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District attorney Lionel Barrymore is angered when old friend Alan Mowbray says he plans to marry Barrymore's daughter Madge Evans. He tells Mowbray (in a surprisingly funny scene) that he will kill him if he tries to go through with the wedding and he can get away with it because he knows so much about murder. Well, Mowbray goes ahead and announces the engagement and, sure enough, Papa Lionel kills him. The question now is will he get away with it or will Mowbray's longtime lover Kay Francis figure him out?

Very nice direction and a particularly lively performance from Barrymore. Mowbray is only in the film for a brief time but he's sufficiently scuzzy to make you root for Lionel to get away with offing him. Kay Francis is good in her typically melodramatic fashion. The great C. Aubrey Smith is largely wasted in a minor role. Beautiful Madge Evans plays her part as well as can be expected given that the script makes her out to be a little bit of an airhead and a tease. She kisses her father on the mouth a lot and not just pecks either, which I found odd. But I've seen similar things in other films from the period so I'll just chalk that up to different sensibilities today. It's a good movie with an interesting twist at the end that some will probably see as a cop-out.

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.

The opening sequence is stylish, unusual, disorienting. We don't know where we are or what is going on for a few minutes, and that reflects the film's morally disorienting territory. The premise is excellent. Barrymore is not "hammy" but commanding in a very natural way; he's playing a successful lawyer who is used to declaiming his arguments for an audience. The script employs daring ambiguities: we partly want to see the rich man murdered and Barrymore get away with it, yet Barrymore is clearly not a moral character himself, and the woman who insists upon justice for the man she loved is a "tramp" mistress who would have been willing to carry on her affair with the scoundrel after his marriage. What a crew! The magnetism of Barrymore and Francis in their moral contradictions keeps us riveted even through the parts that are like any other old-dark-house mystery. The ending is both preposterous and brilliant. You can look back and see how they set it up, yet it's very difficult to predict!

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.

Can Lionel Barrymore commit the perfect crime, for the sake of his daughter's honor, and get by with it? That's the question posed in this fine film which is NOT a "whodunit". Almost forgotten by nearly 7 decades of bigger, splashier movies, fans of crime films will not want to miss this little gem. Tightly plotted and suspenseful, GUILTY HANDS (yes, the title is important) rewards the thoughtful viewer.

Barrymore is great, as always. Kay Francis is a shady lady with too much past. Alan Mowbray - in a welcome departure from his comic butler roles - is suave and evil. Madge Evans, Polly Moran & Sir C. Aubrey Smith round out the supporting cast.

And what a great ending - unexpected and appropriate.

I always say "never underestimate a movie made in the 1930s" and this is a key example. Even though we see who commits the murder, it has the flavor of a well done who-done-it. Sumptuous sets, great costumes, the proverbial dark and stormy night -- all set a wonderful mood. The camera work sustains it, but above all, the excellent acting by Lionel Barrymore and Kay Francis make for a suspenseful thriller.

I had heard of Kay Francis, but I don't recall having seen her in anything. She is fantastic! Barrymore is best known these days for playing the heavy in "It's a Wonderful Life", but here he is quite a bit younger, very spry, and marvelously expressive, both in inflection and mannerisms.

I wouldn't dream of giving away the ending, which has two nice touches, but I'm proud to say I saw it coming - about thirty seconds before the climax. I was thinking, "wait, they couldn't possibly ..., not the ... " but it was. Superb! Highly recommended.

• henry

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/

Lionel Barrymore is a former district attorney and now a successful defense attorney, with some vague theories about justifiable homicide. He finds he has to put them into practice when his daughter, Madge Evans, tells him she is going to marry one of his clients, whom he knows to be a bad man.

Barrymore co-directed this with W. S. Van Dyke. Between the two of them, it makes for good performances and a story that moves right along. A fine cast helps, including Kay Francis, Polly Moran and the always enjoyable C. Aubrey Smith. It's the sort of thoughtful movie that could not be made once the Production Code began to be seriously enforced.

