The Kennel Murder Case
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 First edition cover |
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| Author | S.S. Van Dine |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Philo Vance novels |
| Genre(s) | Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons (1st edition), Macmillan Publishers (reprint) |
| Released | 1933 (1st edition), 01 September 1984 (Paperback) |
| Media type | Print (Harcover, 1st edition) (Paperback reprint) |
| Pages | ??? (~binding~ edition) (prefer 1st edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-684-18248-3 (paperback edition) |
| Preceded by | The Scarab Murder Case |
| Followed by | The Dragon Murder Case |
The Kennel Murder Case is a 1933 murder mystery novel written by S. S. Van Dine with fictional detective Philo Vance investigating a complex, locked room murder.
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[edit] Film Adaptations
A Warner Bros. film version of The Kennel Murder Case appeared in 1933. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and starred William Powell as Philo Vance, reprising the role after appearing as Vance in three films for Paramount. 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.
Always eager to recycle plot material (as with the three versions of The Maltese Falcon they made within a decade), The Kennel Murder Case was remade by Warner in 1940 as "Calling Philo Vance" 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. Smooth enough for a B picture, with many lines of dialogue taken verbatim from the script of the original, it suffers from comparatively pedestrian direction and the yawn-inducing performance of Stephenson as Philo Vance, although the presence of veteran character actors as Jimmy Conlin (best known for his work with Preston Sturges) and Ed Brophy liven things up somewhat.
[edit] Trivia
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 S. S. Van Dine appear as themselves in the second half of the novel.
[edit] Release Details
- 1933, U.S., Charles Scribner's Sons, (ISBN none), Pub date 1933, Hardcover (first edition)
- 1984, U.S., Macmillan, (ISBN 0-684-18248-3), Pub date 01 September 1984, Paperback
[edit] External Links
- The Kennel Murder Case can be read here, courtesy of Project Gutenberg.
- The Kennel Murder Case (1933) at the Internet Movie Database
