Calling Philo Vance (1940)
- Directed by
- William Clemens
- Genre
- mystery film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 1h 02m
- Rating
- 6.0 of 10 from 13 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A government agent investigates a ring stealing aircraft designs during wartime. The detective uses his intellect to solve the mystery while trading banter with the police.
light-heartedwittyintriguingbriskclevercasualsuspenseful
What happens
Calling Philo Vance is a 1940 American mystery/comedy film produced by Warner Bros. starring James Stephenson as the dilettante detective Philo Vance, his only appearance as the character; Margot Stevenson, Henry O'Neill, Edward Brophy, Sheila Bromley and Ralph Forbes appear in support. It was directed by William Clemens from a screenplay by Tom Reed, based on the 1933 novel The Kennel Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, which had been made into a film in 1933, starring William Powell and Mary Astor. For this adaptation of the story, Vance is on an international assignment with the United States government to investigate traffic in wartime aircraft designs. The original story dealt with art world double-dealing, but the solution to the mystery is the same in both films. Sgt. Heath, Vance's usual police irritant, is renamed Ryan. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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Smashing the Money Ring (1939)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.