Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

MartinHafer In "The Sphinx", Lionel Atwill is accused of murder. However, he has a very god alibi and is deaf and couldn't have done it. But, who did?! And, since he's the only possible killer, pressure is put on him to come clean--admit he can hear and that he somehow committed the crime.During the witness stand scene, Atwill and his 'interpreter' actually did a bunch of gibberish--not any real sort of sign language. This was the first mistake and it wouldn't have been that hard for him to learn a little sign language for the film. Second, since Atwill had already begun his career of playing villains, the audience knows he's the killer--and there isn't much suspense. Third, the entire ending is muddled. Instead of the police learning about why the crime was committed, Atwill goes off on a long exposition--explaining all the missing pieces in the plot!!! This is pretty sloppy and seemed tacked on--like an afterthought! So, you can correctly assume I wasn't fond of the screen writing and with a few changes it could have been a pretty god murder mystery. As is, it looks like the poverty row production that it really is.Not terrible, but it should have been better.

Terrell-4 If someone asks you, "Do you happen to have the correct time?," you can be sure that, as soon as he leaves, you'll find around the corner, or in the next office, or in an upstairs bedroom, a corpse...brutally strangled. The problem is, the person who asked you the time is a deaf mute. A serial killer has been prowling Gotham knocking off stockbrokers, and in the 63 minutes it takes to tell this story three deaths will occur, not counting the three that happened earlier. The suspect is Jerome Breen (Lionel Atwill), a wealthy stockbroker and a respected philanthropist. Witnesses swear he was the man who at each killing asked them the time. Yet doctors testify that Breen has been a deaf mute from birth, with a paralyzed larynx which is proved to be caused by a genetic defect. The cops can't lay a hand on him. Jack Berton (Theodore Newton), a hot-shot reporter, is determined to crack the case. Things get complicated when his girl friend at the paper, Jerry Crane (Sheila Terry), decides to write a series on Breen's life and good works. It's not long before she finds she likes Breen a lot...and he's showing interest in her. The climax comes with a twist and a feint, and involves Breen's ornate and lavish home, a piano with a deadened key, a sliding door, a hidden room, a suspicious butler, gun play and a poison ring. What more could you want in little more than an hour? Not much more, I hope, because this is a fine example of a cheap B movie that delivers the goods. Yes, the two romantic leads are a bit clunky, but the secondary cast features amusing performances, especially by Detective Terence Aloysius Hogan (Paul Hurst) and Jinks the butler (Lucien Privet). Lionel Atwill as the deaf mute is who the movie is all about and he does a fine job. He has a well-modulated voice, acts stylishly in a tux or a smoking jacket and uses his eyes to great effect. He was an actor whose eyes could look as crazy as George Zucco's; here he uses them to convey many kinds of emotion. Atwill's career was often in B movies with an occasional part in A-level films. I've always thought he was an interesting actor who usually kept the ham under wraps. He also could be funny by playing with a straight face. Watch him in Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be or as the police chief in Son of Frankenstein who uses his wooden arm as a place to stick his darts. Mel Brooks owes him one. The Sphinx is dated, but it still works fairly well. I think this is because many, perhaps most, of these B quickies weren't the work of artists or even craftsmen. They were the work of skilled journeymen who knew how to crank out the product while making sure the story was interesting, the dialogue was smart enough to keep us paying attention and the action kept us moving along. Think of these men and women as carpenters who knew how to throw together a solid table that could bear weight, not wobble and do it on time and under budget, The Sphinx, like so many of these old cheapies, is in the public domain and will never see better treatment than what they've already received.

BaronBl00d Philanthropist Jerome Breen walks out of a room and goes to an office building custodian and asks what time it is. He nonchalantly leaves while the other man goes to a nearby office and finds yet another stock broker choked to death by incredibly strong hands. All would seem to point to Breen as he was seen by an eye witness, but Mr. Breen is medically a mute. Such is the story behind The Sphinx. It is a craftily-made little thriller with some comedic touches against the backdrop of a rather ingenuous mystery. Lionel Atwill plays the ubiquitous Breen and the biggest regret...not flaw, but regret..is that he has so few lines in the picture. Atwill and his use of clever timing and sardonic wit are always a major plus to any picture, yet Atwill can and does employ his facial muscles to convey much. The other actors are all strangely pretty decent with the gentleman playing the custodian, an Italian that drinks a bit, turning in a fine comedic performance. The mystery in the end is not easy to guess, perhaps a bit contrived, but wholly enjoyable.

jcholguin Lionel Atwill plays Jerome Breen which has a near perfect alibi because as he strangles people he talks to whomever is available immediately after the murder scene to set up his alibi. It seems that Breen is the city philanthropist that is also "deaf & dumb." A string of murders involving stock brokers is unsolved and Insp. Riley cannot solve the murders. A witness talks to Breen as he leaves his latest victim which leads to the murder trial of Breen. Problem is that the witness testifies that Breen talked to him but all the medical doctors that examine Breen testify that Breen cannot physically talk. So Breen is acquitted. Riley discovers a clue as to how Breen can be medically "deaf & dumb" but still talk and pays with his life for this discovery. The clue turns out to be a logical but unexpected one. So if you like puzzles then you will enjoy this film.