This is a rather aimless mystery, with an implausible murder and an utterly impossible solution, requiring the witnesses to the murder to be death dumb and blind, and the corpse of the murdered to be light as a feather. But that's not especially unusual in mysteries of the era.
The problem is that this one is, by its story, stuck on a limited number of sets, and the dialog is not enough to sustain interest over the rather brief run time. Performances are fine -- no better than one would expect -- on par with an average episode of Murder She Wrote.
It's really not worth sitting through this one to get to the solution. (Nor is it worth searching out the book -- which is just as implausible and dull) If you really like SS Van Dine, and are determined to stick it out, there is one virtue -- the components of the murder plot that don't relate to the dragon and the swimming pool are neatly done.
The problem is that this one is, by its story, stuck on a limited number of sets, and the dialog is not enough to sustain interest over the rather brief run time. Performances are fine -- no better than one would expect -- on par with an average episode of Murder She Wrote.
It's really not worth sitting through this one to get to the solution. (Nor is it worth searching out the book -- which is just as implausible and dull) If you really like SS Van Dine, and are determined to stick it out, there is one virtue -- the components of the murder plot that don't relate to the dragon and the swimming pool are neatly done.