The Kennel Murder Case
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Movie Reviews of The Kennel Murder Case
Movie Review: kennel murder case
Summary: 4 Stars
Complex and clever story. Good acting and direction. Would be worth 5 stars except for the poor picture qualityMovie Review: "The model of the whodunit genre ... but a very bad copy from Alpha Video"
Summary: 3 Stars
Warner Bros. Pictures presents "THE KENNEL MURDER CASE" (1933) (73 min/B&W) -- Starring William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Pallette, Ralph Morgan, Robert McWade & Robert Barrat
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Often (and accurately) described as a model of the whodunit genre, The Kennel Murder Case stars William Powell, making his fourth screen appearance as S. S. Van Dine's dilettante detective Philo Vance. This time the story involves intrigue at the Long Island kennel club. The murder victim is Robert H. Barrat, who works overtime making himself a much-hated target in the first ten minutes.
With the aid of a Doberman, Vance solves not only Barrat's murder but a follow-up killing designed to deflect attention from the killer. The suspects include Mary Astor, Ralph Morgan, Jack LaRue, Helen Vinson, Paul Cavanaugh and Arthur Hohl, all of whom have "done it" from time to time in other murder mysteries (movie buffs, however, will have little trouble spotting the killer; the person in question has probably been the hidden murderer in more films than any other member of the Screen Actor's Guild).
Kennel Murder Case was William Powell's last "Philo Vance" film; it would be remade in 1940 as Calling Philo Vance, with James Stephenson as Vance and a new World War II angle added to the plot.
Great cast, wonderful plot and good direction -- but a bad copy from Alpha Video, this copy is a keeper until a better one comes along.
BIOS:
1. Michael Curtiz [aka: Manó Kertész Kaminer] [Director]
Date of Birth: 24 December 1886 - Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary)
Date of Death: 10 April 1962 - Hollywood, California
2. William Horatio Powell
Date of Birth: 29 July 1892 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 5 March 1984 - Palm Springs, California
3. Mary Astor [aka: Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke]
Date of Birth: 3 May 1906 - Quincy, Illinois
Date of Death: 25 September 1987 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 2 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 73 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (07/30/2002)
Movie Review: The most impressive of the 14 Vance films made between 1929 and 1947...
Summary: 3 Stars
Philo Vance had many affinities with Bulldog Drummond... He was a gentleman with the kind of polish and elegance only usually associated with the British upper classes and he was also independently wealthy...
But there were vital differences... Drummond was an adventurer, charming, gallant, lively... Vance could be pompous, slight1y dull and self-righteous... There was a hint of fundamental cruelty in his manner...
"The Kennel Murder Case" is the most impressive of the 14 Vance films made between 1929 and 1947... The story of a murdered collector of Chinoiserie, it has all the ingredients of the classic private eye mystery - exotic setting in the blue nose Long Island Kennel Club, three killings for Vance to solve including a baffling "locked room murder," the key to the whole affair, and plenty of suspects...
Usually, a detective story setting have proved too static and talkative to make convincing movies even though they work well enough on the printed page, but here Michael Curtiz's direction and the fine editing give the film a pace and urgency that make it altogether different from similar films of its type...
William Powell's elegance and suavity made him the perfect Vance and although a year later he switched studios, he stayed in the same genre with the enormously successful and popular "The Thin Man" at MGM...
Movie Review: Sound good, picture quality bad
Summary: 3 Stars
If this is the ground-breaking 30's detective movie they say it is, the DVD deserves more care as to quality control. (Please note that the distributor is not the studio that originally produced the film.) That said, the mystery is entertaining; and the acting is solid. However, the DVD picture quality is poor and is a major distraction. UCLA needs to get to work on this one, fast! The sound is surprisingly strong for most of the film, except in a couple of places where it cuts in and out. I will keep this DVD in my collection, but I cannot recommend it to any one to buy.Movie Review: Great movie, but...
Summary: 3 Stars
I love this movie, sort of an early Nick Charles adventure, before he got married, without Nora. I wish there were more Philo Vance movies available, but alas, I have not found any. But the condition of the print is quite poor. I recorded a better print off of PBS!!
Still, I would recomend this to all the diehards.