The Canary Murder Case (1929)

A beautiful showgirl, nicknamed 'the Canary', is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and soon ends up dead. But who killed 'the Canary'. All the suspects who knew her had ... See full summary »

Directors:

Malcolm St. Clair, Frank Tuttle (uncredited)

Writers:

Albert S. Le Vino (adaptation) (as Albert Shelby LeVino), 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, nicknamed 'the Canary', is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and soon ends up dead. But who killed 'the Canary'. All the suspects who knew her had been used by her. The only witness to the crime was also killed. Only one man, debonair detective, Philo Vance, might be able to figure out who silenced 'the Canary'.

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | police sergeant | philo vance | high society | district attorney | 

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Taglines:

The sinister threat of a jealousy maddened lover- a whispered warning- a scream! And next morning the world asks- WHO KILLED THE CANARY!!! (Print Ad- Sunday Times, ((Perth, S.A.)) 4 August 1929)

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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

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

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. Livingstone, who also had short, bobbed hair, stood in for her in some of the retakes. The film was a big hit despite the high negative cost.

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Goofs

In "The Greene Murder Case" (about 29 minutes in) someone mentions reading about "The Canary Murder Case". But, in "The Canary Murder Case" (about 21 minutes in) someone mentions that he hasn't seen Vance since "The Greene Murder Case". The studio may not have been sure which order the movies would be released when the dialog was written.

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Quotes

Charles Spottswoode: What happened backstage? Were you able to see the Canary.
Philo Vance: No luck Charles. She's about as hard to get out of that judging room, as she is in that swing.

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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 Kennel Murder Case (1933)

User Reviews

Not really Philo Vance

This is an interesting curiosity, as are so many films from the transition to sound.The "Canary" Murder Case was S.S.Van Dine's second in the Philo Vance series, and one of the best. It is a pity that they didn't follow the book more closely, and especially the character of Vance more closely. William Powell is rather nondescript as Vance, sort of like a watered down Nick Charles, without the wit and erudition that made the books so popular.(Vance is often described as "insufferable", which is puzzling when you consider that the books about him were tremendous best sellers, Apparently the American public didn't consider him insufferable. He has often been called, "the finest American detective in the English tradition". A little ironic, since what is often called the "English tradition" was started by Edgar Allen Poe in his C. Auguste Dupin stories). Actually the person who came closest to the true Vance was Warren William, but the character was never really developed as opposed to the character of Sherlock Holmes. Which is probably why Vance never really took off as a movie character.