MartinHafer
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.
kevin olzak
1930's "The Benson Murder Case" marked William Powell's third outing as debonair Philo Vance, following "The Canary Murder Case" and "The Greene Murder Case," with E. H. Calvert's District Attorney Markham, and Eugene Palette's Sgt. Ernest Heath also returning. The target for murder is ruthless stockbroker Anthony Benson (Richard Tucker), and it's certainly a happy coincidence that all of his jilted victims conveniently turn up in time for that fatal shot, his lifeless body tumbling down the steps. This time Vance is already present, challenged to solve this case by Harry Gray (William 'Stage' Boyd), who believes that no truly clever murderer would ever be caught by Vance. The paucity of suspects reduce the story from a 'whodunit' to a 'howdunit,' with future Philo Vance Paul Lukas and his Hungarian accent particularly difficult to decipher, playing a spineless, charisma-free gigolo. It's nice to find Powell's future "Thin Man" co-star (as Julia Wolf) Natalie Moorhead, playing a distinctively pre-code independent woman. Palette is again a delight, and Powell himself has even more to do than before, his meticulous recreation of the crime finally wearing down his devious foe. This was Paramount's final Philo Vance feature, following the release of MGM's "The Bishop Murder Case," which headlined another former villain, Basil Rathbone, in the title role. It would be three years before Vance would return to the screen, played for a fourth and last time by Powell, again joined (this time at Warners) by Eugene Palette, with Robert McWade playing Markham.
gridoon2018
I have no doubt that "The Benson Murder Case" must have wowed audiences when it came out in 1930; the main plot gimmick is ingenious. However, since then this gimmick (or others close to it) has been used so many times (even by Agatha Christie herself!) that it has lost some of its luster. The pacing can also be torturously slow at times. But, on the positive side, there are a couple of startling moments, like the bullet that suddenly breaks through a car window and wounds a man, or what is possibly one of the first flashbacks ever put on film. Personally I preferred Basil Rathbone as Philo Vance ("The Bishop Murder Case"), but William Powell is adequate as well. Eugene Palette provides some welcome comic relief (his best line, after a reporter asks who-done-it: "The four Marx Brothers!"), and Natalie Moorhead, playing a very pre-code character, wears a sexy backless dress in several scenes. **1/2 out of 4.
Bucs1960
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.
AD
