The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
When a wealthy, widely disliked collector is found shot dead behind a locked bedroom door, and his brother turns up murdered the next morning, amateur detective Philo Vance untangles the case through dog breeds, Chinese porcelain, and old family grudges.
The Kennel Murder Case is widely regarded as the best of the Philo Vance mysteries, directed by Michael Curtiz at a breathless, montage-driven pace uncommon for a genre picture of 1933; William Powell’s smoothly ironic take on Vance anticipates the amused sophistication he would bring to Nick Charles in The Thin Man the following year.
Background
The Kennel Murder Case is widely regarded as the finest of the Philo Vance mystery films, a popular detective series of the era, directed by Michael Curtiz at a breathless, montage-driven pace that was unusual for a genre picture of 1933. William Powell stars as the amateur detective Philo Vance, untangling a locked-room murder involving a wealthy, widely disliked collector found shot dead behind a locked bedroom door, with clues scattered among dog breeds, Chinese porcelain, and old family grudges.
What to watch for
Watch for Powell’s smoothly ironic, unhurried performance, which clearly anticipates the amused sophistication he would bring to the character of Nick Charles in The Thin Man the very next year, a role that would define much of the rest of his career. Curtiz’s rapid editing and visual inventiveness here are also worth noting, since he was still a few years away from the more famous prestige pictures, including Casablanca, that would later define his reputation.
