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The Canary Murder Case (1929)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
1929 (Germany) morePlot:
A beautiful showgirl, name "the Canary" is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and with that she ends up dead... more | add synopsisUser Comments:
"Probably the most asinine character in detective fiction." moreCast
(Credited cast) | William Powell | ... | Philo Vance |
 | Louise Brooks | ... | Margaret Odell (the Canary) |
 | Jean Arthur | ... | Alice LaFosse |
 | James Hall | ... | Jimmy Spotswoode |
| Charles Lane | ... | Charless Spotswoode |
| Eugene Pallette | ... | Sgt. Ernest Heath |
| Gustav von Seyffertitz | ... | Dr. Ambrose Lindquist |
| Lawrence Grant | ... | Charles Cleaver |
| Ned Sparks | ... | Tony Sheel |
| Louis John Bartels | ... | Louis Mannix |
| E.H. Calvert | ... | Dist. Atty. John F.X. Markham |
| Oscar Smith | ... | Stuttering hallboy |
| Tim Adair | ... | George Y. Harvey |
| Margaret Livingston | ... | Margaret Odell (voice) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
82 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.20 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (MovieTone)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The story was based on the real-life murder of showgirl Dot King, which was never solved. moreFAQ
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Canary Murder Case (1929)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Ever Released? | EdOren |
| Beginning clipped off? | 39-0-13 |
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One of the earliest private-eye talkies was "The Canary Murder Case," featuring William Powell as an American detective called Philo Vance ... later described by Raymond Chandler as "probably the most asinine character in detective fiction."
This type of "classic" murder mystery, transposed to an American location, must have seemed a natural for early talkie producers: few sets, all interiors, a lot of talk and little of that difficult action stuff which meant the camera might have to move around… Like filming a stage play, in fact. Here was an opportunity to set up the static camera in its enclosed booth and let the actors get on with the job…
Most of these films turned out to be the dullest ever made… It wasn't the fault of William Powell, who played Philo Vance with wit and elegance… It was the fault of a basic misconception in making private-detective movies…
Powell played Vance four times... Others who, followed him were: Paul Lukas, Edmund Lowe, Warren Williams, Grant Richards, James Stephenson and Alan Curtis…