The Kennel Murder Case

Plot synopsis:
Philo Vance's dog does not make it into the final of the Long Island Kennel Club's dog show. Fellow competitor Archer Coe (Robert Barrat) is disappointed, having hoped to savor a victory over Vance. Coe is found dead the next morning in his bedroom, locked from the inside. District Attorney Markham (Robert McWade) and Police Sergeant Heath (Eugene Pallette) assume it was suicide, because he was shot through the head and was found holding a pistol. Vance is not convinced. He soon finds evidence that Coe was murdered. Coroner Dr. Doremus (Etienne Girardot) determines the victim died of a stab wound.
There is no shortage of suspects; Coe was very much disliked. His niece Hilda Lake (Mary Astor) resented her uncle's tight control of her finances and jealousy of any men who showed interest in her. Her boyfriend, Sir Thomas MacDonald (Paul Cavanagh), suspected Coe of killing his dog to ensure winning the competition. Raymond Wrede (Ralph Morgan), the dead man's secretary, was in love with Miss Lake, but had been laughed at when he sought Coe's support. Coe's next-door neighbor and lover Doris Delafield (Helen Vinson) had been cheating on him with Eduardo Grassi (Jack La Rue). When Coe found out, he cancelled a contract to sell his collection of Chinese artworks to the Milan museum for which Grassi worked. Liang (James Lee), the cook, had worked long, hard, and illegally to help Coe amass his collection. He warned his employer against the proposed sale and was fired as a result. Even Coe's own brother Brisbane (Frank Conroy) despised Coe. Finally, Gamble (Arthur Hohl), the head servant, had concealed his criminal past.
Brisbane Coe becomes Vance's prime suspect. His alibi of taking a train at the time of the murder is disproved. When he is found dead in a closet, Vance is both puzzled and enlightened. Among Brisbane's effects, Vance finds a book titled Unsolved Murders; a bookmarked page details a method of using string to lock a door through the keyhole without leaving a trace. Part of the mystery is solved.
Later, an attempt is made on the life of Sir Thomas using the same dagger used to kill Coe. Finally, a Doberman Pinscher belonging to Miss Delafield is found seriously injured, apparently struck with a fireside poker. From these and other clues, Vance finally solves the crime.
It turns out that two men sought Coe's life that night. The successful murderer struggled with Coe and stabbed him, leaving him for dead. Coe awakened soon after. Too dazed to recall the fight or notice that he was mortally wounded, he went upstairs to his bedroom and opened his window before dying. Brisbane entered the chamber, saw his brother apparently asleep in his chair. He shot the corpse and arranged the scene to look like a suicide. Downstairs, he ran into the actual killer, who had seen that Archer Coe was still alive and came back to finish the job. In the darkness, he mistook Brisbane for Archer and killed the wrong man. Delafield's dog then wandered in, attracted by the commotion, and attacked the murderer.
While sure of the killer's identity, Vance has no proof. He therefore arranges for Sir Thomas and Wrede to quarrel over Hilda Lake. When Wrede instinctively reaches for the poker to strike his rival, the Doberman recognizes its attacker and leaps on him. Wrede confesses he became enraged when Coe refused to assist his courtship of Miss Lake, precipitating the stabbing.

Tags: mystery, murder

Review:
In the 1920s and 1930s Philo Vance became a household name with publication of the wildly popular S.S. Van Dine (alias for Willard Huntington Wright) novels featuring the patrician amateur detective.Though Kennel is one of the better Philo Vance novels, this adaptation of the eponymous book represents the rare case where a film is better than the original story (which would not film well if precisely represented on screen because of (1) the psychological issues which would be hard to depict, and (2) the novel's culminating violent scene, which the film modifies).The genius in taking one of the lesser of the canonical Philo Vance novels and making it into a classic is, of course, Michael Curtiz's direction; Curtiz being an exceptionally talented director who has, perhaps, the misfortune of being eclipsed by the fame of his films (e.g., Casablanca, Mildred Pierce, and The Adventures of Robin Hood) because of lack of a distinctive style.This film is also a successful example of an early talkie: the sound is fairly good except in some scenes where the boom is obviously too far away, and in one shot (between Robert Barrat and Helen Vinson) we actually see the microphone!
Indeed, his performance is so endearing he reprised the role in other Philo Vance films.While it becomes fairly easy to guess the culprit, the film doesn't suffer for this because of the excellent direction, good sets and wardrobe (check out Mary Astor's chic outfits!), and fine performances.
