Editing Philo Vance (section)

===Films===

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Films about Vance were made from the late 1920s to the late 1940s, with some more faithful to the literary character than others. Fictional narrator S.S. Van Dine, who acts as a passive eyewitness to events in the novels, does not appear in the films.
Among the several actors who played Philo Vance on the screen were [[William Powell]], [[Warren William]] and [[Basil Rathbone]], all of whom had great success playing other detectives in movies. The movie ''[[The Canary Murder Case (film)|The Canary Murder Case]]'' is famous for a contract dispute that eventually helped sink the career of star [[Louise Brooks]].

William Powell did not enjoy playing Philo Vance, finding the role devoid of the complexity of a truly human character.  After three Philo Vance films at Paramount, he flatly refused to play the role again. Later, at Warner Brothers, he was cajoled into making ''The Kennel Murder Case'', due to studio pressure and the lack of more interesting scripts. A few years later Powell was offered ''The Casino Murder Case'' at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer into which a part was written for [[Myrna Loy]] as Vance's girlfriend, but Powell refused this film as well.<ref>''Brooklyn Times Union'' (7 Nov 1934) p 4A; ''Los Angeles Daily News'' (20 Nov 1934) p 15.</ref>

On Philo Vance as a role, Powell stated:

{{blockquote|The opportunities of a detective on the screen are too limited. What is his main function? To solve the crime. And how does he do it? By thinking. So we have him standing up and thinking, sitting down and thinking, lying down and thinking, ad nauseam. He is practically the only member of the cast without a chance for dramatic action or outstanding characterization. The interest revolves about him, true enough—but he is like a rock in the center of a whirlpool. He doesn't have a chance to act!<ref>''Talking Screen'' (Mar 1930) p 70.</ref>}}

The Philo Vance novels were particularly well suited for films, where the more unpleasantly affected aspects of the main character could be toned down and the complex plots given more prominence. One of these films, ''[[The Kennel Murder Case (film)|The Kennel Murder Case]]'', has been called a masterpiece by renowned film historian [[William K. Everson]].

* ''[[The Canary Murder Case (film)|The Canary Murder Case]]'' (1929) with [[William Powell]]
* ''[[The Greene Murder Case (film)|The Greene Murder Case]]'' (1929) with William Powell
* ''[[The Bishop Murder Case (1930 film)|The Bishop Murder Case]]'' (1929) with [[Basil Rathbone]]
* ''[[The Benson Murder Case (film)|The Benson Murder Case]]'' (1930) with William Powell
* ''[[The Kennel Murder Case (film)|The Kennel Murder Case]]'' (1933) with William Powell
* ''[[The Dragon Murder Case (film)|The Dragon Murder Case]]'' (1934) with [[Warren William]]
* ''[[The Casino Murder Case (film)|The Casino Murder Case]]'' (1935) with [[Paul Lukas]]
* ''[[The Garden Murder Case (film)|The Garden Murder Case]]'' (1936) with [[Edmund Lowe]]
* ''[[The Scarab Murder Case (film)|The Scarab Murder Case]]'' (1936) with [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]] ([[lost film]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/scarab-murder-case.html |title=The Scarab Murder Case / BFI Most Wanted |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=2015-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427213626/http://old.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/scarab-murder-case.html |archive-date=2019-04-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>)
* ''[[Night of Mystery (1937 film)|Night of Mystery]]'' (1937) (based on ''The Greene Murder Case'') with [[Grant Richards (actor)|Grant Richards]]
* ''[[The Gracie Allen Murder Case (film)|The Gracie Allen Murder Case]]'' (1939) with Warren William as Philo Vance, billed below [[Gracie Allen]]
* ''[[Calling Philo Vance]]'' (1940) (a remake of ''The Kennel Murder Case'' with an altered setting) with [[James Stephenson (actor)|James Stephenson]]
* ''[[Philo Vance Returns]]'' (1947) with [[William Wright (actor)|William Wright]]
* ''[[Philo Vance's Gamble]]'' (1947) with [[Alan Curtis (American actor)|Alan Curtis]]
* ''[[Philo Vance's Secret Mission]]'' (1947) with Alan Curtis

The plots of the final three films bear no relationship to any of the novels and very little relationship to the Philo Vance character of the novels.

Philo Vance ([[William Powell]]) also appears in the "Murder Will Out" comic vignette of ''[[Paramount on Parade]]'' (1930), wherein Vance and Sgt. Heath ([[Eugene Pallette]]), along with fellow detective [[Sherlock Holmes]] ([[Clive Brook]]), go up against [[Fu Manchu]] ([[Warner Oland]]). Holmes and Fu Manchu were featured in their own respective series at Paramount at this time.

Vance is mentioned in ''[[The Stolen Jools]]'', an all-star film short produced by Paramount in 1931 to promote fundraising for the National Vaudeville Artists Tuberculosis Sanitarium, but does not appear.

In the trailer for the first ''[[The Thin Man (film)|The Thin Man]]'' film in 1934, Powell plays both Vance and [[Nick and Nora Charles|Nick Charles]] via split screen, as Charles tells Vance about the mystery he solves in the movie.  At the time, ''The Thin Man'''s studio, [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], had not produced a Philo Vance film since 1930, and the property was at that time contracted to [[Warner Bros]].  MGM regained the rights for 1935's ''The Casino Murder Case'', but Powell did not appear in that film.

Vance was also mentioned in ''[[The Lady Eve]]'' (1941).