Leofwine_draca THE KENNEL MURDER CASE is one of those irresistable locked room murder mysteries that were all the rage in the 1930s. William Powell plays a crime-fighting sleuth who, with the aid of his dog (!) attempts to solve the murders of both humans and their canine associates. It's a rather cheap and hurried affair at times, a film with a slapdash feel to it, but nonetheless it moves through the clues and plot elements with speed and it's never dull. The solving of the mystery is as complicated as they come and the film is entertainingly old-fashioned, and you can't say fairer than that.

JohnHowardReid Re-visiting "The Kennel Murder Case" after 30 years proved to be a somewhat disappointing experience. True, it started off well enough. The credits were great. But after that, it was all down the burn, Davy lad, down the burn. The cast was marvelous too — and all given a nice picture credit. But the script! S.S. Van Dine's overly complicated mysteries don't translate well to the screen because they parade so obviously as just a game, a too-ingenious puzzle in which the author tries to outwit the reader by making his murder so improbably far-fetched and so long on writer's license and free on plot co-incidence that it loses all touch with reality.Too true, the players try hard. Maybe too hard. And I didn't think Curtiz was at his imaginative best either. He seemed as defeated by all the talk as the rest of us. Only in the elaborately staged flashback did he really come to life.Still, it's always a pleasure to see Powell (this time armed with a black Scotch terrier), Palette, McWade and Girardot go through their paces. "Kennel" is number 5 in the series. For a more engrossing entry, see "The Dragon Murder Case" instead!

vincentlynch-moonoi The first thing I liked about this mystery movie is that the early minutes of it are packed tightly with lots of storyline. And this is a somewhat complex story, particularly for a time (1933) when such movies tended to be rather light. Pay attention here or be lost! It's also nice to have a different setting...a kennel club (at least early on in the film)! Novel! Philo Vance (played wonderfully by William Powell) isn't as smooth and sophisticated as Nick Charles, and there's not the witty banter between man and wife you find in the Thin Man series, but this is a good character. And, you'll see lots of character actors you'll recognize (although probably not by name). Of particular note is the gravel-voiced Eugene Palette (and if you want to read an interesting bio, Google him). Also look for Ralph Morgan, lesser-known brother of actor Frank Morgan; you'll see the resemblance.I won't recount the plot. It's almost too complex to do so, but I'll just repeat that this is a sophisticated mystery for 1933! Recommended!

whpratt1 Enjoyed viewing this film on TCM and watching a very young William Powell, (Philo Vance) playing detective just like he did with Myrna Loy in the "Thin Man Series". Back in the 1930's William Powell played in the Philo Vance Series and in this picture, the famous veteran actress Mary Astor, (Hilda Lake) becomes one of the suspects in a murder/suicide case where a man named, Archer Coe, (Robert Barrot) is found dead and Archer was in a room that was bolted from the inside. Ralph Morgan, (Raymond Wrede/Archer's Secretary) gave a great supporting role and was the brother to Frank Morgan who appeared "In the Wizard of Oz" 1939. Eugene Palette, (Detective Sgt. Heath) appeared in quite a few of these Philo Vance films and also gave a great performance in "Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn. Always remember, the least likely actor could very well be the killer. Enjoy a great Classic from the past.