Le sphinx

"The Sphinx" is a very good and very old mystery from the Poverty Row's Monogram studio. To be sure, it shows its age at times but it is a step up from the Poverty Row norm in that the performances and the screenplay are uniformly good. Production values are better than could be expected - in fact, the only foreseeable objection to the film would be the deus ex machina needed to pull off the twist ending.

1933 is a long time ago. Todays audiences are perhaps too (pseudo)sophisticated to buy the denouement, but there always has to be a first time a plot device was employed. Probably audiences of the '30's were greatly impressed, as they may not have seen it before.

I found it riveting right up until the end, which I chalked up to age, and laid aside my aforementioned seasoned-veteran-worldliness for 62 minutes.

I am a sitter for any early Monogram picture, especially pre 1934 and this one delivers with solid production values and a genuinely interesting story. No wonder Herbert Yates wanted to absorb them together with serials studio Mascot and make Republic Pictures into a strong production house in 1935. Warners star Atwill really is scary and the revelation in the last reel causes a real yelp for the viewer. See this along with THE 13TH GUEST or even MYSTERY LINER and see why smart little Monogram emerged as a force to be considered in this early part of the 30s. If anyone has seen other films from this period like KING KELLY OF THE USA or GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST they will recognise a well intentioned film company on the rise.

The bad guy in this is so much better than all the other characters combined. This is odd because he barely speaks a word. Lionel Atwill's expressions and posturing are pretty remarkable. He is killing off stockbrokers who wouldn't go along with his wishes. In the process, he must cover his tracks. By speaking to someone at the crime scenes, he confuses the law enforcement people. The plot is basically a young writer trying to prove that Breen (Atwill) is the guilty party. His love interest, a reporter, is doing a series of stories on this benevolent deaf mute. She is in constant danger and is too bullheaded to listen to anyone's advice. This movie kept me guessing throughout and was a lot of fun. There are some stereotypically incompetent police there to poke fun at. They have allowed these stock brokers to get killed and can't seem to figure anything out. But it comes to a nice boil with some surprises, and keeps the audience guessing, even if the ending is a bit unsatisfying.

Prominent stock brokers are showing up dead and plucky newspaper reporter Jack Burton is convinced that the generous wealthy donor to a variety of charitable organizations named Jerome Breen is the murderer. The problem is in spite witnesses seeing Breen at the scene of the crime, he is a prominent figure and deaf and dumb...giving him the nickname "the sphinx". It is this detail that trips up the witnesses as they each distinctly recall him talking.

Jack Burton has a girlfriend on the newspaper, a society columnists named Jerry Crane and when this lovely girl goes to do a multi page story on Jerome Breen, she finds herself right in the middle of the mystery. This is a decent low budget mystery that doesn't have a lot of fluff padding the film. I think fans of early1930's mystery movies will enjoy it. Lionel Atwell plays the lead Breen, but I think it is the plucky reporter Theodore Newton who steels the show, especially as he gets more and more desperate to save his girl.

Talky suspense quickie with an intrepid reporter (Newton) and his would-be girlfriend (Terry) investigating the murders of stockbrokers, both of whom become obsessed by the deaf mute (Atwill) accused of the murders.

Slow to warm, this pot-boiler gradually heats up thanks mainly to Atwill, painting the picture of a gracious man of wealth and culture who may or may not be a callous murderer. Atwill, still relatively early in his career before the scandal that would ultimately cast him asunder, is highly effective achieving more through his expressions than which most actors are capable of with unimpeded speech. The supporting cast includes Paul Fix in a bit part as a stockbroker, Paul Hurst as a detective who reluctantly assumes the role of police inspector with two weeks to solve the case.

The climax is unexpected and the clues are quite innovative, so while the pace might be a bit off, there's just enough to hold the interest for the 62 minutes give or take a couple of rather overlong melodramatic moments between Newton and Terry establishing their character's mutual affections, and that of Hurst, as he bumbles into the spotlight.