The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)

Very best movie i ever watch

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

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.

Case of the Howling Dog, The (1934) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Warren William plays Perry Mason in Warner's first film in the series. In the film, an apparent crazy man shows up at Perry's office complaining about his neighbor's dog who keep barking through the night. The following day the man making the complaint disappears and the dog and its owner are dead. A woman (Mary Astor) takes the blame but Perry thinks there's more to the story. This film really isn't too much different than the countless other mysteries of the period. The first fifty-five minutes has Mason investigating the case and then the final fifteen take place in the court room. The story is pretty difficult to figure out but it leads to a very good ending when the case is finally unraveled. William is his typical good self and Astor makes for a good client, although she isn't given a lot to do. Allen Jenkins and Grant Mitchell co-star.

What a bummer. But that's what happens to "Lightning" in what could be called "The Case of the Uncredited Dog." Lightning got the title role in this film because, among his other attributes, he was a "natural howler" and at the lift of his trainer's hand, would lift his head and howl like a coyote. The story, as we all know, tells of a dog's great devotion to his mistress. His mistress is murdered and the dog howls so mournfully that the neighbors are not only disturbed but begin to suspect that something is amiss in the neighborhood. The killer panics, kills the dog and brings in a non-howling ringer.The ringer is also played by Lightning because Lightning had the ability to howl on cue and not howl when given a don't-howl-now command. Lightning was a directors' actor if there ever was one.But, sans a credit (despite playing the title role and a dual role), Lightning found himself none-too-much in demand---you got any film credits?---among the animal casters at Central Casting and was about to give up the Show Business when he was spotted by poverty-row producer Burton King (who had an eye for talent on the hoof or, in this case, paw)and was immediately given the LEAD and the TITLE ROLE in "When Lightning Strikes," right there on the corner of Sunset and Gower. There is a star-with-a-bone marking the lightning strike spot. His performance in this film was such that Poverty Row producer S. S. Krellberg offered him the title role in "Man's Best Friend." Well, Hollywood being then what it is now (minus the meanness), any actor who has a lead and three title roles in his brief career (not to mention the ability to play a dual role and a death scene), is going to become a hot commodity and have scripts and choice-of-role offers coming from the major studios. His choices were limited to "which dog do you want to play", type-casting stuff of that retroactive-designated, politically-incorrect era. Lightning was a good actor but he knew his limitations and wasn't one of those "looking for a role to stretch my horizons" actors whose horizons mostly far exceed their abilities.Lightning padded over to Paramount and is the dog seen leading blind Ken Gordon (Cary Grant) around by a leash in "Wings in the Dark". While the film's leading lady, Myrna Loy, and Lightning hit it off from the first day of shooting, Louella Parsons hinted around in her Hearst newspaper columns that Lightning and Cary Grant were having rapport problems. And Lolly wasn't one not to have her facts straight. She later reported that the tension and dissension was dissolved by director James Flood when he said "Just follow the damn dog, Archie." Like most actors, Grant wasn't fond of getting upstaged. Or playing opposite a dog who had a stand-in named Cary.RKO then came calling, gave Lightning a term contract and Lightning joined Frankie Thomas roaming around Flanders in "Dog of Flanders" in which Lightning essayed yet another title role, a record for title roles until William Boyd came along as "Hopalong" Cassidy. His role in RKO's "Two in Revolt" is thought in some circles to also qualify as at least half-a-title role consideration, but there are those who think the revolting two the title referred to was the 1st and 2nd-billed John Arledge and Louise Latimer, although the 9th-billed Lightning the Dog and 10th-billed Warrior the Horse had far more screen time.But, shortly after "Two in Revolt" was finished, some exec at RKO decided that RKO didn't have to use real dogs in order to make dog films with dog stars and ordered Lightning off the premises. He then went to Grand National for a co-starring role in "Renfrew of the Royal Mounted" but balked at pulling a sled through the snow, and was replaced in the follow-up films of this series. Lightning retired, returned to his kennel in Toluca Lake and was seen often in the company of then-Toluca Lake residents Bing Crosby, Dick Powell and Helen Twelvetrees. He was fascinated with her name.Bio: Born Feb., 1930. Toluca Lake, California, USA. Parents: Peter and Gretchen Dog; Siblings: four brothers born the same day; Paternal Grandfather: Strongheart the Silent; Heritage: German; Representation/Agent/Trainer: Earl Johnson Source 1: "Dog Stars of Hollywood" by Gertrude Orr - copyrighted MCMXXXVI by The Saalfield Publishing Company, Akron, Ohio and New York, New York (both addresses thought to be in the USA-Unconfirmed) Source 2: RKO Radio Picture's 1936 press book- "Two in Revolt"Source 3: Movie Action Stories, April, 1936

This is the movie that got me interested in the character Perry Mason and I began watching the old television series because of this film. It's a shame that Warren William didn't make more of these films because he was great in this. I like the little comic bits in the movie. I think it's a classic. I have it in my collection. Warren William was a very good character actor and it's a shame we don't see more of his films shown on tv.