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.
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.