Lionel Barrymore has "Guilty Hands" in this 1931 film also starring Kay Francis, Madge Evans, and C. Aubrey Smith. When attorney Richard Grant (Barrymore) finds out that his daughter Barbara (Evans) is about to marry a playboy, Richard threatens his life. Richard has long believed it's possible to commit the perfect crime; now, in order to save his daughter from a disastrous marriage, he has his chance and takes it at a dinner party. It's all for naught - Barbara has realized that she's in love with someone else and decided not to marry Gordon. Too late.

Richard then goes along with an investigation of the murder. Kay Francis plays Richard's old girlfriend who also becomes a suspect.

This is very much an early talkie, complete with the big, dramatic acting, especially by Barrymore, that came from stage actors who appeared in films back then. It was the style, and while it seems hammy today, in 1931, it wasn't. Kay Francis as usual is lovely and does a fine job in her role.

The ending is very interesting. It's hard to judge these films when seen today. By 1931 standards, though, this is a good movie.

Don't read up on this before watching or you'll never experience the brilliance of what has to be one of the cleverest, most unexpected endings ever.

It's easy to stick with this great and entertaining little picture. Lionel Barrymore is at his quirky, most engaging best, you hang onto every word he says; it's a magnetic performance. One minute he's a loveable avuncular old character who makes you laugh, the next he's a cold and calculating killer whom you can believe would be terrifying to meet in the flesh - a very talented guy.

Director Woody Van Dyke, as always, gives his film a very natural and real feel, light years away from a lot of the stagey, over-theatrical pictures which infested the cinemas of the early thirties. He delivers a fast moving and immediately immersive story which is enhanced by some fabulously imaginative cinematography; it's a beautifully composed and lit film. The use of shadows, reflections and camera angles is certainly as good as anything seen a decade later in film noir. I'll say it again: it's a beautifully composed film.

Apart from waiting until the ending (DON'T look it up!) it's a fun watch. It's from 1931 but isn't that dated - in fact it feels more modern than a lot of films made later. If you enjoy a Columbo type murder mystery that's a little bit clever without being pretentious then this is for you.

When strait-laced district attorney Lionel Barrymore discovers that his daughter has been having an affair with ladies man Alan Mowbray, he confronts him. But Mowbray isn't easily intimidated. Barrymore's daughter is simply the latest in his long line of conquests and he will only leave her when he has made her life miserable. Barrymore has only one option -- to commit the perfect crime, murdering Mowbray. But this is a movie -- and you can't let a killer get away. So in what has to be one of the weirdest cop-outs in Hollywood history, Barrymore pays for his dastardly deed. I won't spoil the fun by telling you how it happens -- but you've got to give the screenwriter credit for truly bizarre ingenuity.

The awesome, versatile Lionel Barrymore is the DA in this early talkie from MGM. when a real creep Gordon (Alan Mowbray) threatens to marry his daughter Barbara (played by Madge Evans), the DA says he could commit the perfect murder if he wanted to. But, it turns out Gordon the scoundrel DID have more enemies. the sound and picture are in remarkably good quality, for such an oldie. seasoned viewers will recognize Aubrey Smith, who was in EVERY black and white film as the grandfather, the general, or the uncle. Kay Francis is in here as Marjorie... Francis was about the only actor here who hadn't started in silent films. although one of her first films was in the Marx brothers' "Cocoanuts"! what a way to start. Written by Bayard Veiller; he was known for writing so many murder mysteries and detective stories. This one is pretty good! some interesting twists and turns along the way. they are showing this one on Turner Classics now.. only 500 votes so far!

Lionel Barrymore did play some villains in his time, but this is quite an unusual role for him. He's not an altogether dark character as he was in Rasputin and the Empress or "The Show". Here he's all shades of gray. The same for Kay Francis as the mistress of a truly horrible creature whom she loves and is willing to continue seeing after his marriage. In the opening scene, totally dark but for the silhouettes of two men to whom Richard Grant (Barrymore) is speaking, he gives his theory of how the perfect murder is possible and how murder might possibly be justified, and since he's sent four dozen to the gallows as prosecutor and spared eight dozen more as a defense attorney, he's seen murder cases from every angle.

