The Westland Case

1937 American film directed by Christy Cabanne

The Westland Case

Film poster

Directed by| Christy Cabanne
Screenplay by| Robertson White[1]
Based on| Headed for a Hearse
by Jonathan Latimer
Produced by|

* Irving Starr
* Larry Fox[1]

Starring|

* Preston Foster
* Frank Jenks
* Carol Hughes

Cinematography| Ira Morgan[1]
Edited by| Otis Garrett[1]
Music by| Charles Previn[1]

Production
company

Crime Club Productions[1]

Distributed by| Universal Pictures

Release date

* October 31, 1937 (1937-10-31)

Running time

| 63 minutes
Country| United States[1]
Language| English

The Westland Case is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Preston Foster, Frank Jenks, and Carol Hughes.

## Plot

[edit]

Noted defense attorney Charlie Frazee receives an anonymous note hinting that death row inmate Robert Westland might be innocent of the wife-murder he was convicted for. Frazee takes the note seriously and hires private detectives Bill Crane and Doc Williams to re-investigate the case. A sympathetic Warden gives the investigative trio unlimited visiting rights at the prison for the six days Westland has left.

Things get off to a bad start. The informer who wrote the note is publicly shot to death in a crowded restaurant. And when the condemned man's personal accountant announces that he will soon reveal evidence clearing Westland, he is promptly killed by a hit and run driver.

And the crime scene has been contaminated by the hasty re-rental of the apartment to blonde party girl Agatha Hogan, to whom all three investigators take an immediate shine. But not to the elderly aunt she shares the apartment with.

Crane has better luck trying to trace the murder weapon, a British-made Webley of unique caliber. Westland's personal Webley is missing and is presumed to be the murder weapon. A confused cab driver is hired by Crane to drive to the same address by multiple routes. Crane is looking for a spot where somebody might dispose of a gun, and a bridge overlooking the river seems likely.

Crane hires a diver, who recovers a different Webley pistol that is traced to a Joliet, Illinois firm. The uniqueness of the gun helps the owners of the firm remember the gun and who purchased it. And that he tried out the gun on the firm's target range

The unique slugs are recovered and identified by ballistics expert Major Lee as the murder weapon. With 15 minutes before execution, Crane identifies Westland's business partner Richard Bolston as the killer, and Westland's secretary Bentine as his secret wife/confederate. The motive was that Bolston had been counterfeiting bonds to shore up a failing business, and feared discovery. The accountant's surprise audit had uncovered this, leading to his death.

Westland is freed and leaves with the loyal girlfriend Emily Lou who had stuck by him through and through. And to everyone's surprise, Frazee leaves with the beautiful Agatha Hogan.

## Cast

[edit]

* Preston Foster as Bill Crane
* Frank Jenks as Doc Williams
* Carol Hughes as Emily Lou Martin
* Barbara Pepper as Agatha Hogan
* Astrid Allwyn as Bentine
* Clarence Wilson as Charlie Frazee
* Theodore Von Eltz as Robert Westland
* George Meeker as Richard Bolston
* Russell Hicks as Woodbury
* Selmer Jackson as Warden

## Production

[edit]

In 1937, Universal Pictures made a deal with the Crime Club who published whodunnit novels.[2] Universal were granted the right to select four of their yearly published novels to adapt into films.[2] The unit responsible for these films was producer Irving Starr.[2] Eleven films were made in the series between 1937 and 1939.[3] The Westland Case was the first in the series and was based on the Jonathan Latimer novel Headed for a Hearse.[4]

The first films in the series featured Preston Foster as Bill Crane and Frank Jenks as Doc Williams were cast as the wisecracking New York city detectives.[4] These characters would appear in two other films in the series: The Lady in the Morgue and The Last Warning.[4][5]

## Release

[edit]

The Westland Case was released on October 31, 1937.[4]

## References

[edit]

### Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g "The Westland Case". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
2. ^ a b c Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 175.
3. ^ "The Westland Case". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
4. ^ a b c d Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 176.
5. ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 177.

### Sources

[edit]

* Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007) [1990]. Universal Horrors (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2974-5.

