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 Vance is not the actor’s first performance as the aristocratic sleuth; he also portrays the character in three films produced by Paramount in 1929 and 1930.
PLOT
Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue.
Cast
William Powell as Philo Vance
Mary Astor as Hilda Lake
Eugene Pallette as Detective Heath
Ralph Morgan as Raymond Wrede, the Secretary
Robert McWade as District Attorney Markham
Robert Barrat as Archer Coe
Frank Conroy as Brisbane Coe
Etienne Girardot as Dr. Doremus
Paul Cavanagh as Sir Thomas MacDonald
James Lee as Liang
Arthur Hohl as Gamble, the butler
Helen Vinson as Doris Delafield
Jack La Rue as Eduardo Grassi
Harry Allen as Sandy (uncredited)
Wade Boteler as Sergeant Mellish (uncredited)
George Chandler as first reporter at police station (uncredited)
Spencer Charters as Sgt. Snitkin (uncredited)
Leo White as desk clerk (uncredited)
