OVERLOOKED FILM: THE CANARY MURDER CASE (1929)

Ogden Nash famously write "Philo Vance needs a kick in the pance."  The pompous fictional detective created by S. S. Van Dine has had his share of detractors over the years.  Not only was Vance pompous, he was also talented:  "Vance was highly skilled at many things:  an expert 'fencer', a golfer with a three handicap, a breeder and shower of thoroughbred dogs, a talented polo player, a master poker player, a winning handicapper of racehorses, experience in archery [...], a patron of classical music, a connoisseur of fine food and drink, knowledgeable of chess, and of several foreign languages."  Vance was also a marksman and a decorated veteran of the Great War.  "He was something of an authority on Japanese and Chinese prints; he knew tapestries and ceramics."  His affectations -- a monocle, his impeccable clothing, his torturously quaint way of speaking -- made him appear to be a foppish dandy.  But above all, he was a masterful detective.

Some of these traits are evident in The Canary Murder Case, the 1929 film based on Van Dine's 1927 novel, the second book in the series, although the film was the first of several Philo Vance movies.

Banker Charles Spottswoode (Charles Willis Lane) is not happy about his son Jimmie's (James Hall) involvement with showgirl Margaret "The Canary" O'Dell (Louise Brooks).  He tries to bribe Margaret to leave Jimmie alone, but she refuses and threatens to expose Jimmie for embezzlement if he marries Alice La Fosse (Jean Arthur), Margaret's co-star.  Margaret has been blackmailing two club patrons, John Cleaver (Lawrence Grant) and Louis Mannix (Louis John Bartels), as well as the creepy Dr. Ambrose Lindquist (Gustav von Seyffertitz).  Margaret's ex-husband Tony Skeel (Ned Sparks) has broken out of jail and wants part of her blackmail money.  Margaret's body is found the next day; she had been killed about midnight.  Jimmie is arrested for the murder.

Enter Philo Vance (William Powell), a close friend of Charles Spottswoode.  Also on the case are District Attorney Markham (E. H. Calvert) and Police Sergeant Ernest Heath (Eugene Pallette).

The Canary Murder Case was originally filmed in 1928 as a silent film, but the first full talking picture, 1928's Lights of New York, proved to be a  major money maker and, by the end of the year, all the major studios were converting silent films into talkies.  This entailed recording the cast dubbing over scenes from the silent film, as well as shooting some additional footage.  Louise Brooks, however, had ended her contract with Paramount, so the studio hired Margaret Livingston to dub her part (Livingston only was seen in profile or from behind on the new footage). On December 28, 12928, Paramount had completed converting The Canary Murder Case into a talkie.  Despite critics having a field day panning the dubbing of Brooks' role, the film was successful enough to spawn two additional Philo Vance films with Paramount, and many more with Warner Brothers.

Directed by Malcolm St. Clair, with Frank Tuttle (uncredited) directing scenes for the talkie version. Adapted by Albert S. Le Vino with a script by Florence Ryerson; "Van Dine" (who was really art critic Willard Huntington Wright) may have contributed some dialogue.  Herman J. Mankiewitz, who went on to co-write Citizen Kane, wrote the never-used titles for the silent version.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51urwIAbkJY