(Though primarily loved for his work as Nick Charles in the Thin Man films, William Powell gives one of the best (and most subtle) performances of his career in Kennel.) Besides its status as a Hollywood classic, Kennel is an outstanding example of successful story adaptation and early sound film-making.
Talented detective Mr. Philo Vance (William Powell) cancels his overseas trip to investigate an apparently cut and dried case of suicide he has good reason to suspect is really something much more, a rather deliciously complex murder!
Populated with suspicious characters, all connected to a dog show and all having very good reason to murder the apparent suicide victim Archer Coe, it's truly tough to figure this one out or wrap one's head around it but boy, does it proves fascinating to watch unfold before us.
Powell is aided by a host of very talented actors - some first-rate character actors and actresses like Mary Astor as a niece that hated her uncle, Ralph Morgan as the dead man's secretary, Paul Cavanaugh as a rival dog fancier, Arthur Hohl as a mysterious butler, Helen Vinson as the next door kept blonde, and two really good performances by James Lee as the Chinese cook and portly Eugene Palette as a wise-cracking police detective.
It is this depth of suspects and a story that has many plots twists and turns that make The Kennel Murder Case a fast-moving, fun mystery..
William Powell, Michael Curtiz, and a good murder mystery make "The Kennel Murder case" an entertaining film.
Philo Vance (Powell) does some of his most difficult deducting, and Curtiz's direction keeps things moving quickly.When rich, obnoxious Archer Coe is murdered, the case causes lots of difficulty for the police.
The Kennel Murder Case (1933)A precursor to the Thin Man series, starring William Powell as a detective (but without the very supplementary Myrna Loy).
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.
Powell had made a career out of playing the lead character, Philo Vance, in a series of movies made at a couple of studios over several years.
As with so many early talkie stars, it seemed that his time had come and gone, that he was fine for early Depression Prohibition-era films, but that with changing times he was perhaps too mature and dandyish to endure.The Kennel Murder Case, directed by the criminally neglected Michael Curtiz, is one of the last of the "old Powells", while the next year would herald in the first of the new ones, The Thin Man, the success of which would catapult its leading players into the Hollywood stratosphere.
It Was All In The How. William Powell's final outing as Philo Vance occurs in The Kennel Murder Case where the murder of a championship show dog leads to two more murders and one attempt of the human kind.
Had Bill Powell not gone on to greater fame with MGM as Nick Charles of the Thin Man series, he would have been known as the greatest of Philo Vances.
People like Paul Cavanaugh, Helen Vinson, Ralph Morgan, Mary Astor, fill their cast roles well.Warner Brothers liked this version so much that in fact they remade it again in the Thirties with James Stephenson in his one and only outing as Philo Vance.
The film starts in the Long Island Kennel Club where is murdered a dog,later is appeared dead as a case of committing suicide a collector millionaire called Arched,but sleuth debonair Philo Vance(William Powell)to be aware of actually killing.There are many suspects : the secretary(Ralph Morgan),the butler,the Chinese cooker,the contender(Paul Cavanagh) in kennel championship for revenge killing dog ,the nephew(Mary Astor) facing off her tyrant uncle,the Italian man(Jack La Rue),the brother,the attractive neighbour..Stylish Vance tries to find out who murdered tycoon,appearing many clues ,as a book titled:Unsolved murders.
The police Inspector(Eugene Palette)and a coroner are helped by Vance to investigate the mysterious death.The sympathetic forensic medic examines boring the continuous body-count .Who's the killer?.The public enjoys immensely about guess the murder.
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 the much hated Archer Coe turns up dead and is believed to be a suicide, Philo Vance and Detective Heath steps into the scene to find out why a rich man would consider suicide as an option.
The original novel they adapted was "The Kennel Murder Case", perhaps from a writer's standpoint the best of the Philo Vance mysteries by the strange S.S. Van Dine.
Fortunately they assigned suave William Powell first to the character.; later he was played by Basil Rathbone, Warren William, and Paul Lukas before being consigned to "B" picture status.The other question as always with Warner Brothers executives is why they chose Vance as a character; their penchant was to choose men who operated outside the law, with no apparent discrimination between a vicious murderer and a champion of individual rights against all comers.
Philo Vance (William Powell) helps solve multiple murders among the wealthy after a dog show.Usually I hate overly convoluted mysteries (like this) but I LOVE this movie.
It moves very quickly (only 72 minutes), is beautifully directed by Michael Curtiz (he uses tons of camera tricks that just speed the narrative along), has a very ingenious story line (including a solution to a locked room murder that was just incredible) and has a very good cast.
