very stage-bound, this, but the pace is break-neck and there are a few characters - not least the bed-ridden and grumpy mother (Gertrude Norman), to keep the investigation moving along until it's slightly unexpected conclusion. It's a bit of an hybrid of other "Dark House" style stories, but Powell and Pallette deliver simply and quite well here.

Geronimo196702 Jun, 2024