Green Eyes

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.

Cops investigate a costume party murder in a rich man's mansion.

Thoroughly routine whodunit, despite the promising opening scenes. Not surprisingly, it's one of the type popular in the 30's, when amateur sleuths out-sleuthed the professionals. Here it's Charles Starrett as a novelist figuring out the clues before the cops do. But at least the screenplay doesn't turn the head cop into some kind of buffoon as often happened in these 30's programmers.

Now I'm used to seeing Starrett with a six-gun and Stetson giving the bad guys a hard-eyed stare. So, seeing him here as a loosey-goosey lounge lizard in alpine shorts took some getting used to. But he does liven up the acting, which otherwise tends toward the dull side. Still, that last scene in the lethal bedroom stands as a real grabber of staging. Too bad the rest of the movie doesn't show a similar level of imagination.

(In passing—Am I mistaken or does Starrett look like an early version of Rock Hudson.)

This is a well made mystery film from 1934 with a conclusion that makes sense. It would be difficult to ascertain that from most of the reviews on this database that discuss this film, however. I am not sure why they even bother to watch it in the first place, since they seem to dislike it so much. The police are portrayed as "morons" says one review, but I didn't see them like that. The cast consists of "unknowns" says another. Charles Starrett who received second billing may have not been a big star in 1934, but beginning in 1935 he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and had his own series of Westerns until 1952. He was able to quit the series and retire at 48, a wealthy man.

Charles starrett, shirley grey. The kesters throw a costume party that goes very wrong! As the bodies start piling up, the coppers try to figure out what's going on. Unfortunately, both the sound and the picture quality are pretty awful. It seems to be the same ol issue where they made copies of copies, and the copies got progressively worse. This version showed on tubi streaming, and it gets pretty bad at times. In fact, the last ten seconds of the film, the camera zooms in on the typewriter... but it's so blurry, we can only make out some of the words. In this case, the poor picture quality really interfered with the story. Which was already shakey to begin with. Directed by richard thorpe. He later worked with elvis a couple times. John wray, who plays the inspector/captain, (although they keep calling him "chief") died young at 53. The imdb cast list says inspector, while the actual film lists him as captain. The story is based on the novel by h ashbrook. This seems to be the only film made from his work.

The thirties were a dynamic decade where films turned from stilted and simple to dynamic with depth. This is a film that was made in the transition. At first, you think it is too simple with a hokey soundtrack. Then you get wrapped up in the story and find that this is a great short and to the point who done it. The film is black and white. It sort of has that Charlie Chan feels.

The story is a screenplay that has the look of a stage play. It is based on the novel "The Murder of Steven Kester" By H. Ashbrook. Jean Kester is in the process if eloping with Michael Tracy. So, people will not follow them they cut the phone lines and everyone's distributor wires. Now Jean's ruthless grandfather is found disposed of. It looks mighty suspicious. The house is full of people that were invited to a costume party. The police gat little cooperation from any of the guests. Before the day is over it will look like everyone had motive and opportunity. We may even find a few more deaths.

What part do green eyes play in the movie?