Evening star., 1933-10-21
PHILO VANCE
SOLVES NEW
KILLING CASE
William. Powell and
Associates in
Police Story.

IF the machinery of the law were as
we'll provided with~keen minds as
would appear from the activities of
Philo Vance and other smart perform
ers in the output of fiction, the crime
problem would END Immediately. Prob
ably these famous non-existent detec-
tiveS are more widely known than any
Of the police hounds in the metropoli-
tan areas. They lack familiarity, per-
haps, with the method of rnemorizing
forms and faces that gives distinction
to the man at headquarters, but they
have the ability, in the minds OF their
creators, to move directly to the point
at which clue Is to be found, to dis
cover hidden motives and to penetrate
the immobile face Of the guilty person.
Perhaps one reason why Phllo vance
and his associates in the gayly covered
books have an advantage over the COM
mon variety Of sleuth is in the fact that
they always deal with guilty specimens
from the higher ranks OF society. Those
persons are expected to be true to type.
and when they violate the law they are
likely to be unable to cover up their
tracks. Organized crime, on the other
hand, is largely confined to those who
make a business of preying upon the
public, and while they may be known
to the police. the necessity for prompt
action and conclusive proof OF guilt
rarely offers the opportunity for bril-
liant psychology.
Philo Vance is on deck once more In
"The Kennel Murder Case" at the Met
ropolitan Theater. This IS more COM
plicated than his usual field OF en-
deayor. Two persons are killed. and
one of them appears to have been killed
several times, so that the clues are
about as numerous as tracks Of the wild
animals at water hole. 1t is terribly
hard thing to analyze, but, as IN the
case of all the mysteries that engage the
attention of the famous Philo, 1t can
be done.
It appears that a prominent collector
and sportsman has been so lacking IN
gentle qualities that any one OF num-
Der of persons might have been inclined
to give him dangerous blow. Not
withstanding his refined surroundings,
his associates are more or less renegade
from the social standpoint. They are
all under suspicion, and when the sus-
poets have been assembled, 1t is slz-
able party, very nicely garbed. Enter
Philo Vance. He has quit an ocean
liner on which he was going abroad IN
order to solve the double murder. He
llIlQS tIle EOhcI, lllc OdsSCi oAiA OliACA
sometimes dangerous weapons, and ap-
plies the logic only accessible to famous
detectives of fiction to the great prcb-
lem. He finds the murderer.
The play is interesting as means OF
studying the smooth work of William
Powell, who gives attention to the task
of being Philo Vance. Mr.. Powell would
be just as interesting in the role OF a
cowboy. He is assisted in disclosing the
plot by Mary Astor, Helen Vinson and
Eugene Palette, all of whom have IA
cility in entertaining theater audiences.
This is especially true of Mr.. Palette,
who reveals the eccentricities of the
everyday policeman, and is keen, espe-
cially when aided by Philo Vance. It is
fascinating piece of work. and deserv-
ing of the attention of amusement
seekers.
The Metropolitan also has several
short films, one of which reveals the
popular Ethel Waters and her colored
players, in Rufus Jones for President. "
1t is to be observed that the star has
difficulty in hiding her sense of humor
in carrying out the magnified incidents
of the story, but that she compensates
for that by singing her own song, Am
Blue" and others in which she has
gained popularity. The members of the
company, in addition to carrying out
the political farce, also reveal musical
talent. D. c. c.