The Greene Murder Case
The Greene Murder Case
NR
5.8
·

1929

·

69m

The Greene Murder Case

Summary

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

Director

Frank Tuttle

Adaptation, Dialogue

Bartlett Cormack

Novel

S.S. Van Dine

Screenplay

Louise Long

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

June 2, 2024

6

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.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

paraplegic
gunshot wound
snow
mansion
secret door
district attorney
pre-code
police investigation
philo vance
criminally insane
murder by gunshot
wealthy family
poisoning
mysterious footprint
melodrama
family doctor
society sleuth
acrimony