- Title: The Bishop Murder Case
- IMDb: link
Murder Mystery Monday takes us back to 1929 and Basil Rathbone on the case, but not yet as Sherlock Holmes. The Bishop Murder Case is an intriguing piece of film history with Rathbone taking on the role of S.S. Van Dine’s detective Philo Vance 10 years before he would first step into the shoes of the world’s most famous detective.
Vance is called in to consult a series of unusual murders (including one by bow and arrow) and cryptic clues and staged scenes with references to nursery rhymes left at the scene by the killer identifying himself as “the Bishop.” Rathbone is the clear standout here with a wide range of performances of actors, some notably over-the-top, still working into the new age of “talkies” and leaving the silent film era behind.
The mystery, caused by the jealousy of the killer, and its overly-elaborate setup (are we sure this wasn’t from the 1990s?) works well enough, but the most interesting aspect is to see Rathbone as a detective, creating a performance he would build upon a decade later for the longest-running role of his career.