On this day in movie and book history - The Greene Murder Case (1929)

The Greene Murder Case

directed by Frank Tuttle,

written by Louise Long and Richard H. Digges Jr.,

based on the novel by S. S. Van Dine,

was released in the United States on August 11, 1929.

Music by Karl Hajos.

Cast:

William Powell, Florence Eldridge, Ullrich Haupt, Sr., Jean Arthur, Eugene Pallette, E. H. Calvert, Gertrude Norman, Lowell Drew, Morgan Farley, Brandon Hurst, Augusta Burmeister, Marcia Harris.

Recommended reading:

The Greene Murder Case

by S.S. Van Dine.

Filmed as The Greene Murder Case (1929), directed by Frank Tuttle.

Published by American Mystery Classics.

First published 1928.

ISBN-10: 1613165692

ISBN-13: 9781613165690

Description:

Philo Vance’s ultimate case. – Kirkus.

With his highbrow manner and his parade of encyclopedic learning, Philo Vance is not only a detective; he is a god out of the machine. – New York Times.

The perfect sleuth for the Jazz Age. – CrimeReads.

Members of the Greene family keep dying while the pool of possible perpetrators keeps shrinking. Philo Vance – the independently wealthy, staggeringly brilliant, not remotely modest (and did we mention handsome?) amateur sleuth – uses his detective skills to unravel the murders.

On this day in movie history - Private Detective 62 (1933)

Private Detective 62

directed by Michael Curtiz,

written by Rian James,

based on a story by Raoul Whitfield,

was released in the United States on July 6, 1933.

Music by Bernhard Kaun.

Cast:

William Powell, Margaret Lindsay, Ruth Donnelly, Gordon Westcott, Arthur Hohl, Natalie Moorhead, James Bell, Hobart Cavanaugh, Irving Bacon, Joan Barclay, Arthur Byron, Heinie Conklin, Eddie Dunn, Bill Elliott, Theresa Harris, Ann Hovey, Charles Lane, Eddie Phillips, Georges Renavent, Rolfe Sedan, Harry Seymour, Joan Standing, Sheila Terry, Ellinor Vanderveer, Renee Whitney, Charles C. Wilson, Pat Wing, Toby Wing.

On this day in movie and book history - Star of Midnight (1935)

Star of Midnight

directed by Stephen Roberts,

written by Howard J. Green, Anthony Veiller and Edward Kaufman,

based on the novel by Arthur Somers Roche,

was released in the United States on April 19, 1935.

Music by Max Steiner.

Cast:

William Powell, Ginger Rogers, Paul Kelly, Gene Lockhart, Ralph Morgan, Leslie Fenton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Russell Hopton, Vivien Oakland, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Bess Flowers, George Chandler.

Recommended reading:

The Star of Midnight

by Arthur Somers Roche.

Filmed as Star of Midnight (1935), directed by Stephen Roberts.

Hardcover.

Published by Dodd, Mead and Company.
Published 1935.

ASIN: B0DM1RR9L9
 
Description:

After his girlfriend, Alice, goes missing, young Tim Winthrop consults with his friend, criminal lawyer Clay Dalzell. Clay, joined by his fiancée, Donna Mantin, agrees to help -- only to get involved with the simultaneous disappearance of stage actress Mary Smith, and the shocking murder of a gossip columnist poised to provide vital information about Mary. An unsolved gangster murder and the reappearance of an old flame lead Clay further into the puzzling maze.

On this day in movie history - The Benson Murder Case (1930 movie & novel):

The Benson Murder Case

directed by Frank Tuttle,

written by S.S. Van Dine and Bartlett Cormack,

based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine,

released in the United States on April 12, 1930.

Music by Charles Midgely.

Cast: William Powell, William “Stage” Boyd, Eugene Pallette, Paul Lukas, Natalie Moorhead, Richard Tucker, May Beatty, E.H. Calvert, Mischa Auer, Guy Oliver.

Recommended reading:

The Benson Murder Case

by S.S. Van Dine.

# 1 in the Philo Vance mystery series.

Published by American Mystery Classics.
First published 1926.

ISBN-10: 1613163320
ISBN-13: 978-1613163320

Description:

New York dilettante Philo Vance decides to assist the police in investigating the death of another man-about-town because he finds the psychological aspects of the crime of interest, and feels that they would be beyond the capacities of the police, even those of his friend District Attorney Markham. Vance investigates the circumstances under which the body was found and reconstructs the crime sufficiently to determine that the murderer is five feet, ten and a half inches in height. Together, Vance and Markham investigate Benson's business associates and romantic interests until Vance manages to pierce the murderer's alibi for the time of the murder and force a confession.

On this day in movie and book history - The Canary Murder Case (1929 and 1927)

The Canary Murder Case

directed by Malcolm St. Clair,

written by S.S. Van Dine, Albert Shelby LeVino, Florence Ryerson and Herman J. Mankiewicz,

based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine,

was released in France on February 16, 1929.

Music by Karl Hajos.

 

Cast:

William Powell, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Louise Brooks, Margaret Livingston, Charles Lane, Lawrence Grant, Gustav von Seyffertitz, E. H. Calvert, Eugene Pallette, Ned Sparks, Louis John Bartels, Tim Adair, Oscar Smith.

The Canary Murder Case

by S.S. Van Dine.

First published 1927.
Library of Congress Crime Classics.

Paperback.
Edited by Leslie S. Klinger.
 
Description:
Philo Vance #2.

At the height if his popularity, S.S. Vane Dine pens a locked-room mystery with a lethal dose of sex and sin where infamous actress, "The Canary," is murdered in her cage after a passionate night with her lover.

Margaret Odell, the famous Broadway beauty and ex-Follies girl known as "The Canary", is found murdered in her ransacked apartment, her jewelry stolen. It appears to be a robbery gone wrong, but the police can find no physical evidence to pinpoint a culprit. No one witnessed anyone entering or leaving, and the only unwatched entrance to the apartment building was bolted from the inside.

Who could have killed the Canary in her locked cage? Margaret was seeing a number of men, ranging from high society gentleman to ruthless gangsters, and more than one man visited her apartment on the night she died.

On this day in movie history - The Kennel Murder Case (1933)

 

The Kennel Murder Case

directed by Michael Curtiz,

written by Robert Presnell, Robert N. Lee and Peter Milne,

based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine,

was released in the United States on October 28, 1933.

Music by Bernhard Kaun.

Cast:

William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Pallette, Ralph Morgan, Robert McWade, Robert Barrat, Frank Conroy, Etienne Girardot, Paul Cavanagh, James Lee, Arthur Hohl, Helen Vinson, Jack La Rue, Harry Allen, Wade Boteler, George Chandler, Spencer Charters, Leo White.