The Case of the Lucky Legs | |
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Directed by | Archie Mayo |
Written by | Jerome Chodorov (adaptation) Brown Holmes Ben Markson |
Based on | The Case of the Lucky Legs 1934 novel by Erle Stanley Gardner |
Produced by | Henry Blanke |
Starring | Warren William Genevieve Tobin Patricia Eills Lyle Talbot |
Cinematography | Tony Gaudio |
Edited by | James Gibbon |
Music by | Leo F. Forbstein |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 77 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Case of the Lucky Legs is a 1935 mystery film, the third in a series of Perry Mason films starring Warren William as the famed lawyer.
Margie Clune wins the "Lucky Legs" beauty contest concocted by Frank Patton, but has trouble collecting her $1,000 prize when the promoter skips town. It turns out it is all a scam he has pulled before. When he later turns up stabbed to death, she is a strong suspect.
Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene praised the film as "an admirable film" sadly partnered as makeweight to I Give My Heart (a film Greene characterized as appalling). Comparing the character of Perry Mason to other similar fictional detectives like Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, Charlie Chan, and those created by William Powell, Greene concludes that Mason is his favorite film detective because he is a more genuine creation and recommends the film as "good Mason if not good detection". [1]
On October 23, 2012, Warner Home Video released the film on DVD in Region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection alongside The Case of the Howling Dog , The Case of the Curious Bride , The Case of the Velvet Claws , The Case of the Black Cat and The Case of the Stuttering Bishop in a set entitled Perry Mason: The Original Warner Bros. Movies Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and only in the US.
"The Case of the Lucky Legs" was remade for the Perry Mason (1957 TV series), Season three; episode 10, first shown December 19, 1959.
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a client being charged with murder, usually involving a preliminary hearing or jury trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client's innocence by finding the real murderer. The character was inspired by famed Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers.
Paul Drake is a fictional private detective in the Perry Mason series of murder mystery novels by Erle Stanley Gardner. Drake is described as tall and slouching, nondescript, and frequently wearing an expression of droll humor. He often smoked cigarettes especially when he had a subject of interest under surveillance. He is friend and right-hand man to Mason, a highly successful criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles.
Keye Luke was a Chinese-American film and television actor, technical advisor, artist, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He portrayed Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the Charlie Chan films, the original Kato in the 1939–1941 Green Hornet film serials, Brak in the 1960s Space Ghost cartoons, Master Po in the television series Kung Fu, and Mr. Wing in the Gremlins films. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed by RKO, Universal Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was one of the most prominent Asian actors of American cinema in the mid-20th century.
A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction. Mystery films include, but are not limited to, films in the genre of detective fiction.
Warner Oland was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American characters: Dr. Fu Manchu, Henry Chang in Shanghai Express, and, most notably, Honolulu Police detective Lieutenant Charlie Chan in 16 films.
Allen Curtis Jenkins was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to baby-boomer audiences as the voice of Officer Charlie Dibble in the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon series Top Cat (1961–62).
Jonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.
Go West, Young Man is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Mae West, Warren William and Randolph Scott. Released by Paramount Pictures and based on the 1934 play Personal Appearance by Lawrence Riley, the film is about a movie star who is stranded in the country and trifles with a young man's affections. The phrase "Go West, young man" is often attributed to New York Tribune founder Horace Greeley, and sometimes misattributed to Indiana journalist John B. L. Soule, but the latest research shows it to be a paraphrase.
The Case of the Howling Dog is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Alan Crosland, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Erle Stanley Gardner. It is first in a series of six Perry Mason films Warner Bros. made between the years 1934 and 1937.
Bullets or Ballots is a 1936 American crime thriller film starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, and Humphrey Bogart. Robinson plays a police detective who infiltrates a crime gang. This is the first of several films featuring both Robinson and Bogart.
Charlie Chan's Secret is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Gordon Wiles and starring Warner Oland, Henrietta Crosman and Rosina Lawrence. It is the tenth film in Fox's Charlie Chan series featuring Oland as the detective.
Charlie Chan in Shanghai is the ninth Charlie Chan film produced by Fox Film Corporation with the title character played by Warner Oland.
Charlie Chan at the Circus is the 11th film produced by Fox starring Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. A seemingly harmless family outing drags a vacationing Chan into a murder investigation.
Harold Huber was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television.
The Case of the Curious Bride is a 1935 American mystery film, the second in a series of four starring Warren William as Perry Mason, following The Case of the Howling Dog. The script was based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Erle Stanley Gardner, published by William Morrow and Company, which proved to be one of the most popular of all the Perry Mason novels.
The Case of the Velvet Claws is a 1936 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Warren William, Claire Dodd and Wini Shaw. It is based on the first Perry Mason novel (1933) by Erle Stanley Gardner and featuring the fourth and final appearance of William as defense attorney Mason.
The Case of the Black Cat is a 1936 American mystery film directed by William C. McGann and an uncredited Alan Crosland, based on the 1935 Perry Mason novel The Case of the Caretaker's Cat by Erle Stanley Gardner. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as Perry Mason and co-stars June Travis and Jane Bryan in her film debut. The film is the fifth Perry Mason adaptation distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in the 1930s and the first in the series not to feature Warren William as Mason.
The Case of the Stuttering Bishop is a 1937 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Donald Woods as Perry Mason and Ann Dvorak as Della Street, his secretary. Edward McWade plays the role of stuttering Bishop William Mallory. It is the sixth and final film in the Warner Bros. Perry Mason series. It is based on the novel The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1936) by Erle Stanley Gardner.
Charlie Chan's Courage (1934) is the fifth film in which Warner Oland played detective Charlie Chan. It is a remake of the 1927 silent film The Chinese Parrot, based upon the novel by Earl Derr Biggers. Both are considered lost films.
The Country Doctor is a 1936 American drama film directed by Henry King and written by Sonya Levien. The film stars Jean Hersholt, June Lang, Slim Summerville, Michael Whalen, Dorothy Peterson and Robert Barrat. The Country Doctor was released on March 12, 1936, by 20th Century Fox.