It is the best of the series but, if you like this type of film, catch the other Philo Vance's with Powell and the one with Basil Rathbone.
This fantasy world of nasty rich men who collect Oriental relics (shades of 'The Moonstone'?), inscrutable Chinese servants, ex-cons turned butlers, dog-loving fops, Runyonesque cops, is the perfect habitat for Vance, a man who will drop a cruise to Europe on a fanciful hunch, who knows the social world of these people, and yet is tainted by his interest in crime and association with the police, or would be if he wasn't anything more than a thinking machine, William Powell, the greatest American comedian of the decade, bravely subsuming his idiosyncratic humanity.
Of course it is William Powell as Philo Vance (and Michael Curtiz as director) that makes the film what it is - when did Powell ever make a dud?The army of cops at the crime scene didn't really do a very good job in finding the second dead body and unconscious dog did they!
This is the sixth Philo Vance mystery film and the fifth and last starring William Powell, five films which he made between 1929 and 1933.
(In 1930 a single Philo Vance film intervened which starred Basil Rathbone, THE BISHOP MURDER CASE, see my review).
THE KENNEL MURDER CASE (Warner Brothers, 1933), directed by Michael Curtiz, returns William Powell to the screen playing detective Philo Vance.
While those aforementioned titles along with the entire "Philo Vance" mysteries are as forgotten as the character himself, THE KENNEL MURDER CASE goes on record as the finest and most revived of them all.The story opens at a Long Island Kennel Club where Detective Philo Vance (William Powell) enters his Scottish terrier, Captain McTavish, in a dog show.
Markham (Robert McWade) during the investigation, Vance encounters a total of seven suspects with motives for wanting Cole dead, ranging from his niece, her fiancé, Raymond Wrede (Ralph Morgan), Cole's personal secretary and live-in boarder in love with Hilda; Brisbane Cole (Frank Conroy), the victim's brother who owns a book of unsolved murders; and Liang (James Lee), Cole's Chinese cook.
Being both classic "Philo Vance" and top-notch Powell, THE KENNEL MURDER CASE was unrecognizably remade by Warners as CALLING PHILO VANCE (1940) featuring James Stephenson in the title role; with Margot Stevenson (Hilda Lake); and Richard Kipling (Archer Cole).
As much as other "Philo Vance" mysteries featuring different actors distributed by other film companies through 1947, THE KENNEL MURDER CASE became the of many to be distributed to video cassette.
Sequel: THE DRAGON MURDER CASE (Warners, 1934) starring Warren William as Philo Vance supported by Eugene Palette, Robert McWade and Etienne Girardot resuming their initial roles.
Philo Vance (played wonderfully by William Powell) isn't as smooth and sophisticated as Nick Charles, and there's not the witty banter between man and wife you find in the Thin Man series, but this is a good character.
It's almost as if this Philo Vance mystery takes its cues from Agatha Christie, with the story being so intricately plotted that the least suspected person ends up as the murderer.
However, I have to admit, in this case I did suspect the culprit.WILLIAM POWELL assumes a more serious demeanor as the detective, unlike his characterization of Nick Charles in the Thin Man mysteries.
EUGENE Palette is a befuddled detective who can't decide who's guilty without the aid of Vance and gets a few chuckles along the way.Directed in lively fashion by Michael Curtiz, it's a good little mystery that borrows from a whole bunch of clichés but manages to be tight and entertaining throughout.
Now this does NOT mean that the film is that similar to the Thin Man movies, as THE KENNEL MURDER CASE is not a comedy but more a traditional mystery-detective film.
Now you'd think that not having Nora Charles or Asta or a traditional comic sidekick (something found in practically all series detective films) along for fun would be a detriment, but I didn't miss them at all because this was such an exceptionally well-written film--having a genuinely interesting case as well as uniformly excellent performances by all.The film begins at the dog show and is called The KENNEL Murder Case, though this Philo Vance film actually spends little of the time at the dog show and dogs are not a super-important part of the film.
Before he became defined as Nick Charles in the Thin Man Series, William Powell played another urbane detective named Philo Vance.
William Powell is Philo Vance in "The Kennel Murder Case," a 1933 film also starring Mary Astor, Paul Cavanagh, Eugene Palette, Helen Vinson and Ralph Morgan.
"The Kennel Murder Case" is a great story and a fun film - don't miss it..
Apart from the usual stereotypes of the thirties, Eugene Pallette as the gruff police detective, Jack La Rue as the "swarthy" Italian and of course, James Lee as "The Chinese Cook", this film is THE great mystery of a murder in a locked room.
