there be time when this movie seem to get a whole lot more complicated than it need to be and but i guess that part of it charm . detective philo vance power of observation seem great than all the oriental sleuth of the era combine when it come down to that final evaluation of how the murder be commit . the dropping of the dagger into the chinese vase be the kicker for me while i mean and couldn not somebody have just drop it . vance ( william powell ) have a line early in the film about archer coe psychological impossibility to kill himself i have to think about that for a while . i be leave wonder if there some scientific basis in fact for that concept to be true and not have study psychology myself . seem logical and but then there always the case that doesn not fit the rule . you know and i get a kick out of the agitated coroner ( etienne girardot ) and who remind me of star trek dr. mccoy the couple of time he state i be a doctor and not a magician and i be a doctor and not a detective . i can picture deforrest kelley watch the film and say to himself i will have to use that sometime . once the killer identity be reveal and it doesn not seem like such a big surprise and but up till then it really anybody guess . but archer and brisbane coe aside and the film do not answer the central question pose by the title and and the murder i be really interested in who kill sir thomas macdonald dog ghillie .