This is all academic until Grant reaches his destination - the estate of his client Gordon Rich (Alan Mowbrey). Rich tells Grant he is going to marry Grant's daughter Barbara, his only child, and the only thing he has to remember his long lost wife by. Having been Rich's attorney for some time Grant knows Rich will only bring his daughter unhappiness since he's quite the remorseless wolf, so Grant tells Rich he'll murder him as part of the perfect crime if he goes through with this marriage. Rich isn't intimidated, and neither can Grant convince his daughter of Rich's bad character. The marriage is to occur the next day.

Later that night a woman's scream is heard in Rich's study, everyone races into the room, and there is Gordon Rich laying dead from a bullet wound to the chest, apparently self-inflicted since his gun is still in his hand. Before his death Rich has instructed his servants to watch Grant all night long and inform him if he leaves his room. They witness Grant's silhouette as he paces the floor in his room and nothing else.

Now, of course, the fact that Grant did it is no secret to the viewer and furthermore Grant conveniently takes charge of the investigation until the police arrive. Only Marjorie (Kay Francis), Rich's long-time mistress objects to Grant's self-serving theory that this is suicide and she claims it is murder. However, if it is murder, Marjorie is the most obvious suspect since she would not inherit anything if Rich rewrote his will as he was planning, due to his impending marriage. So she had both jealousy and money as motives. Nobody else knew about Grant's threat on Rich's life except Rich, and he is in no position to tell anyone. So it's tricky business for Marjorie to insist on a theory that might cost her not only Rich's fortune but her freedom and her life.

So the rest of the film is a cat and mouse game between Marjorie - who suspects Grant from the start - and Grant, and for most of the film it is Marjorie as the mouse - the keyword being most. Did I forget to tell you that before Rich died Barbara decided not to marry him due to a goodnight kiss that almost turned into a rape, making the murder the height of irony?

This film has lots of atmosphere and a very well-paced screenplay, but if there is any reason to watch it is Barrymore as Grant whose real downfall is having been around murder cases so long that it has become like sport to him, causing him to lose the perspective of justice needing to be served. This film has an ending that is really nifty even if it is far-fetched. Highly recommended.

In the first scene of this film, a lawyer (Lionel Barrymore) is explaining to friends on a train that he believes there are some cases when murder is justifiable. When could that be, they ask. I know it when I see it is the gist of his reply, and as he's sent men to the electric chair and saved them from it, he somehow believes this entitles him to this view. Soon we see him with a rich client (Alan Mowbray), a man who uses him to pay off dozens of women and young girls after having affairs with them. One was a 16 year old who jumped out a window to her death afterwards, but the implication is that he might have pushed her. He somehow believes his wealth entitles him to using up women and spitting them out, and murder as well if it's necessary.

In a fantastic turn of the plot, these two vipers are pitted against one another when Mowbray tells Barrymore that he intends to marry his daughter (Madge Evans), a woman half his age and the joy of the lawyer's life. Knowing what a scumbag this guy is, he naturally resists, threatening him and appealing to his daughter, without recognizing the irony of having had no issues assisting him in his depravity with other women. Kay Francis appears as the long-time lover of the rich man, and her character is not happy with his decision to marry either (though he assures her that they can go on just as before). The events that ensue take place on a dark and stormy night in a mansion, and for being such a lean story, it's very well told by director W.S. Van Dyke. There is atmosphere, tension, strong dialogue, and some great moments from Barrymore, who dominates this movie despite a cast that is quite good. The ending is cute but quite hokey, though the very last moment is one of those classic little pre-Code moments, and brilliantly subversive. I could be rounding up a teeny bit, but regardless, it's worth seeing.

WS Van Dyke did a number of films well worth watching. Some even great, namely 'The Thin Man', 'The Prisoner of Zenda', 'I Love You Again' and much of 'San Francisco' (his Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald collaborations are also charming watches). 'Guilty Hands' sounded great in terms of the story (being a fan of the genre) and it is hard to resist a film with a cast this good, that leaves one psyched for seeing a twist for the ages as advertised and that has been reviewed this favourably.

