The Canary Murder Case

1h 20m 1929

Brief Synopsis

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A beautiful showgirl, name "the Canary" is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and with that she ends up dead. But who killed "the Canary". All the suspects knew and were used by her and everyone had a motive to see her dead. The only witness to the crime has also been 'rubbed out'. Only one man, the keen, fascinating, debonair detective Philo Vance, would be able to figure out who is the killer.

Cast & Crew

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Malcolm St. Clair

Director

William Powell

Philo Vance

Louise Brooks

Margaret O'Dell

Jean Arthur

Alys La Fosse

Gustav Von Seyffertitz

Dr. Ambrose Lindquist

Charles Lane

Charles Spotswoode

Photos & Videos

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The Canary Murder Case - Louise Brooks Publicity Stills
2 Photos

Film Details

Genre
Crime
Release Date
Feb 16, 1929
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Paramount Famous Lasky Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel The "Canary" Murder Case; a Philo Vance Story by S. S. Van Dine (New York, 1927).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 20m
Sound
Mono (MovieTone)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
7,171ft (7 reels)

Synopsis

Margaret O'Dell, a blackmailing musical comedy star, is found strangled in her apartment, and four men come under suspicion: Lindquist, a half-mad doctor in love with Margaret; Cleaver, a politician whose career she threatened; Mannix, a fat broker with a jealous wife; and Jimmy Spotswoode, a young society boy Margaret was attempting to blackmail into marriage. Jimmy is arrested, and Philo Vance, a whimsical society man and amateur detective who is a close friend of Jimmy's father, is called in on the case. Vance proves the murderer to have been the elder Spotswoode.

Director

Malcolm St. Clair

Director

Cast

William Powell

Philo Vance

Louise Brooks

Margaret O'Dell

Jean Arthur

Alys La Fosse

Gustav Von Seyffertitz

Dr. Ambrose Lindquist

Charles Lane

Charles Spotswoode

Eugene Pallette

Ernest Heath

Lawrence Grant

Charles Cleaver

Ned Sparks

Tony Skeel

Louis John Bartels

Louis Mannix

E. H. Calvert

Markham

George Y. Harvey

Oscar Smith

Tim Adair

Crew

Harry Fischbeck

Director of Photography

Albert S. Le Vino

Adaptation

Herman J. Mankiewicz

Titles

Florence Ryerson

Adaptation

William Shea

Film Editor

S. S. Van Dine

Dial

Photo Collections

2 Photos
The Canary Murder Case - Louise Brooks Publicity Stills
Here are a few publicity stills of Louise Brooks, taken to help publicize Paramount's The Canary Murder Case (1929). Publicity stills were specially-posed photos, usually taken off the set, for purposes of publicity or reference for promotional artwork.

Film Details

Genre
Crime
Release Date
Feb 16, 1929
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Paramount Famous Lasky Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel The "Canary" Murder Case; a Philo Vance Story by S. S. Van Dine (New York, 1927).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 20m
Sound
Mono (MovieTone)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
7,171ft (7 reels)

Quotes

Trivia

Originally shot as a silent in 1928. Louise Brooks refused to return from Germany for the dubbing.

'Margaret Livingston' dubbed Louise Brooks' voice.

Brooks' refusal to dub the movie angered her parent studio, Paramount, and effectively sabotaged her acting career.

The story was based on the real-life murder of showgirl Dot King, which was never solved.

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