The Benson Murder Case (1930)

About The Benson Murder Case (1930)

The Benson Murder Case is a 1930 American pre-Code crime film directed by Frank Tuttle and written for the screen by S. S. Van Dine and Bartlett Cormack. The film stars William Powell, William "Stage" Boyd, Eugene Pallette, Paul Lukas, Natalie Moorhead, Richard Tucker and May Beatty.

In the midst of the Wall Street crash of 1929, Anthony Benson, a ruthless stockbroker, is force-selling the unsecured investments of his friends and colleagues on-margin to compensate for the loss of collateral; including those of his affluent and well-connected friend, Harry Gray. In his office, Benson accuses Adolf Mohler, a shallow gigolo, of forging a check to pay for a trinket that he put on-loan for one of his lovers, Mrs. Paula Banning. Fanny Del Roy, an actress and Mohler's other lover, learns that Benson force-sold her investments as well, after she teased his feelings for her.

Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article The Benson Murder Case (film) (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0).