The Case of the Howling Dog

The Case of the Howling Dog is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Alan Crosland, based on the novel of the same name by Erle Stanley Gardner. The film stars Warren William and Mary Astor. This was the first in a series of four films in which William played Perry Mason.

Foley attempts to file a complaint of insanity against Cartwright, claiming he is a homicidal maniac whose bizarre behavior prompted most of Foleys household staff to quit. A sheriffs deputy is assigned to investigate the complaint. He and Perry accompany Foley back to his house, where Perry questions why an addition to his garage is being built for yet another car if his chauffeur has quit. Attractive Lucy Benton, whom Foley states is his housekeeper, rushes from the house with her right hand heavily bandaged to tell Foley that she was bitten by the dog while giving it an emetic, thinking it had been poisoned. When they ask to talk to Foleys wife Evelyn, Lucy tells them that she has just packed her bags and disappeared. A note left behind states that she loves Cartwright and is going away with him. Perry goes next door and finds that Cartwright has also disappeared overnight. A telegram sent from Ventura and signed by Evelyn is sent to Foley asking him to stop his actions.Perrys private detectives investigate and learn that Evelyn was actually Cartwrights wife who ran away with Foley when they were friends in Santa Barbara with Foley and his wife Bessie. Lucy was Foleys private secretary then, unbeknownst to Evelyn. One of Perrys men is assigned to watch Foleys house and sees Lucy drive away with an unknown man. A cab arrives with a woman in black. When Foley shows annoyance that she found him, she tells him that she wants justice and he releases the dog to attack her. Two shots are fired, killing the dog and Foley, followed by the slamming of the garden door, and the woman flees. Perry arrives for a meeting with Foley and discovers the bodies. He immediately tracks down the cab driver at his cab stand, learning that a perfumed handkerchief left in the cab links Bessie to the murder scene, and then finds the woman, who is the actual wife and his client, in a hotel under an assumed name. He sends his secretary, Della Street, to impersonate Bessie and claim the hand

Source: Wikipedia