Calling Philo Vance (1940): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1940, Calling Philo Vance is a crime and mystery film directed by William Clemens, running about 62 minutes.

What it’s about. 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.

Who’s in it. Calling Philo Vance stars James Stephenson as Philo Vance, Margot Stevenson as Hilda Lake, Edward Brophy as Ryan and Sheila Bromley as Doris Delafield, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.8/10, Calling Philo Vance has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Calling Philo Vance page.

If you liked it. Fans of Calling Philo Vance tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Dark Knight.