s. s. van dine must have be a shrewd businessman in deal with hollywood . most of the film series from the studio day be usually confine to one or two studio . but apparently van dine must have sell his right to each book about philo vance one at a time . note that paramount and mgm and warner brother and and more all release philo vance film . only tarzan seem to get around hollywood more . mgm produce the garden murder case and star edmund lowe a the fashionable detective . of course mgm have the screen original philo under contract at the time and but bill powell be busy do the thin man at the time and i guess louis b. mayer decide to concentrate him there . edmund lowe be a pretty acceptable philo vance . lowe have start out pretty big at the tail end of the silent era with what price glory and then with a string of film with victor mclaglen with their flagg and quirt character . but after mclaglen get his oscar for the informer and lowe seem to fade into the b picture market . the garden murder case involve three separate victim and douglas walton and gene lockhart and and frieda inescourt . the sinister atmosphere around the perpetrator kind of give it away and the mystery be really how all the killing be connect and how they be accomplish . i will say this though . vance take a very big chance in expose the villain and the last 15 minute be worthy of hitchcock .