The Case of the Howling Dog is a 1934 film directed by Alan Crosland, based on the novel by Erle Stanley Gardner.
Perry Mason (Warren William), brilliant lawyer, is met by eccentric millionaire Arthur Cartwright. Cartwright, showing obvious signs of mental agitation if not outright mental disturbance, has two tasks for Perry. The first involves drafting a will. Cartwright wants Perry to draft a will in which Cartwright leaves all of his fortune to Evelyn Foley, his next-door-neighbor, wife of Clinton Foley. Cartwright reveals that the woman isn't really Clinton Foley's wife, but Perry assures him that the will would still be valid. Second, Cartwright wants Perry to deal with a German shepherd of Foley's that won't stop howling at night. This is all trivial work for Perry, a hotshot criminal defense lawyer who specializes in murder cases, but he agrees to do it.
Perry goes to meet Clinton Foley, who says that Cartwright is insane. Perry's investigators discover that Evelyn "Foley" was really Cartwright's wife, that she left him for Foley, and that a jealous Cartwright followed and bought the house next to Foley's. At around the same time both Cartwrights disappear, and Clinton Foley produces a letter from Evelyn stating that she's gone back to her husband and they've run away together. Soon after this, Bessie Foley, Clinton's real wife (Mary Astor), also tracks him down. Then someone shoots Clinton dead.
This was the very first screen adaptation of a Perry Mason novel, being filmed just one year after Erle Stanley Gardner wrote his first Perry Mason book, The Case of the Velvet Claws. Warner Brothers made seven Perry Mason movies, the first four of which all starred Warren Willliam.
Tropes:
- Adapted Out: The character of Paul Drake does not appear, although Perry does have an investigator with a different name that he uses.
- Amoral Attorney: Perry indulges in some pretty unethical behavior.
- A cabbie can identify Bessie Foley as the woman whom he drove to Clinton Foley's house at the time of the murder, and who then left a handkerchief. So Perry gets Della Street to disguise herself as Bessie and retrieve the handkerchief, which leads the cabbie to say that Bessie Foley retrieved the handkerchief, which allows Perry to discredit the cabbie in court. (In the novel, he hires an actress from Drake's pool of contacts for the purpose.)
- Perry's big point in defending Bessie Foley is that whoever killed Clinton Foley also shot and killed Prince, the dog. He argues that if Bessie had killed her husband she wouldn't have had to shoot the dog, as she was the dog's mistress and it knew her and loved her and wouldn't have attacked. The ending reveals that right before he was killed, Clinton Foley had solved the problem of the howling by giving Prince away and acquiring a different German shepherd. Perry knew this but kept quiet about it, buying the dog himself and giving it to Bessie at the end of the movie. When a shocked Della Street realizes that Bessie really did kill her husband, Perry justifies himself by saying that it was in self-defense (which was true, as Clinton had sent the dog to attack his wife, and then came at her with a knife).
- Angry Guard Dog: Clinton Foley has a scary German shepherd that he looses on Bessie Foley. She shoots him.
- The Case of...: The style for every Perry Mason book, movie, and TV episode made over a span of 60 years.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- A fairly obvious one. When first arriving at the Foley mansion, Perry notes that Clinton Foley is having a pointless garage being constructed for his third car, despite the fact that his chauffeur just quit. The ending reveals that both Evelyn and Arthur Cartwright, killed by Clinton Foley, are buried under that garage.
- Why was the howling dog howling? He was mourning the death of his mistress Evelyn, buried under the garage.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In this, the first Perry Mason screen adaptation based on one of the earliest novels, Perry's client is guilty! It was self-defense as her husband was coming at her with a knife, but Perry, probably knowing that self-defense will be a tough sell, conceals and tampers with evidence in order to get his client an acquittal.
- Inadvertent Entrance Cue: Perry, knowing full well that the cops are going to arrest Bessie for Clinton's murder, is hurriedly issuing her instructions.Bessie: How soon do you think they'll come for me?
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Perry: Right now. - The Killer Was Left-Handed: Lucy denies forging the letter and telegram from Evelyn, offering her bandaged-up right hand (the dog bit her) as proof. Perry then nails her with the diary that she was keeping at the time of the murder, proving that she can write with her left hand as well, and that her lefty handwriting matches the letter and telegram.
- Law Procedural: Perry Mason getting a not guilty verdict, as always.
- The Perry Mason Method: Interestingly, not used to expose the real murderer, since Perry's client is actually guilty! No, instead Perry Mason grills Lucy and eventually catches her out with the diary she was writing, despite having her right hand all bandaged up. This proves that she can write with her left hand, and a flustered Lucy admits to forging both the letter and telegram from Evelyn Cartwright.
- Title Drop: Perry is nonplussed when he is asked to handle a matter as trivial as a "howling dog".
- Video Credits: Of all the main players over the opening credits. This was the Warner Brothers house style in the early 1930s.
- Visual Title Drop: The Case of the Howling Dog opens with a shot of...a dog, howling.
