Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Micitype Pretty Good

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

kevin olzak 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.

gridoon2018 I have no doubt that "The Benson Murder Case" must have wowed audiences when it came out in 1930; the main plot gimmick is ingenious. However, since then this gimmick (or others close to it) has been used so many times (even by Agatha Christie herself!) that it has lost some of its luster. The pacing can also be torturously slow at times. But, on the positive side, there are a couple of startling moments, like the bullet that suddenly breaks through a car window and wounds a man, or what is possibly one of the first flashbacks ever put on film. Personally I preferred Basil Rathbone as Philo Vance ("The Bishop Murder Case"), but William Powell is adequate as well. Eugene Palette provides some welcome comic relief (his best line, after a reporter asks who-done-it: "The four Marx Brothers!"), and Natalie Moorhead, playing a very pre-code character, wears a sexy backless dress in several scenes. **1/2 out of 4.

dbborroughs William Powell plays Philo Vance for the third time in the story of the murder of a scheming stock broker in a room full of people. Vance is one of the people and he insists its so simple that anyone could solve it. Unfortunately it turns out that only Vance can. This is an early sound film that is curiously set bound. Its the sort of early sound film where there a large number of people gathered around close so as to show off the relatively new sound medium. Painfully formal at times the film seems more like a stage play then a movie. It comes off as the sort of mystery film that was sent up in countless spoofs from the same period. I find the films technical limitations odd since the earlier Canary Murder Case actually seemed to get out and about not to mention less confined by the limitations of microphones. Its not a bad film, but it's not a particularly exciting one. I kept wanting to yell "get on with it" at the screen.

the_mysteriousx 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.