“From now on, I’m wearing the brains in the family.”
Jerome Breen (Lionel Atwill) is observed by a janitor, Luigi Baccigalupi (Luis Alberni), leaving the “Garfield Investment Company”. The man speaks to the janitor. The janitor responds. Soon after, the janitor finds a man dead in the office. The victim was a stock broker. He is the third one murdered in the recent past.
Based on the janitor’s eye-witness report, the police believe they know who the killer is. They arrest Breen. Breen is a well-known, wealthy philanthropist, and is a deaf mute. The murderer, however, spoke to the witness. Two doctors testify that Breen has been a deaf mute since birth. The witness is adamant that the suspect spoke to him and will not change his story. Breen goes on trial but is found not guilty. The cops are baffled, and more men are killed.
Newspaper reporters Jack Burton (Theodore Newton) and Jerry Crane (Sheila Terry) are from the chronicle. Jack is in love with Jerry. Jack is an investigative reporter. Jerry writes for the society page. Jack does not believe the doctors. He is convinced that Breen is the killer. After Breen is acquitted Jerry is assigned to write a series of articles on him for the paper. Jack doesn’t like this news at all. He believes Jerry may be in danger, but she refuses to listen to him.
A stockbroker clerk named Dave Werner (Paul Fix) contacts Jack and tells him he has information on the murders. For the right price. That evening Breen goes to Warner’s home. On the way out he asks Warner’s mother (Lillian Leighton) for the time. The cops question Breen. Inspector Riley (Robert Ellis) suspects Breen and believes he can prove it. The next day the Inspector is found dead.
“The Sphinx” was released in 1933 and was directed by Phil Rosen and Wilfred Lucas. The movie is a Monogram Pictures poverty row venture and runs about 64 minutes. It is also a pre-code mystery. Lionel Atwill is sufficiently creepy as the deaf mute suspected of several murders. His performance as Breen is exceptional considering that most of the movie he doesn’t talk. Everything he “says” is with his facial features and his body language.
The movie itself is not as good. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it, it’s just the ending was suppose to be a twist that I kinda saw coming. That fact doesn’t take a lot away from the film. It was still a decent mystery. The mystery wasn’t exactly who-done-it as much as how-he-done-it. If you didn’t figure it out, you may get more enjoyment out of it.