The Canary Murder Case (1929) on Netflix
Approved19291h 22mCrimeDramaMystery
Showgirl Margaret O'Dell, known as the Canary, blackmails acquaintances. When she is found strangled, District Attorney Markham and detective Philo Vance question the suspects she had used.
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- Netflix3.0/5
- IMDb6.0/101,273 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Plot summary
Charles Spottswoode is relieved when his son Jimmie ends his affair with the showgirl Margaret O'Dell, called the Canary, and returns to his engagement with Alice La Fosse, Margaret's co-star and neighbor. Margaret refuses the money Charles offers to leave Jimmie alone; she wants marriage into society, and threatens to expose Jimmie's embezzlement from his father's bank if he marries Alice. After Charles leaves, Margaret telephones John Cleaver, Louis Mannix and Dr. Ambrose Lindquist, asking each for a last generous gift by the following day. Her former husband, Tony Skeel, has escaped from prison and hides in her apartment, demanding half of her blackmail money; she refuses him. District Attorney Markham, with Philo Vance and Sergeant Heath, investigates after Margaret is found strangled.
Cast
- Tim Adairas George Y. Harvey(uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Canary Murder Case (1929)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Louise Brooks finished her Paramount contract with The Canary Murder Case and refused to renew it after the studio turned down her request for a raise; she left for Germany to make two films for director G. W. Pabst, and when Paramount cabled her in Berlin to record her lines she refused, saying she no longer owed the studio anything.
- Shot as a silent picture in late 1928 under director Malcolm St. Clair, The Canary Murder Case was converted into a talkie after production wrapped, part of Paramount's push to turn its silent films into sound pictures once Warner Bros.' Lights of New York proved how profitable talking pictures were.
- When Brooks would not come back, Paramount hired Margaret Livingston to dub her dialogue as The Canary and reshot scenes where possible, filming Livingston only in profile or from behind.
- The Canary Murder Case helped expand William Powell's career, since he had previously been known for playing villain roles.
