The Kennel Murder Case (1933)

As I'm sure readers will soon find out whodunits are my favorite type of movie. They're captivating and can touch on a wide range of film genres. After watching Dinky on TCM, I noticed this was playing afterwards and decided to give it a watch.

The Kennel Murder Case follows Philo Vance, a notable detective, as he investigates a suspicious suicide of a prominent and much-hated collector. With his trusted Scottish terrier he works to narrow down a long list of suspects.

34/50 eggs

I'm a bit bias on this film due to the context, so simply for being a murder whodunit it gets an extra five points.  William Powell is commanding and leads most of the plot direction as Philo Vance. Eugene Pallatte plays the cliche sergeant mimicking the Holmes - Inspector Lestrade relationship in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The comedic relief is needed as the plot progression is dry and lacks excitement. The overall plot was well thought out, however, wraps up sloppily and comes across rushed. The run-time is only 79 minutes which is adequate for what would seem to be an adapted short story, but I would have preferred more character development. Motive in most stories stems from relationships and strong emotions, creating crimes of passions. One can't make a definite decision for or against the motive of the murderer without truly understanding the thoughts of the characters, atleast in this reviewer's eyes. I recommend the film to anyone who can handle black and whites, and pre-1960s films.