Bezenby I'm not that familiar with the mystery genre or era (1930s) at all, but I quite liked this murder mystery. Some old guy gets bumped off during a fancy dress party and stuffed in a cupboard, and it's up to the police and a smug murder mystery writer to figure out who the culprit was. Was it the spoiled granddaughter and her boyfriend? Or the secretary and his wife? Or the housekeeper? Or the old business partner? The police try and find out the only way they know – by cornering people in the house and barking rapid fire questions at them for the entire first half of the film. This sounds boring but it kind of got me all fired up too, so much so that I started firing rapid questions at my wife. Where's my dinner? Why don't you shut those kids up? Why are coming towards me with that knife?It's all pretty brisk stuff as the writer guy snoops around and generally acts like a total pain as he tries to rumble the perp. As this film was made in the 1800s it's not full of blood and gore and sex as we've all come to expect, what with being brought up on Fulci films, but for a glimpse into a by-gone age (30BC) I thought Green Eyes was charming and I'll tip my hat to it. Are there stand out films of this type? I'd like to know. The Pre-Cambrian explosion mystery film intrigues me.

Woodyanders The body of millionaire Steven Kester is discovered murdered in the closet by the guests at a lavish costume party being held at Kester's stately country mansion. It's up to shrewd and sarcastic crime novelist Michael Tracy (a spirited and likable performance by Charles Starrett) to figure out the identity of the killer. Director Richard Thorpe, working from a witty and compact script by Andrew Moses, relates the absorbing story at a brisk pace, maintains a firm sense of taut narrative economy throughout, and further spices things up with a pleasing sense of sassy humor (Tracy's barbed exchanges with the police are especially sharp and amusing). Moreover, the able cast play their parts with real zest: Starrett's lively acting keeps the picture humming, the fetching Shirley Grey brings tremendous appeal to her role as Kester's feisty grand daughter Jean, John Wary is suitably gruff as the hard-nosed Inspector Crofton, and Dorothy Revier does well as the touchy Mrs. Pritchard. M.A. Anderson's crisp black and white cinematography makes neat use of fades, wipes, and dissolves. A hugely enjoyable item.

kidboots Dorothy Revier, a former Wampas Baby Star of 1925, specialized in vamps, and in many of her films she was the only reason to watch them. Not this film though, which boasts a strong cast (Charles Starrett, Shirley Grey) and an ending with a twist. With most of the filming done on a palatial mansion set from Universal, the production values were high.The guests at a midnight masquerade are shocked to find their host Stephen Kester (Claude Dillingwater) has been stabbed to death. Meanwhile Kester's grand daughter Jean (Shirley Grey) has eloped with Cliff (William Bakewell) who informs her that not only has he tampered with the guest's car ignitions so they can't be followed, he has cut the phone wires as well. The police stop them and as suspects, they are taken back to the house.Mystery writer Bill Tracy (Charles Starrett, surprisingly providing comic relief) is eager to help but only succeeds in upsetting the police. Everyone has an alibi of sorts but Lenox, the butler, reveals that Kester was greatly disliked, and that he overheard Kester and Hall (Arthur Clayton) having a business argument. When Cliff, who seems to be the most suspicious character in the film, is questioned he denies he and Jean are anything but good friends and Mrs. Pritchard's (Dorothy Revier) evidence is damning - making Jean a prime suspect. It then comes out that Kester had disinherited Jean but had not signed a new will. Jean's personality does not help matters - she comes across as a spoiled brat, annoyed because her grandfather has cut off her allowance.Things seem to be getting somewhere when Hall, who is chief suspect (Kester robbed him of valuable mining stock in 1914) is found shot - an apparent suicide. There is even a note explaining things. In it Hall tells of his friendship with Jean's mother and how, because of Kester's greed, she was forced to work long hours to support herself and her baby - work that eventually killed her. Hall decides to get revenge.....That's not the end and the twist is what separated "Green Eyes" from all the other mystery films that flooded theatres in 1934. Recommended.

rsoonsa This somewhat less than rewarding production is based closely upon a novel by Harriette Ashbrook: "The Murder Of Steven Kester", to a point of its inclusion of substantial swatches of Ashbrook's stilted dialogue, but since the original book remains safely confined within a rather narrow spectrum of sleuthing utilized by the English writer, it can be no surprise that the film is also dull and generally predictable. Action opens briskly with assistant director Melville Shyer, who also contributes the script, effectively leading a congregation of extras during a lively costume party sequence, this festivity organized at the home of wealthy Steven Kester by his granddaughter Jean (Shirley Grey) as a diversion to facilitate her unobstructed elopement with beau Cliff Miller (William Bakewell). Here the pace of the film begins to flag as journeyman director Richard Thorpe mishandles the tempo following discovery of Steven Kester's corpse, decorated with stab wounds, and a homicide investigation then begins under the supervision of Captain (or Chief, at times Inspector) Crofton (John Wray) who fails to acknowledge any recognizable form of correct investigative police procedures as he browbeats a large contingent of available suspects. Needless to report, many of these latter have apparent motives to have committed the slaying, and if Crofton neglects one of them, a meddlesome crime novelist, Michael Tracy (Charles Starrett), a recurring lead character as "Spike Tracy" in the publications of Ashbrook, is on hand to abet the detective. Viewers, however, will not require similar assistance, due to the story hardly being abstruse enough to challenge most armchair detectives. Production values for this low tier Chesterfield Pictures item are expectedly paltry, but some performances from players are to be valued, in particular a brief turn by Lloyd Whitlock, and neatly developed characterizations from Grey and Dorothy Revier as female suspects. Director Thorpe, ever respectful of his cast members, and especially of those whom are stage trained, leads with a loose rein.