If you have a chance to read the Philo Vance mysteries, do so. They are wonder old thirty-style of mysteries. One of S.S. Van Dine's most famous mysteries in the Philo Vance series is The Kennel Murder Case from which the 1933 movie was made starring William Power as Philo Vance. In the movie, it seems that William Powell is more like his Thin Man character of which he was to star later than the character Philo Vance. Philo Vance is portrayed in all the books by Van Dine as a rather cynical upper-crust sort of fellow, lounging in the era of boot leg liquor and Art Deco.
