Calling Philo Vance (1940)

Philo is in Vienna working for the US Government to see if Archer Coe is selling aircraft designs to foreign powers. He grabs the plans with Archer's signature, but is captured by police ... See full summary »

Director:

William Clemens

Writers:

Tom Reed (screenplay), S.S. Van Dine (novel)

Stars:

James Stephenson, Margot Stevenson, Henry O'Neill

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Stephenson	...	Philo Vance
Margot Stevenson	...	Hilda Lake
Henry O'Neill	...	J.P. Markham
Edward Brophy	...	Ryan
Sheila Bromley	...	Doris Delafield
Ralph Forbes	...	Tom McDonald
Donald Douglas	...	Philip Wrede
Martin Kosleck	...	Gamble
Jimmy Conlin	...	Dr. Doremus - Coroner (as Jimmy Conlon)
Edward Raquello	...	Eduardo Grassi
Creighton Hale	...	Du Bois - Fingerprint Man
Harry Strang	...	Hennessey - Markham's Assistant
Richard Kipling	...	Archer Coe
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Brisbane Coe
Bo Ling	...	Ling Toy

Storyline

Philo is in Vienna working for the US Government to see if Archer Coe is selling aircraft designs to foreign powers. He grabs the plans with Archer's signature, but is captured by police before he can escape. Deported he comes back to America and plans to confront Archer, but Archer is found dead in his locked bedroom with a gun in his hand. While it looks like a suicide, Vance knows better and the coroner finds that Archer has been shot, hit with a blunt instrument and stabbed - making suicide unlikely. But Vance is on the case and is looking to see if government secrets have been sold and who has murdered Coe.

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Plot Keywords:

coroner | escape | philo vance | reporter | caught | 

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

3 February 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Três Horas Trágicas

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Ralph Forbes is credited onscreen as "Tom MacDonald," but throughout the film, he is called Taylor MacDonald.

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Connections

Followed by Philo Vance's Secret Mission (1947)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Happy About the Whole Thing"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played when Vance and Ryan meet Grassi in the bar

User Reviews

Making it timely

Warner Brothers probably of all the studios loved remaking its films. I guess Jack Warner thought it saved on buying new properties. Calling Philo Vance after a brief prologue updating the story to have Vance working for the State Department investigating the theft of airplane designs, it becomes almost a word for word remake of The Kennel Murder Case. Even the character names remain the same. Whole bits of dialog from the original are reused in this one.

Too bad they couldn't have gotten William Powell as well. But he was over at MGM keeping Nora and Asta in line. So James Stephenson became the latest in a long line of Vances. Philo Vance would soon fade from the screen.

Stephenson is serviceable, but lacks Powell's unique debonair charm. And of course we've seen it all before.