SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

utgard14 Egotistical actor Herman Brandt (Ricardo Cortez) is murdered in his apartment one night. Suspicion falls on a member of the Pointer family that lives upstairs: John Pointer (Lionel Atwill) and wife Carola (Veree Teasdale), their daughter Marietta (Anita Louise), and the governess Josephine (Helen Trenholme). My principal reason for seeing this was Lionel Atwill. I love his horror films but it's always nice to see him stretch his acting chops in other types of movies. He's very good in this. Veree Teasdale's acting is overly theatrical at times. Cortez was one of the greats at playing slimy and here he showcases that. Lovely Anita Louise is quite good, particularly in the film's final scenes. Dorothy Tree was great fun as Brandt's ex-wife who loathed him. Dependable vet C. Aubrey Smith is his usual affable self as the police inspector. A nice little B murder mystery from Warner Bros.

TomInSanFrancisco I had never heard of this movie, and had never seen Verree Teasdale given top billing in a film, so I tuned in for the novelty value.It turned out to be a very pleasant surprise -- a fast-paced story, imaginatively presented.The cast is full of faces familiar to any '30s movie fan -- C. Aubrey Smith, Ricardo Cortez (he of the dazzling smile), Anita Louise.There's even a wire-haired terrier that looks like the dog who played Asta (I don't know the canine actor's name!) So I recommend this as a little-known but certainly worth-seeing gem, and a great reason for keeping your TCM subscription up to date.

Jim Tritten It was not only in more recent times that parents asked themselves what was going on with the younger generation. In pre-War Vienna too -- parents forbade their children from listening to Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite." Anita Louise is the daughter to Verree Teasdale and Lionel Atwill. The story concerns who has been tempted by Ricardo Cortez, the actor living in the apartment below? Someone silences him forever -- they might have done so earlier and spiced up a very slow start. Some twists and turns towards the end can't save this otherwise forgettable social commentary masquerading as a mystery.

jbacks3 You can tell that a lot of production money was thrown at THE FIREBIRD but for the life of me I can't tell why it's set in Germany. Ricardo Cortez (the corpse to be) plays a horndog actor with a shady past who lives in a high class apartment building. There's an angry ex-wife, an effeminate personal assistant that's in love with the corpse's Dachsund, and well heeled neighbors with a lovely daughter (Anita Louise) who fear for their reputation. C. Aubrey Smith, the 71-year old impeccable Englishman, plays the police inspector. Remember this is supposed to be set in 1934 Germany (what, no Nazis?). Except for the wiener dog, the apartment manager's pipe, beer swilling policeman and some German shop signs, you'd never know it. Not one stab at an accent between them. A standard whodunnit.