The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)

Director:

Alan Crosland

Writers:

Ben Markson (screenplay)
Erle Stanley Gardner (story)

Release Date:

22 September 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Plot:

A very nervous man named Cartwright comes into Perry's office to have the neighbor arrested for his howling dog...

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Secretary | Murder | Detective | Common Law Marriage

Cast

Warren William	...	Perry Mason
Mary Astor	...	Bessie Foley
Allen Jenkins	...	Sgt. Holcomb
Grant Mitchell	...	District Attorney Claude Drumm
Helen Trenholme	...	Della Street
Helen Lowell	...	Elizabeth Walker
Dorothy Tree	...	Lucy Benton
Gordon Westcott	...	Arthur Cartwright
Harry Tyler	...	Sam Martin - Taxi Driver
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Sheriff Bill Pemberton
Russell Hicks	...	Clinton Foley
Frank Reicher	...	Dr. Carl Cooper
Addison Richards	...	Judge Markham
James P. Burtis	...	George Dobbs (as James Burtis)
Eddie Shubert	...	Ed Wheeler

Runtime:

74 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #137)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

First time the character Perry Mason ever appeared on film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Perry Mason makes mention of a howling police dog after bringing in a psychiatrist to observe Arthur Cartwright, yet at no time did Arthur Cartwright ever state that the howling dog was a police dog.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cape Fear (1991)

Soundtrack:

Dames

Warren William is Perry Mason

This is the movie that got me interested in the character Perry Mason and I began watching the old television series because of this film. It's a shame that Warren William didn't make more of these films because he was great in this. I like the little comic bits in the movie. I think it's a classic. I have it in my collection. Warren William was a very good character actor and it's a shame we don't see more of his films shown on tv.