''Philo Vance's Secret Mission'' is a 1947 American
mystery film
A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...
directed by
Reginald Le Borg
Reginald Le Borg (11 December 1902 – 25 March 1989) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna, Austria with the surname Groebel and directed 68 films between 1936 and 1974.
Le Borg made a series of low-budget horror films at Un ...
and starring
Alan Curtis,
Sheila Ryan
Sheila Ryan (born Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin, June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who appeared in more than 60 movies.
Career
Born in Topeka, Kansas, Ryan went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. Her acting career b ...
and
Tala Birell
Tala may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tala (comics), a fictional character in DC comics
*''Tala'', a 1938 volume of poetry by Gabriela Mistral
*Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music
* "Tala" (song), by Sarah Geronimo, ...
.
[Backer p.35] It was part of a series of films featuring the detective
Philo Vance
Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 crime novels by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, films, and radio. He was portrayed as a stylish—even foppish— ...
made during the 1930s and 1940s.
The film's sets were designed by the
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
s
Edward C. Jewell and
Perry Smith.
Synopsis
Philo Vance is approached by the head of a publishing company to become an advisor on a series of crime novels they are releasing. Before long he is embroiled in a case about the mysterious killing of one of the partners in the company.
Cast
*
Alan Curtis as Philo Vance
*
Sheila Ryan
Sheila Ryan (born Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin, June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who appeared in more than 60 movies.
Career
Born in Topeka, Kansas, Ryan went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. Her acting career b ...
as Mona Bannister
*
Tala Birell
Tala may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tala (comics), a fictional character in DC comics
*''Tala'', a 1938 volume of poetry by Gabriela Mistral
*Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music
* "Tala" (song), by Sarah Geronimo, ...
as Mrs. Elizabeth Phillips
*
Frank Jenks
Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 – May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films.
Biography Early years
Jenks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years old. By his ...
as Ernie Clark
*
James Bell as Sheriff Harry Madison
*
Frank Fenton as Paul Morgan
*
Paul Maxey
Paul Regan Maxey (March 15, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American actor.
Born in Wheaton, Illinois, the rotund Maxey played character roles in films from 1937, notably as the composer Victor Herbert in ''Till the Clouds Roll By'' (1946) ...
as Martin Jamison
*
Kenneth Farrell as Joe, the Photographer
*
Toni Todd as Louise Roberts aka Mrs. Paul Morgan
*
David Leonard as Carl Wilson
*
William Newell as Deputy
*
Tom Quinn as Haddon Phillips
*
Harry Strang
Harry Strang (December 13, 1892 – April 10, 1972) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 500 films and television shows between 1929 and 1965. On Broadway, Strang appeared in ''The Girl in the Train'' (1910).
Primarily a characte ...
as Ship's Purser
*
Frank Wilcox
Frank Reppy Wilcox (March 13, 1907 – March 3, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays.
Background
Wilcox was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger V. Wilcox. He was born in De Soto ...
as Thaddius Carter
References
Bibliography
* Backer, Ron. ''Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood''. McFarland, 2012.
External links
*
1947 films
1947 mystery films
American mystery films
Films directed by Reginald Le Borg
Producers Releasing Corporation films
Eagle-Lion Films films
American black-and-white films
1940s English-language films
1940s American films
Philo Vance films
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