Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

JLRMovieReviews Warren William stars in the first of four films as Erle Stanley Gardner's attorney, Perry Mason in "The Case of the Howling Dog." In fact, to the best of my knowledge, I believe Warren William was the first actor to portray "Perry Mason" on film. I will be reviewing not just this film but all four films here. It opens with a man whose nerves are shot because his neighbor's dog won't stop howling. He comes to Perry Mason for help and also about the distribution of his assets in his will. Perry wants to dismiss this frivolity about the dog but finally acquiesces to help him when he is paid a fee of $10,000.00 cash up front and he finds out that the man wants to leave his money to the woman residing in his neighbor's house. The story picks up from there. Mary Astor, who has always been great in everything she does, gives good support in this lively and complicated tale of murder and dogs. I have always liked Warren William in his films with his strong and vociferous voice, as he is usually a strong force to reckon with, either a unscrupulous cad or as the law. Obviously, this is the latter. This film is the best of the four and "The Case of the Velvet Claws (the fourth with my rating of 8) comes a close second, as they center on the story and less on comic relief. My main complaint of the second two, "The Case of the Curious Bride" (rated a 7) and "The Case of the Lucky Legs," (rated a 6) is that they rely too much on comedy and paints Perry as a boob, despite his reputation as a first- class attorney. He is also seen as a bit money-hungry and superficial. Three actresses played Della Street, Claire Dodd in the second and fourth and Genevieve Tobin in the third. Ms. Tobin was my least favorite as Della, despite the fact she is a competent actress. "The Lucky Legs" (#3,) concerning a beauty pageant, was too flighty a film with little to no suspense. "The Curious Bride" has Margaret Lindsay as a past amour of Perry who now needs helps and while the film was modestly good, directed by "Casablanca" director Michael Curtiz, it was not as compelling as the first, despite the presence of Errol Flynn in a flashback as the victim in question. The last one, "Velvet Claws" is quite good with clever lines. In fact, these films are peppered with quick one-liners, but the addition of Allen Jenkins as "Spudsy," his right-hand man and his antics gets a bit tiresome. All in all, despite my dissatisfaction of too much comic relief, I think you'll be entertained. I particularly liked the twist ending of sorts in "Velvet Claws." Please discover Warren William as Perry Mason and then find his other films like "Skyscraper Souls" and "The Match King," and you'll see what you've been missing with such a prolific and dependable actor of the 1930s and early 1940s. He was very good when they used his dramatic skills to deceive and defend you.

Dan L. Miller The Perry Mason series of mysteries from the 1930s are some of the best mysteries one could watch. One needs to pay attention to details throughout the film to follow the twists in the plot. The movies closely follow the Erle Stanley Gardner mystery novels on which they are based. The Case of the Howling Dog holds one's interest from beginning to end as Perry Mason cleverly addresses the case of a woman accused of murder. Warren William is a pleasure to watch as Perry Mason, and Helen Trehnolme expertly plays Perry's faithful and efficient secretary, Della Street. Mary Astor also stars in this selection from the series. If you are a fan of old, intriguing mysteries, you won't be disappointed with this gem.

sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** "The Case of the Howling Dog" is the film that introduced legendary defense attorney Perry Mason, originated on the screen by Warren Williams,to millions of movie goers and some twenty years later, with Raymond Burr in the title role, TV watchers.Perry Mason, Warren Williams, is contacted by a nervous Arthur Cartwright, Gordon Westcott, claiming that his next door neighbor Clinton Foley's, Russell Hicks, German Shepard police dog Prince is driving him crazy. Prince has been howling his head off the last two nights causing Arthur to almost have a nervous breakdown. A bit taken back on what Arthur is telling him Perry is then asked to write out his will leaving everything Arthur has, and it's a lot, to Foley's wife Evelyn! It turns out that Evelyn is not exactly married to Clinton Foley she's only living with him as a mistress in his mansion.The story get's even more complicated when later both Arthur and Evelyn, who it turns out is actually Arthur's estranged wife, disappear from sight leaving Foley to suspect that they planned this all along from the start. Perry now stuck in representing Foley's actual wife Bessie, Mary Astor, whom he dumped for Evelyn Cartwright in that legally she's the woman whom's Arthur, through Perry being his lawyer, left his estate to.Were lead through a maze of subplots in not just the connection between Arthur and the Foley's, Clinton & Bessie, but their dog Prince who's the key to what is later to happen in the film. Bessie Foley is later on the scene at the Foley's mansion where her ex-husband Clinton and his dog are shot and killed by either Bessie or someone hiding inside the house. With Foley's housemaid and what turned out to be his lover Lucy Benton, Dorothy Tree, seen by one of Perry Mason's assistants private detective George Dobbs,James P. Brutis, running from the premises to an awaiting taxi it's assumed by everyone that she may well have shot and killed both Clinton and Prince. Telling Bessie to keep her mouth shut about her being on the scene of both Clinton Foley and Prince, a dog but a murder victim never the less, murders Perry is now committed in not only defending his client but possibly, in his defending her, covering up a crime: Murder. The really out of the blue surprise ending is what makes "Case of the Howling Dog" so ahead of it's time in that it doesn't tie all the loose ends together. The surprise ending does in a very intelligent and realistic way show that the law despite being written in granite is not at all perfect and that there are times when bending it, like Perry Mason does in the film, is really the best way to get justice done.P.S The movie "The Case of the Howling Dog" is such an excellent example of Amercan, or any other free and law abiding country, jurors prudence that it was remade some 25 years later in 1959 as a Parry Mason TV crime/drama episode. The story was so ahead of it's time in depicting the pitfalls and inconsistencies of the law that even then, 25 years later, it shocked the TV audience in it's totally out of the norm, for TV and the movies, surprise ending!

robert-temple-1 This was the first Perry Mason film ever made, with Warren William as Mason, who is superb in the part, much better than Raymond Burr, who always annoyed me so much I could not watch the later Perry Mason films. Mason's assistant Della Street is here played by Helen Trenholme, a beautiful and talented choice, but she inexplicably left the film business after making this and one other film in 1934, and that was it. The best performance in the film is by Gordon Westcott, as a distraught client in a state of high anxiety and 'aggravated melancholia'. Unfortunately, he died not long after in a polo accident, which deprived the screen of a real talent. The direction is excellent, with lots of retreating dolly shot 'pullbacks' to add dynamism to the action. Mary Astor does well, but then when did she not? Hats off to Lightning the Dog, who is seen howling splendidly like a wolf in the initial shots of the film. I'd like to have one like that around the house, wouldn't you? Lots of character, not anybody's poodle, not a wimp. The plot of this film is wonderfully complex, a true brain-teaser. This is a Perry Mason film with serious intent, and not a pastiche. It is well worth watching.