The Benson Murder Case (1930)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Best movie of this year hands down!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Tend to stay huddled together in shots1930 was not that long after they began making talking pictures. Because of this, the picture suffers a lot compared to a film made just a year or two later. Too often, due to primitive sound technology, the actors tend to stand around in small huddles...most likely so that the hidden microphones will pick them up properly. This is why the actors DON'T move around very much....they hadn't really perfected this using sound. In addition, may of the actors tend to sound more like they are new to sound pictures and their deliveries are often rather stale. I cannot blame the movie for this...just the era in which it was made.As far as the story goes, it isn't bad despite everything....though it is very talky. There is a sleazy stockbroker, Benson, who is killed...and considering how many people he cheated, it's difficult to determine who did the deed...as many could have done it.For a better film, try watching some of William Powell's other murder mysteries--particularly"The Kennel Murder Case" in which he once again plays Philo Vance but the film is simply more enjoyable to watch and not so static.

The Benson Murder Case is the best of the three Philo Vance movies that Powell made at Paramount. That was partly because of advances in sound technology and partly because this script is more complex and the characters are more fleshed out.Anthony Benson is a stock broker - and he does not seem to be a crooked one as the synopsis states, though he is a bit of a rogue. The day is that of the great stock market crash, October 1929. As so many brokers did, those investors that had their stocks bought on margin were sold out when they could not cover those margins, and many lost everything.Add to this the complication of several people who have personal grudges against Benson that have nothing to do with the crash - two of which break into Benson's mansion that night - and you have a large number of suspects and a rather complex plot. Philo Vance (William Powell) comes calling on Benson that night and is having a discussion with dapper gangster Harry Gray (William Stage Boyd) about how Vance has only been able to solve the murders he has because the perpetrators were not professionals. At just about that time a shot rings out and Benson - minus the toupee he always wore if he was in the presence of anyone - rolls down the stairs, dead at Vance's feet.So here Vance has a house full of people who are glad to see Benson dead, yet they all seem to have alibis, and you have some proof (the missing toupee) that Benson must have been alone when he died, yet he did not commit suicide! What a mystery Vance must unravel, but he does.This one will keep you guessing as it is not quite so easy to figure out as the others. Also, there are a couple of other mysteries that Vance figures out but keeps mum about because they have nothing to do with the murder and because he is such a gentleman.I'd say watch this one, but watch it carefully, because there is quite a bit going on. Thus the plot is good and it is another fine chance for William Powell and Eugene Palette, as Vance's police detective friend, to show off their acting abilities.

Stockbroker Richard Tucker is the victim in The Benson Murder Case. In 1930 a lot of people would like to have murdered their stockbrokers. But in the Great Depression, Tucker is living high on the hog even after the Stock Market Crash.The Benson Murder Case is not a whodunit as much as it plays like a Columbo mystery. In this film, the perpetrator is practically daring William Powell to solve this one correctly. But you do really enjoy the film when Powell actually does.The film is a typical closed ring of suspects murder mystery as many people who would dearly like to have seen Tucker done in for calling in their stock margins before they were given a chance to make good. They all show up at Tucker's Westchester county estate, but unfortunately the District Attorney E.H. Calvert has the place next door and he's invited Philo Vance for the weekend.The Benson Murder Case keeps up the high standard of Vance film that Powell did. S.S. Van Dine and later his estate sold the various Vance novels to many studios one at a time which is why there were so many Philo Vances out there. Powell's next Vance film would be for Warner Brothers while he had a brief sojourn there before moving to MGM and The Thin Man.The Benson Murder Case was the last Philo Vance film that Powell did for Paramount and it was a good one.

Being an avid William Powell and Philo Vance devotee, I was pleased to find that all four of Powell's forays as the effete detective are available on DVD. But beware if you are not a fan of either of the above or of early sound films since you might find this a little too static for your tastes. If you are a fan, then read on.Powell made four Vance films which got better as they progressed. This one, made in 1930, is still a bit on the stagy side although the acting was improving as the players were becoming more adept at "talkies". It's basically a one set film, taking place in a hunting lodge where a murder takes place and all the suspects are gathered. Powell, as usual, is very debonair and unruffled and Eugene Palette returns in the role of Sergeant Heath. I miss Eteinne Girardot, who played Dr. Doremus, in the later "Kennel Murder Case". He added humor to the story which was less heavy-handed than that of Palette. Watch for Mischa Auer, a mainstay of films in the 30s and 40s, as the butler.Since this was before the Code, Natalie Moorehead doesn't make a secret of her "profession" but is let off easy in the end by a sympathetic Vance.This film makes a good addition to the William Powell/Philo Vance series and is certainly worth the watch for the fan. I will not comment on any Vance films made without Powell (except those with Basil Rathbone) as they are not worthy of comment.