The Case of the Howling Dog

The Perry Mason series of mysteries from the 1930s are some of the best mysteries one could watch. One needs to pay attention to details throughout the film to follow the twists in the plot. The movies closely follow the Erle Stanley Gardner mystery novels on which they are based. The Case of the Howling Dog holds one's interest from beginning to end as Perry Mason cleverly addresses the case of a woman accused of murder. Warren William is a pleasure to watch as Perry Mason, and Helen Trehnolme expertly plays Perry's faithful and efficient secretary, Della Street. Mary Astor also stars in this selection from the series. If you are a fan of old, intriguing mysteries, you won't be disappointed with this gem.

Perry Mason runs a big operation: Windows all across the front of his office building feature his name printed in big letters. He's so successful he can't even handle every case personally. –Such is our introduction to the great lawyer before we even meet him.

Warren William is appropriately self-assured as the super-successful lawyer in this classy and well-plotted murder mystery.

The complicated story involves a very nervous-looking man named Cartwright (Gordon Westcott) who comes to Mason with questions about his will—and about a neighbor's dog that has been howling for 48 hours. We soon learn that that neighbor, Clinton Foley (Russell Hicks), had once run off with Cartwright's wife…Cartwright had sworn to get even with them both and tracked them down and moved in next door….and soon enough the man Foley is shot dead in his house.

The murder scene is particularly well done: We see Foley and his dog in the house, we see Mrs. Foley walk in, and we watch their brief confrontation. And then we hear the shots: We see Mrs. Foley's face and her reaction but not who fired the shots. A door swings shut….

Mary Astor is excellent as Mrs. Foley—her expressive face never quite giving away all she is thinking. Allen Jenkins is good as always as the skeptical police sergeant looking for answers. Warren William gives a smooth performance as the masterful investigator whose work and methods are in the interest of justice but not necessarily popular with the police.

It's well written and fast moving, too—with an ending that surprised me. Very enjoyable!

Perry Mason sprang into screen life through 6 Warner Bros. films made from 1934, one year after his inception in book form by Erle Stanley Gardner. The movie series started out well, but as with so many other detective series of this type gradually petered out in quality almost film by film until fizzling out a few years later. Also it's not like Raymond Burr's Perry Mason I grew up with, Warren William has a vast organisation behind him, contrary to his future occupation as the Lone Wolf!

Complicated story of a dog's howling driving a neighbour crackers leads to a sorry and sordid tale of multiple murder - and the howling is central to the plot too. You have to concentrate to follow the history of partner-swapping (after all, some of the Foley's and Cartwright's weren't even married!) but all is wonderfully resolved by Mason by the end. William was perfect for these kind of roles, his efficient and reassuring presence of mind imparting to cast and audience from the beginning that all will be eventually all right, even if in this case only if you don't say anything without him being present! How come Mary Astor landed the part of the woman with the shady past and inability to tell the truth so often? Allen Jenkins as a flatfoot doesn't get much of a part, but at least he got a chance to show off a rather natty moustache.

Well worth watching and a pleasant opener for an attorney with a long career ahead of him.

Wow, can't top the "Lightning" review, but here's more about the movie itself. I believe this was the first in a series of Perry Mason films starring Warren William.

What's odd is that this film has no other cast members in common with the subsequent films and in fact the whole tenor of the movie is quite different. In this film Perry has a huge office and staff of detectives. He makes no quips. Has no comic-relief sidekick. And the mystery itself is actually quite good.

Later films gave him a goofy detective sidekick ("Spudsey"), made more of the romance between Della Street and Perry, and had much less mystery in the plots. The appeal of these movies is Perry's string of one-liners he gives to the police, witnesses, etc.

But give this first film a look. There's no comic relief, but the plot is very involved and interesting.

This is the first of the Perry Mason movies. Warren Williams brought the famous lawyer to life in much the same way that Raymond Burr would breath life into the Erle Stanley Gardner character for television in 1957. Surprisingly the first incarnation of Perry Mason is not that far from the later television creation. In the first movie as in the first television episodes Perry is a conniving shrewd barrister who not only bends the law but at times uses tricks that may actually be illegal. The Warren William incarnation would change with his next three films with Perry becoming a womanizing boozer. In "The Case of the Lucky Legs" Warren Williams' Mason has trouble staying sober long enough to do his job. After Warren Williams left the role, Ricardo Cortez and Donald Woods tried the part on for size and did fairly decent portrayals of the sharp-witted counselor. Television's Perry Mason also changed with time, but rather than going in the direction of playboy souse, being the McCarthy era, Raymond Burr's portrayal made Perry a scholarly type who won his case through sheer knowledge of the law and thorough investigation procedures.

The first Perry Mason movie, "The Case of the Howling Dog," is possibly the best in the entire series. It was remade for television, turning out to be one of the best in the Raymond Burr series. Much of this is owed to the cleverness of the original book written by mystery writer Erle Stanly Gardner, but Warren Williams and later Raymond Burr should also be given credit for making the whole thing work.

Warren Williams is ably assisted by a covey of fine actors and actresses including Mary Astor who would later make a permanent mark on movie history playing Brigid O'Shaughnessy in John Huston's classic "The Maltese Falcon." Della Street is there to aid Perry with a hint, as with the later TV series, of a romantic connection between the two. The character of Paul Drake does not appear but would appear in the next film, "The Case of the Curious Bride," as Spudsy Drake, played by the fine character actor Allen Jenkins, who plays Det. Sgt. Holcomb in the first film. Unlike William Hopper's TV Paul Drake, Spudsy is more of a comical sidekick for Perry, more in line with William Katt and William Moses' Paul Drake in the made for TV Raymond Burr Perry Mason movies. Also missing from the Warren Williams Perry Mason's are Hamilton Burger and Lt. Arthur Tragg. In their places we find Det. Sgt. Holcomb and District Attorney Claude Drumm, ably played by Grant Mitchell.

The case this time is extremely complicated. The viewer has to follow the events concerning the Cartwright's and the Foley's very carefully, especially in the beginning. Talk about wife swapping! Gradually Perry and his associates are able to unravel the mystery but wait, there is a twist at the end that you don't want to miss just when you think the whole thing has been worked out and the guilty person exposed by Perry.

Warren Williams not only plays Perry with gusto but adds much humor to the goings on. If you think Raymond Burr is the definitive Perry Mason, seeing this film may change your mind.