'Guilty Hands' is another Van Dyke film well worth seeing and mostly lives up to high expectations, even if it is not one of my favourites of the genre and there are films with relatively similar concepts that are more successful in this regard. 'Guilty Hands' has Van Dyke's style all over it, the cast is reason to see it alone and there are so many things that were done right. Anybody that likes mysteries and noir-ish thrillers should find much to enjoy.

It is a great looking film, with some suitably unsettlingly inventive photography in the opening sequence. An opening sequence that gave me the chills and is brilliantly shot and edited, Van Dyke's accomplished style and technical efficiency shines the most in this scene. All without being cheap or rushed-looking. The lighting has a lot of atmosphere too and the production design is elegant yet suitably ominous. The music is moody and Van Dyke's direction is tight and accomplished.

As is much of the script. It is a little too talk-heavy, but the black humour which comes in heavy doses genuinely amuses and much of the script provokes thought. The story is compelling, with an intriguing mystery that keeps one guessing and has a good deal of suspense, it doesn't get too predictable and it doesn't get over-complicated either. Lionel Barrymore dominates 'Guilty Hands' without being over-dominant, he was never the most subtle of actors but he was always fun to watch and he is very much so here. Kay Francis is sensual and engages with the drama without being too theatrical. Alan Mowbray excels too against type, being effective at playing a sleaze to sinister effect.

By all means 'Guilty Hands' isn't perfect. As said, it is talk-heavy in places. Babs' change of character later on came over as too rushed and introduced in too out of the blue a way to ring true.

Despite the final twist actually being quite clever and definitely unexpected, the very end is rather too abrupt and towards the end it is a little too on the silly side.

Overall though, well done. 7/10

Offbeat little programmer that plays like a whodunit, but without the mystery. We know from the outset who killed the bounder Gordon Rich (Mowbray). The fun is in watching the narrative unfold like a Charlie Chan, except it's the killer, of all people, who assembles the "suspects" and gathers the clues. In that respect, it's an interesting variation on the standard whodunit of the time.

Watch for cult actress Kay Francis as the dark haired Marjorie. With her distinctive looks and strong personality, I can see why Francis has remained a favorite with old movie fans. Also, there's the lovely Madge Evans as the winsome daughter. Too bad she's become so obscure given her obvious talents. And at least the notorious Lionel Barrymore, in the lead, hams it up less than usual.

A kind of philosophical question is posed in the subtext. That is, is murder ever justifiable. Certainly, getting rid of the unprincipled Gordon Rich, who's ruined the lives of many young women, poses the question sharply. At the same time, the movie responds to the issue in an interesting and unexpected way. All in all, the movie is dated in many respects, but is still worth catching up with.

(In passing—catch the primitive sound effect of thunder that sounds like someone is snapping a Kevlar tarp! I expect in 1931, the studios were still perfecting their sound effects.)

Is there such a thing as justifiable murder? You can argue the point with Lionel Barrymore in Guilty Hands, a "cozy" mystery about a murder committed when a group of friends is gathered together in a cabin. Lionel's beautiful daughter, Madge Evans, is set to marry a much older man, Alan Mowbray, against his wishes. Alan is a cad, having an affair with Kay Francis on the side with no intention of breaking it off as a married man. Madge's younger suitor, William Bakewell is also at the lodge, as well as Lionel's pal C. Aubrey Smith. Someone turns up dead in the middle of the night - but who, and why?

This movie is very much an "early talkie" with pauses between lines and melodramatic acting from the background characters. Lionel, of course, is his usual professional self and adds class and quality to the otherwise rinky-dink film. It's still a melodrama, though. Don't expect another A Free Soul. He tugs on his ear when he's thinking, arches his eyebrows, and speaks in his classic crotchety voice. But with everyone else acting like they're in a "I can't pay the rent" stage play, he fits right in.