The Dragon Murder Case (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = The Dragon Murder Case

| image = The Dragon Murder Case-Poster.jpg

| caption =

| director = H. Bruce Humberstone

| producer =

| screenplay = F. Hugh Herbert
Robert N. Lee

| writer = Rian James (adaptation)

| based_on = {{Based on|the 1933 novel The Dragon Murder Case|S. S. Van Dine}}

| starring = Warren William
Margaret Lindsay
Lyle Talbot
Eugene Pallette

| music = Bernhard Kaun{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

| cinematography = Tony Gaudio

| editing = Terry Morse

| studio = First National Pictures

| distributor = Warner Bros.

| released = {{Film date|1934|8|25}}{{AFI film|6617|The Dragon Murder Case}}

| runtime = 65 or 67-68 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

The Dragon Murder Case is a 1934 mystery film adaptation of the novel of the same name by S. S. Van Dine, starring Warren William as private detective Philo Vance, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot and Eugene Pallette, and featuring Helen Lowell, Robert McWade, Robert Barrat, Dorothy Tree, George E. Stone and Etienne Girardot.

Plot

Monty Montague disappears after diving into a natural pool of water on an estate. Several people dive in, but there is no trace of him. Philo Vance and the District Attorney come to investigate and decide to drain the pool. They are told that there are potholes near the pool, and Montague's body is found at the bottom of a very deep pothole. His body has claw marks on it, consistent with the superstition that a dragon inhabits the pool.

Cast

Warren William as Philo Vance
Margaret Lindsay as Bernice
Lyle Talbot as Leland
Eugene Pallette as Sgt. Heath
Helen Lowell as Mrs. Stamm
Robert McWade as Markham
Robert Barrat as Stamm
Dorothy Tree as Ruby

George E. Stone as Tatum
Etienne Girardot as Dr. Doremus
George Meeker as Monty Montague
Robert Warwick as Dr. Halliday
William B. Davidson as Greeff
Arthur Aylesworth as Trainor
Charles C. Wilson as Det. Hennessey

Production

Principal photography took place from May 11, 1934 to mid-June.

The Dragon Murder Case was the first Philo Vance film to star Warren William as Vance; the character had previously been played by Basil Rathbone and William Powell. William would play the character only once more, in The Gracie Allen Murder Case.

H. Bruce Humberstone was not the first director considered for the film. It was offered to Michael Curtiz, Archie Mayo, Mervyn Le Roy and Alfred Green, all of whom turned it down.

Reception

In his review in The New York Times, Mordaunt Hall found that the "denouement is scarcely satisfactory, for it is not quite clear how Mr. Vance reaches his conclusions." Also, in his opinion, "Mr. William, while he does fair work, is not as easy and smooth in the rôle as was Mr. [William] Powell."{{cite news |title=The Screen; Warren William, Margaret Lindsay and Eugene Pallette in a New Van Dine Murder Mystery. |author=Hall, Mordaunt|author-link=Mordaunt Hall |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 23, 1934 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE2D6153FE53ABC4B51DFBE66838F629EDE}}