SS Van Dine was the pseudonym of Willard-Huntington Wright. Born in Virginia in 1888, he studied art at Harvard University and later in Munich and Paris. For a short period he pursued a career as an art critic, but when in 1923 doctors confined the author to bed for two years, he read over 2,000 works of detective fiction and books related to crime. During this time, he began work on three novels featuring Philo Vance. The first, The Benson Murder Case , appeared in 1926, followed a year later by The Canary Murder Case and The Greene Murder Case in 1928. Public and critical support declined after the early novels. When Wright died in 1939, his reputation was on the decline, due mainly to his failure to change his style to meet new trends in public taste, but the first three books influenced the development of American detective fiction..
The Canary Murder Case (1927) deals with the murder Margaret Odell, a famous Broadway beauty and ex-Follies girl known as "The Canary." A number of men in her life, ranging from high society to gangsters, visited her apartment on the night she dies. Philo Vance's investigation leads him to a key clue that allows him to unmask a very clever alibi and reveal the killer.
Van Dine's second book was on the American best-seller lists for months. But like all the author's mysteries, Philo Vance proves insufferable and the commission of the crime unbelievable. Still, this remains the most enjoyable of his novels. Certainly critics of the period rallied to its support. Arnold Palmer in London Sphere called the novel a "model of everything a detective story should be -- a monument, a cathedral amongst detective stories." Today readers will probably find The Canary Murder Mystery little more than a puzzle with an interesting mechanical solution. Only a few diehard mystery fans even know the name of S. S. Van Dine. And why should they? His characters displayed much depth, his prose was creaky, and he insisted on including footnotes as a way to add realism.
Philo Vance adapted for the big screen, starred William Powell as Philo Vance and Louise Brooks as the Canary. The story stays fairly close to the book as far as plot. A man strangles blackmailing musical comedy star, Margaret O'Dell in her apartment (interingly 'the Canary' never sings once). Four men come under suspicion: Lindquist, a half-mad doctor who says he will kill 'Canary' if she goes through with a planned marriage; Cleaver, a politician whose career she threatens; Mannix, a banker with a jealous wife; and Jimmy Spotswoode, a young society boy. Amateur detective Philo Vance, a close friend of Jimmy's father, uncovers the real murderer.
 Louise Brooks doing her act as the Canary
in The Canray Murder Case
Paramount originally made The Canary Murder Case as a silent. After completion, they decided to add sound. Fortunately many of the elements of the silents remain in the final print. The scenes depicting the stage act of the Canary flow gracefully, and give a larger-than-life veneer to Louise Brooks' character (at least until she opens her mouth and speaks, then she sounds a little like Fran Drescher in The Nanny). Malcolm St. Clair handled the silent sequences in the original cut, and his efforts show the sophistication of silent editing. Frank Tuttle directed the sound sequences, which appear static and lifeless. All too often the actors, including William Powell, seem uncomfortable delivering dialogue, and they constantly lean one way or another in an effort for their voices to find the microphone.
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Of all the actors, Powell comes across best as Philo Vance, here not nearly as irritating as the novels. As Sgt. Heath, Eugene Paulette is surprisingly awkward as is Jean Arthur. Granted, Jean Arthur's part is a thankless one, the ingénue whose depth is puddle dry. Next to Louise Brooks, she appears gaunt and unattractive. Still the delivery of her lines gives little evidence of the fine performances she would give just a few years down the road in films like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington .
Soon after the completion of the silent version, Louis Brooks left for Europe to make two films for director G. W. Pabst. When Paramount ordered her to return to the US for post-dubbing, she refused. Paramount then terminated Brooks, and hired actress Margaret Livingston to dub the dialogue for Brooks. A few critics like Bland Johaneson ( Daily Mirror , March 11, 1929) praised the actress: "Louise Brooks' magnificent legs ornament the screen for half the picture before she [is] murdered. But Louise is such a wicked little blackmailer, even the legs don't get your sympathy." However, Louella Parsons ( Los Angeles Examiner , February 8, 1929) stated the majority opinion: "You are conscious that the words spoken do not actually emanate from the mouth of Miss Brooks and you feel that as much of her part as possible has been cut. She is unbelievably bad in a role that should have been well suited to her."
Other critics praised the film. Marguerite Orndorff in Educational Screen (March 1929) wrote: "Mr. Powell is the perfect Philo Vance. Here is an actor who knows how! Watch his expressive hands, particularly where he enacts the scene of the murder for the district attorney." Variety (March 14, 1929) said: "As an all-talk murder mystery melodrama, The Canary Murder Case will occupy the front rank, for its plot has been constructed so intelligently that it is logical almost in every one of the situations." The critic for Motion Picture News (March 23, 1929) called the cast "one hundred per cent great."
William Powell as Philo Vance calls the murderer
in The Canary Murder Case
Today The Canary Murder Case is little more than a historical curiosity, an early example of a studio struggling to come to grips with sound. Powell would go on to play Philo Vance in other films, the best being The Kennel Murder Case (Paramount, 1933). By then actors had grown more comfortable with sound, and Hollywood had greatly improved their recoding techniques. The Canary Murder Case remains interesting as one of those rare films caught between silents and sound, encompassing the fluidity of one and the halting awkwardness of the other.
Print quality: A little light on contrast. Some deterioration during various scenes. Certainly watchable.
Sound quality : Acceptable
Extras : none
Summery : Very primitive early sound feature, filmed as a silent, released with sound. Historically interesting.
Rating: C
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