The Kennel Murder Case (1933)

As I'm sure readers will soon find out whodunits are my favorite type of movie. They're captivating and can touch on a wide range of film genres. After watching Dinky on TCM, I noticed this was playing afterwards and decided to give it a watch.

The Kennel Murder Case follows Philo Vance, a notable detective, as he investigates a suspicious suicide of a prominent and much-hated collector. With his trusted Scottish terrier he works to narrow down a long list of suspects.

34/50 eggs

I'm a bit bias on this film due to the context, so simply for being a murder whodunit it gets an extra five points.  William Powell is commanding and leads most of the plot direction as Philo Vance. Eugene Pallatte plays the cliche sergeant mimicking the Holmes - Inspector Lestrade relationship in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The comedic relief is needed as the plot progression is dry and lacks excitement. The overall plot was well thought out, however, wraps up sloppily and comes across rushed. The run-time is only 79 minutes which is adequate for what would seem to be an adapted short story, but I would have preferred more character development. Motive in most stories stems from relationships and strong emotions, creating crimes of passions. One can't make a definite decision for or against the motive of the murderer without truly understanding the thoughts of the characters, atleast in this reviewer's eyes. I recommend the film to anyone who can handle black and whites, and pre-1960s films.

Dinky (1935)

Lucky enough for me the cable package I have includes TCM, which means about 80% of the time there's a movie on I haven't seen.  This one seems interesting enough.

Dinky is a young boy around the age of 10 going to an elite military school. When his mother is sentenced to 2 years for fraud, Dinky is shunned by the other boys causing him to move-in to the orphanage next door.

29/50 eggs

I feel indifferent about the movie.  I enjoyed it, however at no point did I feel it went above any expectations.  Something can be said for the kids acting abilities.  One expects children in an orphanage to behave like children, however, there's an air to there mannerisms similiar to noir.  Whether it's planned or not it does elevate their performance.  Unfortunately, the movie is riddled with cliches and makes the story wholesome but a tad unbelievable.  The runtime is also only 65 minutes, which easily could have been extended with a few more scenes, as the film seems rushed.  I assume that with the plot, simple cliches, and short runtime the film was probably meant for a young audience, but I'm unaware if that's true.  I can't see the opportunity of watching it being readily available, nor would I recommend going out of your way to watch it.