The Canary Murder Case
Directed by Malcolm St. Clair
Written by Florence Ryerson, Albert S. Le Vino and Herman J. Mankiewicz from a novel by S.S. Van Dine
1929/US
Paramount Pictures
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/YouTube
Ending my 1929 Louise Brooks trifecta with this star-studded but creaky early talkie.
Margaret O’Dell (Brooks) known as “The Canary” for the scantily clad flying act she performs collects rich men like diamonds. When the youngest of her lovers decides to marry nice girl Alice LaFosse (Jean Arthur), Margaret decides this is pay day. She tries to blackmail him into marrying her. Just for the hell of it, she also decides to blackmail her three other lovers demanding expensive “wedding gifts” and fat checks. Then her ex-husband (Ned Sparks) shows up to blackmail her. So when she winds up murdered, there are a plethora of suspects.
Publicity shot of Louise Brooks
Private detective Philo Vance (William Powell), a friend of the young man, takes on the case. He works hand in hand with the police and a police sergeant (Eugene Pallette) is usually at his side, jumping to the wrong conclusions and claiming Vance’s deductions as his own. It would be unfair to say anything further about the mystery.
The viewing experience on YouTube was marred by a very fuzzy print. The primitive sound technology and creaky direction was partially overcome by the always reliable William Powell and Eugene Pallette and by the lovely Louise Brooks.
Brooks refused to return from Germany to post synch her dialogue in this film. Paramount was not impressed and spread the word that she did not have a suitable voice for sound. It got revenge by hiring an actress with a very shrill voice to stand in for her – a voice that did not match up with the character of a man-eating seductress. Not a particularly good film but interesting for early performances from some of the Golden Age’s stars.
Fan trailer
