MartinHafer Having seen one of Warren Williams' other Perry Mason films, I wasn't all that excited about seeing his first from the series, THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG. However, to my surprise, this film was exceptional for a B-detective film--with a very good plot, characters and acting. It was very different from the later "lady killer" Perry Mason films--and frankly, making Mason competent and not just a perv chasing skirts was a good idea.The film begins with a very convoluted encounter Mason has with a really bizarre client who is whining about some "barking dog". None of it makes much sense, even to Perry and the viewers are supposed to be confused. Later, however, all this actually makes a lot of sense. And in an interesting twist, Perry is very willing to help a woman beat a murder rap--even when she really is guilty! This isn't as bad as it sounds, as she has very good reason to kill the jerk! Warren William's character is more subtle and competent than in the later films. In later films, helping out clients is far less important than cooking and bedding women! A very good example of a well-made B movie.

Neil Doyle Warren William's version of Perry Mason is a far cry from that of Raymond Burr in the popular TV series of the '60s, but he gives it his own brand of humor and charm.THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG is more complex than it would seem from an outline of the story. It begins when a man complains to Perry Mason that a howling dog is driving him insane. He's also about to settle his will, leaving his entire state to Mrs. Foley (MARY ASTOR), a next-door neighbor. These two strands of plot keep building toward a very baffling story which only begins to make sense toward the last ten minutes, when Mason starts to unravel the truth.Intereresting tale gets good treatment. It was the first of the Perry Mason movies from Warner Bros. WARREN WILLIAM and MARY ASTOR do nicely in the leads and ALLEN JENKINS plays it straight for a change, as a detective. GRANT MITCHELL as an opposing District Attorney and RUSSELL HICKS as Clinton Foley lend strong support.

krorie This is the first of the Perry Mason movies. Warren Williams brought the famous lawyer to life in much the same way that Raymond Burr would breath life into the Erle Stanley Gardner character for television in 1957. Surprisingly the first incarnation of Perry Mason is not that far from the later television creation. In the first movie as in the first television episodes Perry is a conniving shrewd barrister who not only bends the law but at times uses tricks that may actually be illegal. The Warren William incarnation would change with his next three films with Perry becoming a womanizing boozer. In "The Case of the Lucky Legs" Warren Williams' Mason has trouble staying sober long enough to do his job. After Warren Williams left the role, Ricardo Cortez and Donald Woods tried the part on for size and did fairly decent portrayals of the sharp-witted counselor. Television's Perry Mason also changed with time, but rather than going in the direction of playboy souse, being the McCarthy era, Raymond Burr's portrayal made Perry a scholarly type who won his case through sheer knowledge of the law and thorough investigation procedures.The first Perry Mason movie, "The Case of the Howling Dog," is possibly the best in the entire series. It was remade for television, turning out to be one of the best in the Raymond Burr series. Much of this is owed to the cleverness of the original book written by mystery writer Erle Stanly Gardner, but Warren Williams and later Raymond Burr should also be given credit for making the whole thing work.Warren Williams is ably assisted by a covey of fine actors and actresses including Mary Astor who would later make a permanent mark on movie history playing Brigid O'Shaughnessy in John Huston's classic "The Maltese Falcon." Della Street is there to aid Perry with a hint, as with the later TV series, of a romantic connection between the two. The character of Paul Drake does not appear but would appear in the next film, "The Case of the Curious Bride," as Spudsy Drake, played by the fine character actor Allen Jenkins, who plays Det. Sgt. Holcomb in the first film. Unlike William Hopper's TV Paul Drake, Spudsy is more of a comical sidekick for Perry, more in line with William Katt and William Moses' Paul Drake in the made for TV Raymond Burr Perry Mason movies. Also missing from the Warren Williams Perry Mason's are Hamilton Burger and Lt. Arthur Tragg. In their places we find Det. Sgt. Holcomb and District Attorney Claude Drumm, ably played by Grant Mitchell.The case this time is extremely complicated. The viewer has to follow the events concerning the Cartwright's and the Foley's very carefully, especially in the beginning. Talk about wife swapping! Gradually Perry and his associates are able to unravel the mystery but wait, there is a twist at the end that you don't want to miss just when you think the whole thing has been worked out and the guilty person exposed by Perry.Warren Williams not only plays Perry with gusto but adds much humor to the goings on. If you think Raymond Burr is the definitive Perry Mason, seeing this film may change your mind.

Leslie Howard Adams 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