Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

mark.waltz I don't think anybody in Hollywood history ever considered Alan Mowbray a sex symbol of any means, but in this pre-code drama, he is the lecherous lothario who has set his sights on best friend Lionel Barrymore's daughter Madge Evans and has manipulated her into becoming engaged to him. She's a young innocent, and I found it hard to believe that she would choose portly Mowbray over the dashing William Bakewell who is in love with her. Mowbray has jilted the glamorous Kay Francis in favor of Evans, and at a dinner party celebrating the engagement, Barrymore lets on that he approves, while underneath as both a well respected attorney for the defense and the prosecution he is plotting to kill Mowbray and get away with it. When he sees a possible motive for murder with the furiously jealous Kay Francis, he sets into motion the opportunity to blame her for Mowbray's murder, but just as everything seems to be going off as planned, shocking twists turn his scheme around, leading the way to a stunning conclusion.Having defended his daughter Norma Shearer for a murder he committed in "A Free Soul", Barrymore now takes on a more scheming fatherly role here and is captivating. Many of his later performances were more hammy in nature than his famous profile brother John Barrymore, but here, Barrymore is excellent, especially as he harasses Francis with the ideas of how he will prosecute her and have it appear as if she was the guilty party. Mowbray, a delightful mustache twirler, definitely deserves to face the wrath of some poor girl's father, so the tension is thick as Barrymore stalks his prey. This is without a doubt an extremely dated and stagy story, but fills the screen with some delightfully melodramatic performances, including Francis in one of her best before she went onto become Hollywood's most long suffering mother. Even with a sincere performance, I just never could believe Evans' fawning over Mowbray and even threatening to run away with him if Barrymore didn't accept her decision. With all these deficiencies, the film still remains a completely exciting glimpse into a world of perversion that just a few years later would not be able to be done or even re-released without some major editing.

secondtake 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.

cluciano63 Pretty good murder story in a pre-code kind of way. Lionel Barrymore plays the local legal-eagle, as well as the irate father of the soon-to-be-bride, his daughter intending to marry his old friend, the biggest cad he knows. He tells the fellow he will murder him-justifiably in his mind-if won't give her up, and we see him do so. He even has arranged witnesses to "prove" he could not be the murderer, but the dead man's longtime love, played by a lovely Kay Francis, suspects him from the start.(Her scene at his body is not her best, however.) She then discovers the imprint on a piece of paper of a note the dead man had written before he was murdered, showing that Lionel had threatened to murder him. Of course Lionel is right there when she finds it, and explains in lawlerly detail how she will appear in a trial, since she is the beneficiary of the will.So will Lionel be caught for his misdeed? Or is the one of the pre-codes when murderers do not have to pay for their crime? Lionel Barrymore gives his usual strong, if sometimes over-the-top, performance. Kay plays well in a major supporting role. The rest of the cast is adequate in their roles, but the film is mostly between Lionel and Kay.

Neil Doyle For the sake of his daughter (Madge Evans), who wants to marry a playboy cad (Alan Mobrary) old enough to be her father, Lionel Barrymore is the lawyer who thinks he can get away with the perfect crime by making it possible for her daughter to marry a wealthy young man (William Bakewell) rather than the unsuitable cad.The tale is taut, told with bits of humor and suspense on a dark night full of lightning and thunder. The old dark house elements work well within the confines of the contrived plot which has a bit of irony in the final twist which comes in a very abrupt and unexpected ending.Performances are what you'd expect from a melodramatic film made in '31, and Lionel Barrymore gets his usual chance to chew most of the scenery with some help from Kay Francis as a woman he decides to throw suspicion on. His plan backfires in the final scene.Interesting, if contrived, it's satisfying enough as a mystery to keep the attention riveted throughout.