The Casino Murder Case (1935)

A detective (Paul Lukas) receives an anonymous letter stating that the son (Donald Cook) of a wealthy woman (Alison Skipworth) is in danger if he appears at his uncle's (Arthur Byron) casino that night. Based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine and directed by Edwin L. Marin (TALL IN THE SADDLE). Paul Lukas takes over the role of gentleman detective Philo Vance following Warren William's turn in THE DRAGON MURDER CASE (1934). The mystery tends to be meandering but it's one of the better Philo Vance entries in the franchise. It takes awhile to get used to Lukas' Hungarian accent which often obscures some of the tart dialogue but he's surprisingly engaged considering his miscasting. As Vance's romantic interest, the young Rosalind Russell is attractive but she seems overqualified for such a generic "the girl" role. But the rest of the cast are good including Eric Blore, Isabel Jewell, Louise Fazenda, Leo G. Carroll and William Demarest.