They could have called this "THE SINGER MURDER CASE" (it's got 6 letters, after all). A playboy makes out a will where all his exes get an equal share when he's gone. Next thing, one of them's murdered, HE's murdered, and then more bodies begin to pile up.
PRC often made Monogram look good by comparison, but this one WAS fun to watch. Director William Beaudine allegedly made around 500 films between features & TV, including a pile of "LASSIE" episodes at the end of his career, not to forget, "BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA", which is a lot better than you'd think. It may have been "just a job" to him, but, he DID know what he was doing.
Philo Vance (the rather obscure William Wright who died not long after this was made) is a friend of the playboy, and his grandmother suggests calling him in. He's soon assisted by Ukraine actor Leon Belasco, playing a Russian talent manager with a side-talent for picking locks. Belasco STEALS the movie, particularly in the scene where he's interrogating a suspect by pretending to be a rep for a cosmetics company, and winds up kissing fan-dancer "Choo Choo Divine" to demonstrate kiss-proof lipstick. He must have been a great kisser, she winds up REALLY going for him! I almost fell out of my chair laughing. Can't fault a film for being really funny.
Philo is suspected and harrassed by DUMB cop Eddie Dunn, whose long resume of playing cops includes at least 5 "FALCON" movies (no wonder he looked familiar).
There's only one real problem with this film. That's NOT "Philo Vance"! Not even close. He's not a member of New York "society", he doesn't have a penthouse or a butler, there's no D. A. Markham, no Det. Hennessey, no Sgt. Heath, no Dr. Doremus. WHAT on Earth was PRC thinking? Their version of "Vance" has EVEN LESS in common with the character he's supposed to be, than Ralph Meeker's character in "KISS ME DEADLY" had with "Mike Hammer".
There's also something very peculiar about these 3 PRC films. According to the IMDB, they were filmed in one order, but released to theatres in a different order. And, in the "OnesMedia" boxset, they're in yet a 3rd order. Does it matter what order you watch them in? I guess I'll find out.
PRC often made Monogram look good by comparison, but this one WAS fun to watch. Director William Beaudine allegedly made around 500 films between features & TV, including a pile of "LASSIE" episodes at the end of his career, not to forget, "BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA", which is a lot better than you'd think. It may have been "just a job" to him, but, he DID know what he was doing.
Philo Vance (the rather obscure William Wright who died not long after this was made) is a friend of the playboy, and his grandmother suggests calling him in. He's soon assisted by Ukraine actor Leon Belasco, playing a Russian talent manager with a side-talent for picking locks. Belasco STEALS the movie, particularly in the scene where he's interrogating a suspect by pretending to be a rep for a cosmetics company, and winds up kissing fan-dancer "Choo Choo Divine" to demonstrate kiss-proof lipstick. He must have been a great kisser, she winds up REALLY going for him! I almost fell out of my chair laughing. Can't fault a film for being really funny.
Philo is suspected and harrassed by DUMB cop Eddie Dunn, whose long resume of playing cops includes at least 5 "FALCON" movies (no wonder he looked familiar).
There's only one real problem with this film. That's NOT "Philo Vance"! Not even close. He's not a member of New York "society", he doesn't have a penthouse or a butler, there's no D. A. Markham, no Det. Hennessey, no Sgt. Heath, no Dr. Doremus. WHAT on Earth was PRC thinking? Their version of "Vance" has EVEN LESS in common with the character he's supposed to be, than Ralph Meeker's character in "KISS ME DEADLY" had with "Mike Hammer".
There's also something very peculiar about these 3 PRC films. According to the IMDB, they were filmed in one order, but released to theatres in a different order. And, in the "OnesMedia" boxset, they're in yet a 3rd order. Does it matter what order you watch them in? I guess I'll find out.