''The Kennel Murder Case'' is a 1933 murder

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novel written by

S. S. Van Dine S. S. Van Dine (also styled S.S. Van Dine) is the pseudonym used by American art critic Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 – April 11, 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was active in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-Worl ...

with fictional 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— ...

investigating a complex

locked-room mystery The "locked-room" or "impossible crime" mystery is a type of crime seen in crime and detective fiction. The crime in question, typically murder ("locked-room murder"), is committed in circumstances under which it appeared impossible for the perpetr ...

Plot summary

One of the Coe brothers is found dead in his bedroom, locked from the inside, and the other brother is found the next morning dead in the downstairs closet. There is also the clue of a wounded Doberman Pinscher, a mysteriously broken piece of priceless Chinese porcelain, and a cast of suspicious family members, servants and associates. Philo Vance solves the case based on his knowledge of dog breeding, Chinese porcelain and the annals of remarkable antique crimes.

Film adaptations

:''See

The Kennel Murder Case (film) ''The Kennel Murder Case'' is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery film adapted from the 1933 novel of the same name by S. S. Van Dine. Directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Bros., it stars William Powell and Mary Astor. Powell's role as Philo Van ...

'' A

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

film version of ''The Kennel Murder Case'' appeared in 1933. The film was directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

and starred

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

as Philo Vance, reprising the role after appearing as Vance in three earlier films for Paramount, and

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

as Hilda Lake, the victims' niece. Many film historians (including William K. Everson, who pronounced it a "masterpiece" in the August 1984 issue of ''Films in Review'') consider it one of the greatest screen adaptations of a Golden Age mystery novel, and rank it with the 1946 film ''

Green for Danger ''Green for Danger'' is a popular 1944 detective novel by British writer Christianna Brand, praised for its clever plot, interesting characters, and wartime hospital setting. It was made into a 1946 film which is regarded by film historians ...

''. ''The Kennel Murder Case'' was remade by Warners in 1940 as ''

Calling Philo Vance ''Calling Philo Vance'' is a 1940 American mystery/comedy film released by Warner Bros. and starring James Stephenson as the dilettante detective Philo Vance, his only appearance as the character; Margot Stevenson co-stars. The film also featur ...

'' with James Stephenson as Vance and William Clemens directing. World War II-era espionage stood in for the skulduggery of the art world in the remake.

Literary significance and criticism

According to the 1936 introduction to the novel, in the omnibus ''Philo Vance Murder Cases'', the two halves were written nearly a year apart. Several real-life friends of author

appear as themselves in the second half of the novel. "Though dogs can be dangerous in life and in detection, this imbroglio by the precious and pedantic Van Dine is rather better than the rest of those written after 1930. It is a locked-room murder, there are clues, and Vance is not obnoxious beyond endurance."Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. ''A Catalogue of Crime''. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989.

Release details

*1932, U.S., ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'', serialized November 1932 – February 1933 *1933, U.S., Charles Scribner's Sons, (ISBN none), Pub date 1933, Hardcover (first edition) *1946, U.S., Bantam, (ISBN none), publication date October 1946, first paperback edition *1984, U.S., Macmillan, (), Pub date September 1, 1984, Paperback

References

External links

* *
The Kennel Murder Case
can be read here, courtesy of

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

. 1933 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels by S. S. Van Dine Locked-room mysteries Works originally published in Cosmopolitan (magazine) Philo Vance novels {{1930s-mystery-novel-stub pt:The Kennel Murder Case