Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clu... Read allPhilo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue.Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue.
- Sir Thomas MacDonald
- (as Paul Cavanaugh)
- Eduardo Grassi
- (as Jack LaRue)
- Sandy
- (uncredited)
- Terrier at Dog Show
- (uncredited)
- Sgt. Mellish - Desk Sergeant
- (uncredited)
- Police Photographer
- (uncredited)
- Policeman Who Lets Philo's Dog Out
- (uncredited)
Featured reviews
The picture is an interesting and deliberate whodunit,it's a laborious and intriguing suspense tale.The personages are similar to Agatha Christie stories, all they are various suspects.They are developed on a whole gallery of familiar actors well characterized from the period represented by a glittering casting to choose from their acting range from great to worst. Powell is in his habitual elegant and smart form as Philo.He's protagonist of two famed detectives cinema,this one, and elegant Nick Charles along with Nora(Mirna Loy)make the greatest marriage detectives. Special mention to Mary Astor as the niece enamored of suspect Sir Thomas,she was a noted actress of noir cinema(Maltese falcon). The movie is magnificently directed by Hollywood classic director Michael Curtiz.He directs utilizing modern techniques as the image of dead through a lock-door,a split image while are speaking for phone and curtain-image.The tale is remade as ¨Calling Philo Vance¨(1940).The film is a good production Warner Bros, by Vitagraph Corp.
When rich, obnoxious Archer Coe is murdered, the case causes lots of difficulty for the police. It's bad enough that Coe's meanness gave a good reason for murder to pretty much anyone who ever knew him, but it's even worse that the clues are so complicated that he could have been killed in at least two completely different ways. Only Vance can figure it all out, and after some good twists, there is an interesting and creative solution.
Though basically filmed as a routine whodunit, there are several good features besides the story itself. Powell is as lively as Vance as he was later as Nick Charles in the "Thin Man" films. Most of the rest of the cast is good, too, especially Mary Astor as one of the suspects and Eugene Pallette as the earnest but not very bright sergeant in charge of the case. Everything moves along quickly with many good touches of humor.
Most mystery fans will find this movie entertaining and enjoyable.
A precursor to the Thin Man series, starring William Powell as a detective (but without the very supplementary Myrna Loy). And this is directed by none other than Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca" and "Mildred Pierce"), and you can often tell, scenes characteristically complex with lots of people and foreground/background. As a whole the movie races along, to the point that the huge cast (all introduced with visual vignettes at the start) is confusing. But hang in there. because a third of the way through Powell kicks in full time.
There are few actors like William Powell in the history of American film. He is peculiar in charming ways, and makes no bones about it. He lacks any sense of what we might think of as cool or hardness--there's no Bogart in him, no Cary Grant of course, nothing but what a character actor might have. And he made it a virtue, visible even here. The rest of the cast is good or very good, with a few other recognizable faces, and it gels increasingly as you go until a series of dramatic whodunnit style conclusions wraps it all up.
Powell's detective, Philo Vance, was a snobby socialite, and the plots have a quality of private detective vs. police (which gets used in a lot of these kinds of series, of course). There are four movies with Powell playing the part (and many others with other actors in the role. This is the fourth, and best of them, the first going back to the dawn of sound, 1929. It's not as slick or warm (or sophisticated) as "The Thin Man" series, which is a high water mark of the effete detective, but it's terrific in its own way, and really well constructed. I'd not miss it.
Did you know
- TriviaWilliam Powell's last appearance as Philo Vance.
- GoofsWhen Philo Vance opens the closet door, a dead Brisbane Coe falls out, and his hat rolls away from his head. But on the closeup shot of the dead body immediately after, the hat is back on Brisbane's head. Then on the next shot, which is of Brisbane and the servant, the hat is once again off his head.
- Quotes
Philo Vance: What do you think of the suicide theory now, Sergeant?
Detective Sgt. Heath: Well, it's slightly complicated since the man shot, slugged and stabbed himself - especially in the back.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The World's Best Known Dicks (1987)
Everything New on HBO Max in July
Everything New on HBO Max in July
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $961,380
- Gross worldwide
- $1,486,760
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1