User Reviews

"The Spanish Cape Mystery" is much more fun than you'd expect from a low-budget 1935 murder mystery that failed to launch the series it was probably intended to (an Ellery Queen film series WAS made a few years later, but with a different actor as the title character). A likable hero (who shows his crime-solving credentials early on), a cute heroine, a clueless sheriff, a suspicious butler, and all the other eccentric and shady characters you'd expect - and want - from the genre are here, exchanging lively and often humorous dialogue. I have to admit that the identity of the murderer becomes quite guessable after a point, but several hows and whys remain appropriately baffling. Fans of the genre will enjoy this one. **1/2 out of 4.

If you see "The Spanish Cape Mystery", set your expectations accordingly. In other words, this is clearly a B-movie--with a relatively low budget and a somewhat familiar sort of story. It isn't intended to be an Oscar contender or high art--just dandy entertainment for the masses. And, in this capacity, it is very successful. I give this movie a 7 because it succeeds very well as a B-mystery--on par with the better Charlie Chan or Boston Blackie films.

The film begins with a short little mystery involving Jack LaRue that is wrapped up in mere minutes. However, following this, viewers today KNOW that murders are about to occur. How is that? Well, Ellery (Donald Cook) and his friend, the judge (Berton Churchill), are going on vacation--and in B-mysteries and TV shows (like "Murder, She Wrote") this means that someone MUST die in order to keep the hero from his well-earned vacation! Heck, if I'd ever met any of these private detectives, I would have run for the hills because of this strong propensity for folks to die all around them!! However, Ellery is a bit different in that he doesn't seem all that inclined to investigate the murder. Instead, he'd rather just stand back and make fun of the dopey sheriff investigating. The sheriff, true to the cliché, is a bit of an idiot and he comes up with theories and then tries to find facts to prove his theory! Eventually, Ellery gets off his very sarcastic butt to help once a lady he's infatuated with (Helen Twelvetrees) is accused of the killings! And, not surprisingly, Ellery wraps everything up through the use of a ruse--a little trap--which, again, is a VERY familiar plot device for such a film.

While it's obvious that this movie is very formulaic, it gets high marks anyway because the characters are fun. While Donald Cook was not a big-time actor, he did a very good job. It's a shame, then, that he was not asked to reprise the role--as he was the first and probably the best of them. Churchill was also nice, as he was a fun, blustery old guy in films and made for a different sort of sidekick. And, the film managed to do things well all around--with a slightly longer than usual running time for a B, good direction and decent production values. Fun and well worth seeing.

****SPOILERS**** In him being in love with the #1 murder suspect Stella Godfrey, Helen Twelvetree, in the case hot shot detective Ellery Queen, Donald Cook, who together with his pop Inspector Queen, Guy Usher, while being on vacation grudgingly takes on to solving the case that by the time it's over some half dozen people end up being whacked. It's the local Sheriff Moley, Harry Stubbs, who's more of a hindrance then a help to Queen who he feels that he's upstaging him and making him look like a fool, which in fact he is, in trying to solve the case.

Queen realizes right from the start that the killer is mentally unbalanced, as well as seeing black spots before his eyes, quickly eliminates anyone of the sane suspects in the case. That takes a while with most of those sane suspects ending up dead thus ironically making Queen's job of exposing him that much more easier. Queen also realizes that whoever is knocking off the guests at the Spanish Cape summer resort is doing it to eliminate any live hairs to the deceased Walter Godfrey's fortune that's estimated to be $3,000,000.00.

***SPOILERS*** Using Stella one of the last surviving members of Old, and dead, Man Godfrey's relatives as bait Queen gets the elusive killer out into the open, with him only dressed in bathing trunks, to be arrested by a squad of police lead by Sheriff Moley before he could do her in. It's in Ellery Queen noticing that all the murders were committed at high tide that had him finally solve the baffling case. In that way the killer after he murdered his victims can make his getaway on the beach and not leave any evidence, footprints, when the tied reseeds, that he was at the scene of the crime. A fact that the gracious Ellery Queen gave the credit to the bumbling Sheriff Moley who was up for election the following fall.

This Republic Pictures entry is one of the earliest adaptations of an Ellery Queen mystery. The Spanish Cape Mystery was the ninth book in the EQ series. It was published in April 1935, and the film hit theaters in October of the same year...a very quick transfer from novel to screen.

Donald Cook is cast as the well-known mystery writer. He is a refined upperclass gent who resides in a comfortable penthouse apartment and spends his leisure time at a nearby men's club. The story begins when he receives a call from his police inspector father (Guy Usher) who needs help pinning the theft of a valuable Queen Anne necklace on a suave criminal (Jack LaRue).

Of course it doesn't take long before a confession is coaxed out of the suspect with a bit of sophisticated trickery. After the case is solved, it's time to catch a plane to the Spanish Cape where young Queen will vacation with a friend (Berton Churchill) of the family.

The cape is where a glamorous woman (Helen Twelvetrees) lives. She is the daughter of a wealthy man whose estate is overrun with fortune hunters and other parasites.

Miss Twelvetrees is being pushed into marriage by her mother, but she has no intention of settling down just yet. During a party, she takes a walk on a terrace with her uncle. This leads to a surprise encounter with a gunman who mistakes the uncle for one of the other guests. During the encounter Twelvetrees tries to remain calm and collected.

Twelvetrees is taken to a nearby cottage, where she's held hostage while the gunman disappears with her uncle. It happens to be the same place that Ellery Queen and his pal are renting. The next morning, they discover Twelvetrees and untie her. As she is freed and properly makes Queen's acquaintance, a strong bond develops between them. It is obvious they will get to know each other better.

The next part of the film involves the couple trying to figure out where her uncle has been taken, and who's responsible. Soon another strange event occurs, when a different guest, the one that the uncle has been mistaken for, ends up dead. The murder victim is wearing a cape, stooped over at an oceanside pavilion. In the book, the victim is nude under the cape, but there's no mention of nudity in the film, since the production code is in full force.

It is learned the victim blackmailed many guests staying at the estate, so nearly all of them have a motive for murder. So much for Ellery Queen's vacation; the locals are putting on a crime wave for his benefit, and he's right in his element.

This is a highly engaging motion picture with excellent pacing. The mystery is not too taxing or contrived, and there are plenty of twists and turns that keep things moving along nicely. Cook and Twelvetrees are well-matched. Miss Twelvetrees in particular captivates us with her considerable style. Her trademark melancholy eyes underscore the tragedy of murder.