WHO DID IT?

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 861, 3 January 1930, Page 15

WHO DID IT?

“THE GREENE MURDER CASE” BAFFLES NEW STRAND PROGRAMME One of the most difficult feats in the world of inconsequental drama is the successful adaptation of a detective story. Futile stage and screen ‘imitations of Sherlock Holmes, time and again have proved the truth of this. Mystery is comparatively easy to create and sustain when the originator may juggle cleverly and charmingly with words. His readers are as clay in the hands of the potter; they see when he wishes them to see and are blind when he so desires. But the stage or screen producer must proceed without this advantage. He is obliged to mirror rather than describe facts and happenings, and he must tread the uncertain path between the stupidly obvious and the unreasonably obscure. More than often the result is either painfully apparent or boringly entangled. Occasionally the happy medium is reached and lovers of mystery and excitement reap the benefit in excellent entertainment. Such an occasion was represented to a certain degree in “The Ganary Murder Case,” one of the most successful of Paramount’s pioneer talkies. “The Greene Murder Case” is a much better example—probably the best since the inception of talkies.

A deal of the credit for this admirable production, which opened at the Strand last evening, must go to those unwitting collaborators, Messrs. S. S. Van Bine and William Powell. Van Bine, the best American writer of detective stories at work today, created “Philo Vance,” the psychological sleuth, and Powell happened to be a living prototype. Incidentally, he is an excellent actor with one of the best talkie voices in Hollywood. Eugene Pallette is again the practical police detective, contrasting suitably with Vance, and E. H. Calvert presents another neat portrait as the dignified yet keenly shrewd district attorney. In support of the trio are Florence Eldridge, Ullrich Haupt, Jean Arthur as leading woman, and at least a dozen other minor principals of some definite distinction. The story presents us with a series of baffling deaths in a strange household. One by one its members die and the numbers of the suspects are reduced. Finally there comes a moment when one feels a choice can be made with reasonable certainty. The identity of the villain—the sercet maniac is clear. The die is cast and . . . one is wrong. It is a fascinating pastime, supplying the queer thrill that only the best of shockers can produce. Few films hold the atmosphere of “The Green Murder Case”; f ewer still so successfully hoodwink the most astute onlooker. From a technical viewpoint the picture is beyond reproach. The photography is clear and artistic, the sets are daringly conceived and elaborately built, the talking and sound are wellnigh perfect, and the action runs smoothly from first to last. All loose threads are picked up before the astute Vance retires suavely from the picture. i Supporting the feature picture on the Strand programme is a newsy Fox j Movietone Budget, including a chat

from Miss Ishbel Macßonald on her arrival in America. A colourful scenic film was followed by a number of delightful vaudeville items, including a remarkable demonstration of falsetto singing by a disguised person. A clever Krazy Kat cartoon and a talking comedy completed a first-class Strand show.