Sinister Hands (1932)

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This ultra-cheap murder mystery stars Jack Mulhall as Devlin, a dapper police detective with a quick wit and a way with the ladies. During a seance, much-hated millionaire Richard Lang (Philips Smalley) is murdered with a rare oriental dagger. Everyone present at the seance falls under suspicion,… More This ultra-cheap murder mystery stars Jack Mulhall as Devlin, a dapper police detective with a quick wit and a way with the ladies. During a seance, much-hated millionaire Richard Lang (Philips Smalley) is murdered with a rare oriental dagger. Everyone present at the seance falls under suspicion, obliging Devlin to sift through the morass of would-be murderers to finger the real killer. After an incredible monologue in which he outlines all the suspects' motives on the basis of their physical or ethnic characteristics (Hindu swami Mischa Auer is singled out for some particularly nasty racial slurs), Devlin identifies the killer on the basis of his tennis-playing technique! Definitely a product of its times, Sinister Hands is perhaps best forgotten. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi