Movie Review – Dragon Murder Case, The
Principal Cast : William Warren, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot, Eugene Pallette, Helen Lowell, Robert McWade, Robert barrat, Dorothy Tree, George E Stone, Etienne Girardot, George Meeker, Robert Warwick, William B Davidson, Arthur Aylesworth, Charles C Wilson.
Synopsis: The Stamm family gives a small party prior to daughter Bernice’s marriage to socialite Monty, but all of the guests seem to be against the match.
********
The seventh Philo Vance novel is adapted to the big screen, this time featuring prolific stage and screen actor Warren William in the title role, and the first of the SS Van Dine books optioned by First National Pictures, The Dragon Murder Case is a solid murder-mystery lark very much in the Scooby Doo vein of “how did they pull that off” all wrapped up in a tick over an hour. Brevity being the soul of wit, the film trades heavily on the comedy style of co-star Eugene Pallette, as the irascible yet incompetent Sergeant Heath, as this waterlogged rich-folk narrative offers less a scabrous ensemble of intent characters, depicting a relatively mild sense of jeopardy in spite of the title’s serious overtones. Warren William, an incredibly popular actor of his day, personifies Philo Vance very much in that foppish, somewhat homosexual manner established by William Powell, and perhaps comes as close to Powell’s inimitable take on the characters as any I’ve seen achieve so far; the character of Vance is indisputably thinly written, more a cypher for deducing clues than a fully-fleshed out screen hero, but ol’ Wozza acquits himself superbly amid some solid studio-bound production work.
The story follows suave detective Philo Vance (Warren William) as he investigates the mysterious death of Monty Montague (Robert Barrat), a wealthy playboy who disappears during a late-night swim at a lavish party hosted by his eccentric neighbour, Rudolph Stamm (Eugene Pallette). When Montague’s body is later found in a nearby dragon-shaped pool, rumours of a supernatural culprit stir the local community. Vance methodically unravels a web of jealousy, betrayal, and greed, encountering key suspects such as Montague’s fiancée Bernice Stamm (Margaret Lindsay), Rudolph’s sister; socialite Doris Delafield (Lyle Talbot); and caretaker Sigurd Arnesson (George E. Stone). As Vance pieces together the truth, he uncovers a shocking motive behind the murder, delivering justice in a style that combines wit and razor-sharp deduction.
One of the things I adore watching in a lot of these older films, and in particular these hokey crime capers from back in the day, is just how scientific modern day investigative procedures are. Today, police take fingerprints, examine for forensic evidence, and take a far more procedure-driven eye to little things like homicide. But if you’re watching a Philo Vance film, there’s cops crawling all over exposed crime scenes like they just popped in after lunch, no recorded interviews or any chain of evidence, but rather a “by the gut” cowboy approach that’s laughably nostalgic for a time when crime was – at least as far as the movies were concerned – more a hobby to solve than a legitimate policing enterprise. At least, that’s the way The Dragon Murder Case seems to portray things. I had a great time with this film, and despite the fairly generic cast of characters, and meandering monster-in-the-pool premise, all of which is solved by Philo Vance in the last two minutes of the runtime, there’s a lot to enjoy here. For a start, Warren William makes a great Vance, an upright and glint-in-the-eye detective running rings about Sgt Heath and District Attorney Markham (a returning Robert McWade, last seen in 1933’s The Kennel Murder Case in the same role), neither of whom appear capable of actually solving the crime but rather quick to point the finger at everyone within eyeshot. Etienne Girardot’s city coroner, Dr Doremus, is once again full of complaints about having his breakfast or lunch ruined by a body being discovered, an ongoing gag for the series that, thanks to Girardot’s mousey delivery, never gets old.
The supporting cast include a grab-bag of competent yet underserved performers, notably veteran Hollywood contract player Margaret Lindsay (who appeared in Jezebel alongside Bette Davis), Lyle Talbot (who would appear in no fewer than three Ed Wood films late in his career, including Plan 9 From Outer Space), the fabulous Helen Lowell (here playing the apparently insane Stamm matriarch), and Robert Barrat, who also appeared in The Kennel Murder Case, but has a chance here to play the wily young Rudolph Stamm, and does it well. The film sets up the mild premise, sets our principal suspects into motion, and then spends at least half the film with Vance trying to work it all out – succeeding at the last possible minute, naturally. The film’s production also boasts an incredible backyard rock pool set that is positively enormous – a full sized pool of water inhabits the center of the set with various rock encroachments, buildings and pathways surrounding it, all maximising every camera angle possible to give the setting an expansive, outdoor-yet-indoor feel that’s cool as hell. One suspect this wasn’t the cheapest set to build and maintain, and I applaud both the studio and director H Bruce Humberstone for making the most of the film’s budget to accomplish it. Commendably, Tony Gaudio’s terrific photography positively sparkles with murder-mystery subtlety, from the dank shadows of the pool’s darkened extremities, to some startling underwater photography, to the sprawling Stamm mansion, the film’s look is as opulent and widescreen as camera technology would allow.
The film’s cartoonish aspects and indifference to criminal procedure, not to mention a terrific cast doing their best with material that could simply be described as “generic”, not much happens in The Dragon Murder Case that’s a surprise to anyone. It plays fairly formulaic, although in spite of myself I really found a lot to appreciate and enjoy in the simplicity of it all. Okay, some of the humour doesn’t work – Eugene Pallette isn’t the best comedic actor, and his timing is often awful, but he makes a good fist of things yet again – and the stodgy writing leans terribly into subgenre pastiche, but this is an eminently enjoyable murder mystery lark that neither taxes the brain or enlightens the intellect. It’s one of the better Philo Vance films of the period, and although he only appeared one further time in the role, I would love to have seen Warren William given more opportunity to play the part, he’s such a natural fit for this type of material in my opinion. The Dragon Murder Case is recommended for vintage film fans, and especially for Philo Vance fans (I know you’re out there, my web stats suggest as much!).
Who wrote this?
