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unusual facts about Philo Vance


Stanton Macdonald-Wright

Stanton's older brother, Willard Huntington Wright, was a writer and critic who gained international fame in the 1920s by writing the Philo Vance detective novels under the pseudonym S.S. Van Dine.


The Scarab Murder Case

In this book, detective Philo Vance's murder investigation takes place in a private home that doubles as a museum of Egyptology, and the solution depends in part on Vance's extensive knowledge of Egyptian history and customs, which enable him to sort through suggestions of godly vengeance and reveal the misdirections perpetrated by the real murderer.


see also

The Canary Murder Case

A film, The Canary Murder Case, was made by Paramount Pictures in 1929, directed by Malcolm St. Clair and Frank Tuttle and starring William Powell as Philo Vance and Louise Brooks as the Canary.

The Casino Murder Case

The Casino Murder Case (1935) starred Paul Lukas as Philo Vance and was a fairly faithful reproduction of the principal details of the novel.

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

The novel was adapted into a 1939 film starring Gracie Allen (who received billing above Warren William's portrayal of Philo Vance) which was fairly faithful to the novel.

The Greene Murder Case

Czech television produced TV movie Vyvraždění rodiny Greenů in 2002, directed by Jiří Strach and starring Jiří Dvořák as Philo Vance.

The Kennel Murder Case

The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and starred William Powell as Philo Vance, reprising the role after appearing as Vance in three films for Paramount, and Mary Astor as Hilda Lake, the victims' niece.

The Winter Murder Case

"This is Van Dine's last work, left in an only semi-expanded outline form at the time of his death. Philo Vance is still the detective but the pseudo-scholarly footnotes are not in evidence nor is the pearl-handled telephone. In fact, this short book is pleasant reading; add your own nostalgia if you wish.", according to Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in A Catalogue of Crime.