This mystery movie has been the 1930 RKO film “Conspiracy,” by Robert Baker and John Emerson (note that IMDB says they are uncredited. Oops). With Bessie Love, Ned Sparks, Hugh Trevor, Ivan Lebedeff, Rita LaRoy, Gertrude Howard, Otto Matiesen (sic), Walter Long, Donald MacKenzie and Jane Keckley. Directed by Christy Cabanne, produced by William LeBaron. Scenery and costumes by Max Ree, screenplay by Beulah-Marie Dix, photography by Nick Musuraca.

I was interested in “Conspiracy” primarily because of this establishing shot of the Biltmore. What’s especially interesting is that this seems to be an early example of a zoom shot. And I have no idea how they pulled it off.

Here it is in mid-zoom.

And dissolve to…..

There are much better shots of the Biltmore in “For the Defense,” a Paramount picture, also from 1930.

The DVD is available from Warner Archive for $17.99.

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This week’s mystery movie has been the obscure 1939 Paramount film “The Great Victor Herbert,” with Allan Jones, Mary Martin, Walter Connolly, Lee Bowman, Susanna Foster, Judith Barrett, Jerome Cowan and John Garrick. The screenplay was by Russel Crouse and Robert Lively, from a story by Robert Lively and Andrew L. Stone. Photography was by Victor Milner, with art direction by Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegte, costumes by Edith Head and interior decorations by A.E. Freudeman. All music was by Victor Herbert, music supervisor was Phil Boutelje, music scorer was Arthur Lange, vocal arrangements by Max Terr, orchestra directed by Arthur Kay, musical numbers staged by LeRoy Prinz. The film was produced and directed by Andrew L. Stone.

“The Great Victor Herbert” has never been released commercially. It’s available from Zeus for $9.99. It was Walter Connolly’s last film and Mary Martin’s first film.

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This week’s mystery movie has been the 1947 Universal picture “Ride the Pink Horse,” with Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix, Andrea King, Thomas Gomez, Fred Clark, Art Smith, Richard Gaines, Rita Conde, Iris Flores and Tito Renaldo. The screenplay is by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer from the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, art direction by Bernard Herzbrun and Robert Boyle, and set decorations by Russell A. Gausman and Oliver Emert. Photography is by Russell Metty and music by Frank Skinner. The producer was Joan Harrison and the director was Robert Montgomery.

Keenly sought by film noir fans, the movie was generally unavailable until the Criterion Collection released it on DVD and Blu-ray in 2015.

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This week’s mystery movie has been the 1962 film “Advise and Consent,” starring Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Gene Tierney, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith, Eddie Hodges, Paul Ford, George Grizzard, Inga Swenson “and the voice of Frank Sinatra.” Also with Edward Andrews, Paul McGrath, Will Geer, Betty White, Tom Helmore, Rene Paul, Paul Stevens, Russ Brown, Malcolm Atterbury, Janet Jane Carty, Hilary Eaves, Michele Montau, J. Edward McKinley, William Quinn, Tiki Santos, Raoul De Leon, Chet Stratton, Larry Tucker, Bettie Johnson, John Granger, Sid Gould, Meyer Davis and his orchestra, White House Correspondents Assn., White House Press Photographers Assn., Irv Kupcinet, Robert C. Wilson, Alan Emory, Jessie Stearns Buscher, Milton Berliner, Allen W. Cromley, William Knighton, the Hon. Guy M. Gillette and the Hon. Henry Fountain Ashurst.   Truly a massive cast.

Music was by Jerry Fielding, production design by Lyle Wheeler, photography (in Panavision) by Sam Leavitt, set decoration by Eli Benneche, furs by Sol Schulman and diamond jewelry by Harry Winston. Miss Tierney’s clothes designed by Bill Blass, titles by Saul Bass, lyrics for “The Song From Advise and Consent” by Ned Washington, distributed by Columbia Pictures. Based on the novel by Allen Drury, screenplay by Wendell Mayes, produced and directed by Otto Preminger.

“Advise and Consent” is available on DVD from Amazon.

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This week’s mystery movie has been the 1931 Fox film “Don’t Bet on Women,” with Edmund Lowe, Jeanette MacDonald, Roland Young, J.M. Kerrigan, Una Merkel and Helene Millard. It was directed by William K. Howard, screenplay and dialogue by Lynn Starling and Leon Gordon, from the story “All Women Are Bad” by William Anthony McGuire, staged by Henry Kolker, photographed by Lucien Andriot, with settings by Duncan Cramer and costumes by Sophie Wachner.

It was restored by the Museum of Modern Art with support from TCM and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation.

“Don’t Bet on Women” is not commercially available on DVD or VHS.

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