Very disappointing...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Admirable film.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

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.

The Benson Murder Case is the best of the three Philo Vance movies that Powell made at Paramount. That was partly because of advances in sound technology and partly because this script is more complex and the characters are more fleshed out.Anthony Benson is a stock broker - and he does not seem to be a crooked one as the synopsis states, though he is a bit of a rogue. The day is that of the great stock market crash, October 1929. As so many brokers did, those investors that had their stocks bought on margin were sold out when they could not cover those margins, and many lost everything.Add to this the complication of several people who have personal grudges against Benson that have nothing to do with the crash - two of which break into Benson's mansion that night - and you have a large number of suspects and a rather complex plot. Philo Vance (William Powell) comes calling on Benson that night and is having a discussion with dapper gangster Harry Gray (William Stage Boyd) about how Vance has only been able to solve the murders he has because the perpetrators were not professionals. At just about that time a shot rings out and Benson - minus the toupee he always wore if he was in the presence of anyone - rolls down the stairs, dead at Vance's feet.So here Vance has a house full of people who are glad to see Benson dead, yet they all seem to have alibis, and you have some proof (the missing toupee) that Benson must have been alone when he died, yet he did not commit suicide! What a mystery Vance must unravel, but he does.This one will keep you guessing as it is not quite so easy to figure out as the others. Also, there are a couple of other mysteries that Vance figures out but keeps mum about because they have nothing to do with the murder and because he is such a gentleman.I'd say watch this one, but watch it carefully, because there is quite a bit going on. Thus the plot is good and it is another fine chance for William Powell and Eugene Palette, as Vance's police detective friend, to show off their acting abilities.

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.

This is a fast-paced, standard mystery from the Philo Vance catalog. I just picked up the first three with William Powell and this was probably just slightly the best of that original trio. 'The Canary Murder Case was mostly of interest due to the presence of Louise Brooks, who was so poorly dubbed, one can only treasure some nice shots of her beautiful face. The Greene Murder Case was nearly as static, but had more atmosphere than Canary or even this one. The problem with those two more than their innate stiffness, is that the mysteries are so poor and immediately predictable that they may be the worst mysteries I have seen from early Hollywood.The Benson Murder Case has similar faults, but by 1930 the sound technology had improved enough that it moves much better than the previous two. The mystery is more of a challenge for Philo Vance and he proves that he is not only up to the challenge, but he hammers it all home in a satisfying finale. Frank Tuttle, a veteran of the previous two, directed this one and does a competent, but unremarkable job. It has less atmosphere than Greene, but thankfully is a more interesting mystery. Also, Distict Attorney Markham is strangely very angry for most of this film. Eugene Palette is his usual, boisterous self as Sergeant Heath.Paramount stopped making Vance movies after this one, but had prepared S.S. Van Dine's "The Scarab Murder Case" for William Powell. They even created an advance poster for this film that was sadly not made. Had Powell not made another Vance film after this, his legacy as a great screen detective would remain intact, but he came back one more time to play Vance in Warner's The Kennel Murder Case in 1933, which would easily trump all his previous efforts, and ultimately be the best Philo Vance film. But, if you crave William Powell as a screen detective, add this rarity to your list - It's a solid, workman-like picture, lacking in style, but ample in entertainment for the classic mystery fan.