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.

I liked this one because it was mysterious - and mysteries should be mysterious, don't you think? Lots of pictures billed as mysteries really aren't, especially when they give away the murderer too soon. That doesn't happen with "The Howling Dog", which goes right down to the wire before all is revealed.

Warren William makes his debut in this, the very first Perry Mason movie, He is very good, especially with his authoritative, stentorian voice. Most everyone else is just a supporting cast member, including Mary Astor, who is better than the rest.

Warning: if you watch this movie, pay attention! You will be lost if you get up and go to the fridge, as the plot is intricate and can be a chore to follow. There are two couples involved but they become so intertwined you will need a road map to keep things straight. There a couple of curves and knuckleballs toward the end - information we didn't have while the story was unfolding. Ordinarily, you could yell foul, but the picture is so entertaining and the mystery so confounding that, if you are like me, you'll just go with it.

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.

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!

This was the first Perry Mason film ever made, with Warren William as Mason, who is superb in the part, much better than Raymond Burr, who always annoyed me so much I could not watch the later Perry Mason films. Mason's assistant Della Street is here played by Helen Trenholme, a beautiful and talented choice, but she inexplicably left the film business after making this and one other film in 1934, and that was it. The best performance in the film is by Gordon Westcott, as a distraught client in a state of high anxiety and 'aggravated melancholia'. Unfortunately, he died not long after in a polo accident, which deprived the screen of a real talent. The direction is excellent, with lots of retreating dolly shot 'pullbacks' to add dynamism to the action. Mary Astor does well, but then when did she not? Hats off to Lightning the Dog, who is seen howling splendidly like a wolf in the initial shots of the film. I'd like to have one like that around the house, wouldn't you? Lots of character, not anybody's poodle, not a wimp. The plot of this film is wonderfully complex, a true brain-teaser. This is a Perry Mason film with serious intent, and not a pastiche. It is well worth watching.