“The first of the Philo Vance mysteries by S.S. Van Dine to be filmed, Canary was made in 1928 as a full silent and redone with sound for an early '29 release. Its own and somewhat primitive merits have been obscured because the film became a cause-celebré in another area. Louise Brooks, fresh from her triumphs with G.W. Pabst in Germany, refused to cooperate with Paramount in the sound re-vamping. Accordingly her scenes had to be dubbed by Margaret Livingston (the vamp from Sunrise) who also doubles for Brooks in certain re-shot scenes. The trickery is done quite ingeniously, especially for that period of technical confusion. But Paramount, faced with overwhelming mechanical problems in that transition period, was in no mood to cater to a temperamental star, and her obstinacy here literally cost her her career. At her peak as a star--and as an actress--in 1929, she found herself virtually obliterated, with only a quintet of supporting roles in the ensuing decade. Apart from its historic interest in illustrating the problems of early sound films--and as the Brooks nemesis--Canary is one of the more talkative mysteries and one of the lesser Vance entries, but still of more than average interest for its cast: William Powell as Vance, plus Jean Arthur... William K. Everson