Philo is in Vienna working for the US Government to see if Archer Coe is selling aircraft designs to foreign powers. He grabs the plans with Archer's signature, but is captured by police before he can escape. Deported he comes back to America and plans to confront Archer, but Archer is found dead in his locked bedroom with a gun in his hand. While it looks like a suicide, Vance knows better and the coroner finds that Archer has been shot, hit with a blunt instrument and stabbed - making suicide unlikely. But Vance is on the case and is looking to see if government secrets have been sold and who has murdered Coe. This is a remake of "The Kennel Murder Case" using aircraft designs and espionage instead of Chinese porcelain and dog shows.
Acting
James Stephenson's dry wit—gone too soon, died same year.
Writing
Triple-cause-of-death gimmick still delights 85 years later.

Director
William Clemens
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This recycled the entire plot structure of 1933's 'The Kennel Murder Case'—Warner Bros loved saving money that much.
Philo Vance was the original insufferable genius detective—think Sherlock meets frat bro—popular in 1920s-30s pulp before fading into obscurity.