The Bishop Murder Case (1929) dir. David Burton
A peaceful morning is broken when Professor Bertrand Dillard (Alec B. Francis) and his manservant Pyne (Sidney Bracey) look down into the house’s courtyard and see the corpse of family friend Robin, nicknamed “Cock Robin”, with an arrow in his chest. Professor Dillard immediately calls District Attorney Markham (Clarence Geldert) who calls in his friend, amateur detective Philo Vance (Basil Rathbone) to consult. Despite Sergeant Heath’s (James Donlan) belief that this should be an open and shut case, Vance is convinced this murder is just the first in a series.
The obvious suspect, Raymond Sperling (Delmer Daves), whose name means “sparrow”, turns out to have a solid alibi. So suspicion next falls on “The Bishop” who’d left a note referencing the famous nursery rhyme. But who in the area could be this “supersane” (Vance’s word) killer? Is it Professor Dillard’s niece Belle Dillard (Leila Hyams)? His adopted son (and Leila’s love interest) Sigurd Arnesson (Roland Young)? Next door neighbor Adolph Drukker, (George F. Marion) back twisted by a childhood accident? His allegedly agoraphobic and fragile sister (Zelda Sears)? Cranky maid Beedle (Nellie Bly Baker)? The neighbor on the other side, creepy chess expert John Pardee (Charles Quartermaine)? Arnesson’s favorite student John Sprigg (Carroll Nye)? Or someone totally unsuspected?
This was the only Philo Vance movie in which Basil Rathbone played the character. He does a good job, and since Vance specifically has a British accent he picked up during an English education, his accent is appropriate here. We only see about a minute of Philo’s personal life as a wealthy playboy, and the rest of the movie is him being smarter than the police while being almost polite about it. Amusingly, he’s mocked as “Sherlock Holmes” a couple of times, a decade before the actor took on that role.
I can tell that this is early in the talkies period, as most of the other actors haven’t quite gotten used to the more subtle acting and voice styles that work better with sound. Drukker and Pardee’s actors in particular took “act as suspicious as possible” too far. There’s also a grating scene where Belle is waylaid by a gang of children in the park to read them nursery rhymes.
As with many multiple murder stories, several suspects are eliminated by being killed, making the solution easier. If you haven’t read the book or any spoilers, see how early you can figure it out!
Of special interest is the scene where Ms. Drukker’s doctor has hooked her up to an enormous 1920s heart monitor so that he can determine if she’s getting too much excitement and the interrogation needs to be stopped. This monitor never comes up again–it’s just an interesting touch.
The pace is pretty breakneck to fit in all the murders, and this movie never drags. Overall, it’s a fun example of an early talkie and Mr. Rathbone is well worth watching in it. Recommended to mystery fans.
