Just perfect...

A Major Disappointment

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Guilty Hands (1931)This is a terrific movie. I usually start with reservations or a mixed bag of comments, but my lasting impression at the end of this was, wow, great writing, great acting, superb pacing (editing) and excellent filming all around. It takes chances, has some really nice moving camera work (now and then) and some night stuff (with a pseudo-flashlight). And it clicks and makes sense. Even the first scene is just fabulous, two barely visible men as they talk in the shadows about the perfect murder.Key, in every way, is the leading man, Lionel Barrymore. He's always good, and usually great, and he's great here. An ex-D.A. and now defense attorney, he's drawn into crime by the apparently wayward feelings of her daughter (who wants to marry a cad). And it quickly gets messy, but in a very very neat way. The writing is surprisingly fresh and the acting (and reading of these lines also filled with spontaneity and life.There is, oddly, the last minute or so that will drive some of you mad—with anger or disappointment. And I can't breathe a word about that, except to say the rigor mortis never had such a wonderful moment in a movie.The daughter is the ostensible female star, Madge Evans, who is a goodie goodie and likable. But far better is the competing leading female, Kay Francis, who steals every scene. She was the star of the period at Warner Bros (though only after this movie, which is MGM) and you can see why. See it for her alone—her role increases as the film goes on.Not to overlooked is the writing, which scintillates and is sassy and alive at every turn. Barrymore makes this really come forward, but it's the writing itself that gives him something to work with. (The director, Willard Van Dyke, is assisted by Barrymore, without credit, so he may have had some influence on his remarkable presence here.) Then there is the final scene, which unfortunately will make most people laugh out loud. Too bad. Maybe think of it as just part of the arch drama at hand, and the idea that it's all pretense and fun. And don't let it ruin what came before. Great stuff.

Guilty Hands (1931) Kay Frances, Lionel Barrymore, Madge Evans, Alan Mowbray. Babs(Evans) is wooed and won away from her young sweetheart by older cad, Gordan Rich(Mowbray). Her father, Barrymore(Richard Grant) vows to kill him and get away with it if he won't stop seeing Babs. Marjorie(Kay Francis) loves Gordan and sees what happens. . She threatens to unmask the real killer. It would take a few more years to have films made from the camera point-of-view This is melodrama 1931 style. Most actors came from the stage; lots of scripts were reworking Plays; directors also had mainly stage training. So, if we today criticize, using todays standards, it is very unfair. This is a fairly interesting plot, with mostly pros in the title roles. The star in Barrymore and he is good. Kay Francis has lovely fashions to wear, and holds her own. And because it is pre-code, a surprising ending. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021933/

"Guilty Hands" was made in 1931, but it looks ahead of its time - both technically (the opening sequence is particularly impressive) and thematically (it tells the story of a "justifiable murder" - and the murderer is the main character!). There are strong doses of black humor in the dialogue ("Gordon Rich was entirely responsible for his own death"), the "alibi" is a very clever one, and the ending caps it all off with a nicely ironic touch. The film also offers two absolutely gorgeous (though largely forgotten today, sadly) women - Kay Francis and Madge Evans. It's easy to see why Francis was so popular especially in the early 1930s; apart from being beautiful she is also very expressive. Madge Evans is charming, while Lionel Barrymore plays the main character with an appropriate and enjoyable hamminess. **1/2 out of 4.

Yes, it's a fun movie, but the ending is absurd beyond words. ROFL absurd. Not to give it away, but it requires the intervention of the "hands" of Providence (or a really crappy author - often the same thing) to resolve this thing.Kay Francis is amazingly beautiful here, and Lionel Barrymore effectively hammy.R.