I love this movie so much

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A Disappointing Continuation

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

District attorney Lionel Barrymore is angered when old friend Alan Mowbray says he plans to marry Barrymore's daughter Madge Evans. He tells Mowbray (in a surprisingly funny scene) that he will kill him if he tries to go through with the wedding and he can get away with it because he knows so much about murder. Well, Mowbray goes ahead and announces the engagement and, sure enough, Papa Lionel kills him. The question now is will he get away with it or will Mowbray's longtime lover Kay Francis figure him out?Very nice direction and a particularly lively performance from Barrymore. Mowbray is only in the film for a brief time but he's sufficiently scuzzy to make you root for Lionel to get away with offing him. Kay Francis is good in her typically melodramatic fashion. The great C. Aubrey Smith is largely wasted in a minor role. Beautiful Madge Evans plays her part as well as can be expected given that the script makes her out to be a little bit of an airhead and a tease. She kisses her father on the mouth a lot and not just pecks either, which I found odd. But I've seen similar things in other films from the period so I'll just chalk that up to different sensibilities today. It's a good movie with an interesting twist at the end that some will probably see as a cop-out.

Offbeat little programmer that plays like a whodunit, but without the mystery. We know from the outset who killed the bounder Gordon Rich (Mowbray). The fun is in watching the narrative unfold like a Charlie Chan, except it's the killer, of all people, who assembles the "suspects" and gathers the clues. In that respect, it's an interesting variation on the standard whodunit of the time.Watch for cult actress Kay Francis as the dark haired Marjorie. With her distinctive looks and strong personality, I can see why Francis has remained a favorite with old movie fans. Also, there's the lovely Madge Evans as the winsome daughter. Too bad she's become so obscure given her obvious talents. And at least the notorious Lionel Barrymore, in the lead, hams it up less than usual.A kind of philosophical question is posed in the subtext. That is, is murder ever justifiable. Certainly, getting rid of the unprincipled Gordon Rich, who's ruined the lives of many young women, poses the question sharply. At the same time, the movie responds to the issue in an interesting and unexpected way. All in all, the movie is dated in many respects, but is still worth catching up with.(In passing—catch the primitive sound effect of thunder that sounds like someone is snapping a Kevlar tarp! I expect in 1931, the studios were still perfecting their sound effects.)

Lionel Barrymore gave such an unforgettable performance as the alcoholic lawyer in "A Free Soul", that, not only was he given the Academy Award, he was quickly rushed into another "angst ridden" role in "Guilty Hands", filmed only a couple of months later. "Guilty Hands" was one of the better "perfect murder" movies and both the film and Barrymore won widespread acclaim at the time.In his 10 years as District Attorney, Richard Grant (Lionel Barrymore) has sent more than 50 men to the electric chair - "Now that I've returned to private practise, I've kept a hundred of 'em out of it". He starts to believe that such a brilliant mind as his could commit the perfect murder. When Grant learns that his daughter is planning to marry a notorious womaniser, Gordon Rich (Alan Mowbray), who has hired Grant to draw up his will - Grant decides to put his theory to the test.Barbara's (Madge Evans) cast off boyfriend, Tommy (William Bakewell) is distraught and tries to make her see what Gordon is really like, as does her father - but she will have none of it. At a dinner to announce their engagement, Richard makes his feelings clear - another guest who also does - with looks alone (but oh what looks!!) is Marjorie West (stunning Kay Francis), one of Gordon's former lovers. Kay Francis' fame was fast rising and she bought an intensity to her part that was becoming a characteristic of all her roles. From the time she entered "Guilty Hands" both she and Barrymore had no trouble in upstaging all the other players. Later, that night, Gordon is found dead from a "self inflicted" gun shot wound to the head (or so it looks) - only Marjorie is convinced it is murder. After a dramatic showdown between her and Richard, she steals to his room and finds evidence. She finds a cut out figure fastened to a slowed down gramophone (his defence was that he had been pacing his room for most of the night). When Marjorie confronts him Richard launches into a speech "Have you ever seen a murder trial...Well, sit down and I'll show you yours!!!". Richard plans to frame Marjorie if she persists in saying that Gordon's death was foul play. Barrymore is magnificent and it is almost as spellbinding as his speech in "A Free Soul". Although the ending seems improbable, it is logically explained in the movie. "Guilty Hands" was director W.S. Van Dyke's first venture into the mystery genre, although it definitely wasn't his last - "Penthouse" (1933), "The Thin Man" (1934), "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934) and "Hideout" (1934) proved he would become a master of the genre.Highly, Highly Recommended.

Yes, it's a fun movie, but the ending is absurd beyond words. ROFL absurd. Not to give it away, but it requires the intervention of the "hands" of Providence (or a really crappy author - often the same thing) to resolve this thing.Kay Francis is amazingly beautiful here, and Lionel Barrymore effectively hammy.R.