Its based on a Philo Vance story, A suicide of a man few likes proves to be murder most foul.
I own a good many of these but, curiously enough, have not had the opportunity to watch as many as I would like; suffice it to say that that the only such series I have gone through in its entirety is that of "The Thin Man" (also because it is one of the shortest if most successful).Having mentioned the latter, which gave William Powell his signature role, it is to be noted that he also assumes the lead role in the movie under review as yet another popular fictional sleuth i.e. Philo Vance.
A detestable person gets murdered; there's a house full of suspects; police are baffled, but a lead detective sees clues that the police don't see and solves the crime.The film has some good points.
Powell's Philo Vance is as sharp and observant as Nick Charles but director Michael Curtiz does little with the supporting cast who spend most of their time feeling cheated and looking guilty.Arthur Coe commits suicide in his locked bedroom or so it seems.
Enjoyed viewing this film on TCM and watching a very young William Powell, (Philo Vance) playing detective just like he did with Myrna Loy in the "Thin Man Series".
Back in the 1930's William Powell played in the Philo Vance Series and in this picture, the famous veteran actress Mary Astor, (Hilda Lake) becomes one of the suspects in a murder/suicide case where a man named, Archer Coe, (Robert Barrot) is found dead and Archer was in a room that was bolted from the inside.
Eugene Palette, (Detective Sgt. Heath) appeared in quite a few of these Philo Vance films and also gave a great performance in "Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn.
William Powell is a dog-loving detective but, unlike in the Thin Man films, which were yet to be made, he has neither a glamorous wife in tow nor a weakness for the sauce.The plot concerns the classic mystery of a murdered man in a room locked from the inside.
Philo Vance had many affinities with Bulldog Drummond He was a gentleman with the kind of polish and elegance only usually associated with the British upper classes and he was also independently wealthyBut there were vital differences Drummond was an adventurer, charming, gallant, lively Vance could be pompous, slight1y dull and self-righteous There was a hint of fundamental cruelty in his manner"The Kennel Murder Case" is the most impressive of the 14 Vance films made between 1929 and 1947 The story of a murdered collector of Chinoiserie, it has all the ingredients of the classic private eye mystery  exotic setting in the blue nose Long Island Kennel Club, three killings for Vance to solve including a baffling "locked room murder," the key to the whole affair, and plenty of suspects Usually, a detective story setting have proved too static and talkative to make convincing movies even though they work well enough on the printed page, but here Michael Curtiz's direction and the fine editing give the film a pace and urgency that make it altogether different from similar films of its type William Powell's elegance and suavity made him the perfect Vance and although a year later he switched studios, he stayed in the same genre with the enormously successful and popular "The Thin Man" at MGM.
William Powell as Philo Vance is excellent in this locked room whodunit.
"Markham," says urbane gentleman crime-solver Philo Vance (William Powell) to the district attorney, "I'm coming more and more to the belief that Archer Coe was killed in this room.
The Kennel Murder Case is one of those rare films that show everyone involved at the best of their craft, and working well together to give a good show.
With all the murder mysteries filmed at this time based on stage plays, with a resulting flat camera work, this movie makes the camera almost a character in itself.
William Powell is likable as Philo Vance, detective.
Vance (William Powell) had a line early in the film about Archer Coe's 'psychological impossibility' to kill himself - I had to think about that for a while.
I decided to invest 73 minutes of my to life to THE KENNEL MURDER CASE for one reason only and that is it's directed by the great Michael Curtiz who if he's not considered the greatest film director of the 20th Century is certainly the greatest director of the classic period of Hollywood .
The title fools the audience in to thinking they're going to be watching a story set at a kennel club and indeed the opening location takes place there where a prize winning dog is found dead but this has got nothing to do with the main plot involving a suspected suicide that turns out is a murder The screenplay is confused , inconsistent and just plain bizarre .
"The Kennel Murder Case" was the latest in William Powell's portrayals of famed detective Philo Vance.
***SPOILERS*** Overly plotted, down to the very last pottery fragment, murder mystery that has the great detective Philo Vance, William Powell,completely befuddled until the last five or so minutes in the film.
"The Kennel Murder Case", and other Philo Vance stories, is a light, fast paced precursor to "The Thin Man" series.
The plot of THE KENNEL MURDER CASE is constructed along the lines of an Agatha Christie mystery, complete with an amateur detective (Vance) staging a "big reveal" in a drawing room climax.