The Canary Murder Case (1929)

A beautiful showgirl, name "the Canary" is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and with that she ends up dead. But who killed "the Canary". All the suspects knew and were ... See full summary »

Director:

Malcolm St. Clair

Writers:

Albert S. Le Vino (adaptation), Herman J. Mankiewicz (titles),

Stars:

William Powell, Jean Arthur, James Hall

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Powell	...	Philo Vance
Jean Arthur	...	Alice LaFosse
James Hall	...	Jimmy Spottswoode
Louise Brooks	...	'The Canary' - Margaret O'Dell
Charles Lane	...	Charles Spottswoode
Lawrence Grant	...	John Cleaver
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Dr. Ambrose Lindquist
E.H. Calvert	...	Dist. Atty. John F.X. Markham (as Captain E. H. Calvert)
Eugene Pallette	...	Sgt. Ernest Heath
Ned Sparks	...	Tony Skeel (as Ned A. Sparks)
Louis John Bartels	...	Louis Mannix

Storyline

A beautiful showgirl, name "the Canary" is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and with that she ends up dead. But who killed "the Canary". All the suspects knew and were used by her and everyone had a motive to see her dead. The only witness to the crime has also been 'rubbed out'. Only one man, the keen, fascinating, debonair detective Philo Vance, would be able to figure out who is the killer.

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Plot Keywords:

philo vance | detective | theater | murder | high society | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1929 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Die Stimme aus dem Jenseits

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Completed in 1928, Paramount sensed that releasing the S.S. Van Dine (Willard Huntington Wright) Philo Vance whodunit as a silent would be financial disaster. Studio honchos called in Frank Tuttle to rework it as an all-talkie. Margaret Livingston supplied the voice of the uncooperative Louise Brooks (as the Canary), who had left Hollywood for a career in Europe. The film was a big hit despite the high negative cost.

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Quotes

Jimmy Spottswoode: No other man should ever have you alive!

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Crazy Credits

Upon its initial release, a message appeared at the end of the film requesting that the audience not reveal to anyone the surprise ending.

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Connections

Followed by The Garden Murder Case (1936)

User Reviews

Early sound effort

This film typifies the problems the studios were having adapting to sound in 1929. The characters talk and talk and talk and nothing much happens. Being a great Philo Vance fan, I had to purchase this film even though it is a pretty rough transfer to tape and is very stilted in style. The obvious post-dubbing of Louise Brooks' voice is comical since it comes out as a nasal Bronx accent. William Powell, just beginning to develop his persona as a sophisticate, really doesn't stand much of a chance here. However, for historical value, it is worth a try. It is the last film that Brooks made before she went to Germany and her greatest triumphs(Pandora's Box, Diary of a Lost Girl); thus the voice dubbing. The film started out as a silent and was converted to sound....by that time she was in Germany and refused to return to dub her own voice. If you are a Philo Vance buff and can't work your way through this film, see "The Kennel Murder Case" instead.