Undescribable Perfection

From my favorite movies..

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Philo Vance (Warren William) investigates a cursed swimming pool. It's called the dragon pool because there is supposedly a killer dragon in it! Extremely interesting idea elevates this murder mystery. Nice cast too. Warren William is good. It's amusing to me how there seems to be little consensus on Philo Vance's character in these films. He seems to change personality depending on who is playing him. This is probably why he's one of my least favorites of the classic mystery film detectives. But I do enjoy Warren William so I enjoyed this. Eugene Palette reprises his role as Sgt. Heath and he's always fun. Also returning is Etienne Girardot as the coroner Doremus. I love this actor. He's hilarious! The lovely Margaret Lindsay appears as one of the suspects, as does character actor George E. Stone. Lyle Talbot plays a half-Indian apparently. He doesn't look it but they keep referencing it so I thought I'd throw that in there. Short runtime helps keep the pace tight. Good old school detective flick. Fans of them will enjoy this one.

Despite the many unfavorable reviews, the first 15 minutes of this programmer are exotic and memorable. Take a look at the impressive outdoor set that places the nightmarish swimming pool in front of the majestic stairway leading up to the mansion's front door. All are full-size components of a single sound stage creation (listen for the echo), unusual for a movie of this type. Now, it's hard for me to believe that First National (Warner Bros.) would go to the trouble and expense for a series B- picture like this. But however that may be, the result is unusually atmospheric, particularly the eerie pool where any kind of mutant creature might be growing amid the ugly murk.Then there are the stylishly dressed party guests, a good look at high fashion, circa 1934. How the guest-suspects react to the fighting fish battling to the death in the mansion's many aquariums is how we get to know them. It's an offbeat idea that also shows how the mansion's inside is as strange as its outside. And when one of the guests mysteriously vanishes in the haunted pool, thanks to the weird build-up, I was ready to believe that the legendary dragon had gotten him.At that point, however, the screenplay collapses into a routine who-dun-it, and a not very coherent one, at that. Note how little interaction there is among the suspects after the murder. In fact, the comely Margaret Lindsey almost disappears until the end. Most of the dialogue goes to humorous throw-away lines from the froggish Sergeant Heath (Palette) and the raspy Dr. Doremus (Girardot). Nor, for that matter, does director Humberstone show any imagination in developing the characters or the initial atmosphere. Even the usually forceful Warren William seems uninterestingly subdued. Too bad a more stylish director and less pedestrian screenwriter didn't get hold of the material first. That way maybe we would have gotten more than just a promising start.

Dragon Murder Case, The (1934) *** 1/2 (out of 4) William Warren takes over the role of Philo Vance in this entry, which plays more like a horror film than just a mystery. A world class swimmer jumps into a pool during a party and never comes up. The next day the pool is drained but there isn't a body so various people are looked at as suspects but certain clues lead to a legend dealing with an Indian dragon monster. The Kennel Murder Case is the best known film in the series but this one here is just as exciting and entertaining. Warren is terrific in the role of Vance bringing his usual charm and brains to the role. The supporting cast including Lyle Talbot, Margaret Lindsay, Robert McWade and George E. Stone are all terrific but it's the overweight and funny talking Eugene Palette that steals the show. The mystery behind the killing remains interesting throughout the entire film and all the horror elements ranging from ghosts to dragons to a crazy old woman play out very well. This is certainly one of the better mysteries I've seen from this period.

Not a particularly auspicious entry in the Philo Vance series. Warren Williams simply does not match the acting of William Powell who had the lead in four of these films, including the excellent Kennel Murder Case. The storyline revolves around guests at a mansion and the deaths of the fiancée Montague and perhaps others in the vicinity of the "dragon pool." Mrs. Stamm, the matron of the house warns that a water dragon that has guarded the lives and fortunes of the Stamm family inhabits the pool. Montague was not worthy of joining the family. How a dragon would have ever been in the pool is simply ignored. Shots of swimming in the pool remind one of the Creature From the Black Lagoon. Eugene Pallette is excellent as the detective who is always remarking how his knowledge of criminology leads him to suspect... Etienne Girardot is excellent as the coroner as is Helen Lowell as grandmother Stamm. Love triangle does not lend much to the plot. Much discussion of fish in tanks that does not appear to serve any purpose - although they are interesting to view, especially through the tanks suspended from the ceiling. Perhaps one of them was supposed to evolve into the dragon. Orry-Kelly costumes on Margaret Lindsay. Not recommended.