## External links

[edit]

* The Westland Case at IMDb
* The Westland Case at the TCM Movie Database
* The Westland Case at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Christy Cabanne

1910s|

* The Dishonored Medal (1914)
* The Great Leap; Until Death Do Us Part (1914)
* The Life of General Villa (1914)
* Martyrs of the Alamo (1915)
* Enoch Arden (1915)
* The Absentee (1915)
* Double Trouble (1915)
* The Lost House (1915)
* The Failure (1915)
* The Outlaw's Revenge (1915)
* The Lamb (1915)
* Daphne and the Pirate (1916)
* Sold for Marriage (1916)
* Diane of the Follies (1916)
* The Flying Torpedo (1916)
* Reggie Mixes In (1916)
* Flirting with Fate (1916)
* Miss Robinson Crusoe (1916)
* National Red Cross Pageant (1917)
* Draft 258 (1917)
* One of Many (1917)
* The Slacker (1917)
* Cyclone Higgins, D.D. (1917)
* The Mayor of Filbert (1918)
* The Pest (1919)
* God's Outlaw (1919)
* Fighting Through (1919)
* The Beloved Cheater (1919)
* A Regular Fellow (1919)

1920s|

* Life's Twist (1920)
* The Notorious Mrs. Sands (1920)
* Burnt Wings (1920)
* The Triflers (1920)
* The Stealers (1920)
* The Barricade (1921)
* What's a Wife Worth? (1921)
* Live and Let Live (1921)
* At the Stage Door (1921)
* Till We Meet Again (1922)
* Beyond the Rainbow (1922)
* Youth for Sale (1924)
* Lend Me Your Husband (1924)
* The Sixth Commandment (1924)
* The Spitfire (1924)
* Is Love Everything? (1925)
* The Midshipman (1925)
* The Masked Bride (1925)
* The Average Woman (1925)
* Monte Carlo (1925)
* Altars of Desire (1926)
* Annapolis (1928)
* Nameless Men (1928)
* Driftwood (1928)
* Restless Youth (1928)
* Conspiracy (1928)

1930s|

* The Dawn Trail (1930)
* Carne de Cabaret (1930)
* Convicted (1931)
* Graft (1931)
* Sky Raiders (1931)
* Hearts of Humanity (1931)
* The Red-Haired Alibi (1932)
* Western Limited (1932)
* The Unwritten Law (1932)
* The Midnight Patrol (1932)
* Hotel Continental (1932)
* The World Gone Mad (1932)
* Daring Daughters (1933)
* Midshipman Jack (1933)
* When Strangers Meet (1933)
* Money Means Nothing (1934)
* Jane Eyre (1934)
* A Girl of the Limberlost (1934)
* Storm Over the Andes (1934)
* Behind the Green Lights (1935)
* Storm Over the Andes (1935)
* Another Face (1935)
* One Frightened Night (1935)
* The Keeper of the Bees (1935)
* Rendezvous at Midnight (1935)
* The Last Outlaw (1936)
* It's Up to You (1936)
* Don't Tell the Wife (1936)
* The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937)
* We Who Are About to Die (1937)
* Criminal Lawyer (1937)
* Annapolis Salute (1937)
* You Can't Beat Love (1937)
* The Westland Case (1937)
* Night Spot (1937)
* Everybody's Doing It (1938)
* This Marriage Business (1938)
* Smashing the Spy Ring (1938)
* Mutiny on the Blackhawk (1938)
* Tropic Fury (1939)
* Legion of Lost Flyers (1939)
* Man from Montreal (1939)

1940s|

* The Mummy's Hand (1940)
* Black Diamonds (1940)
* Danger on Wheels (1940)
* Hot Steel (1940)
* Alias the Deacon (1940)
* The Devil's Pipeline (1940)
* Scattergood Baines (1941)
* Scattergood Meets Broadway (1941)
* Scattergood Pulls the Strings (1941)
* Drums of the Congo (1942)
* Scattergood Rides High (1942)
* Timber (1942)
* Scattergood Survives a Murder (1942)
* Top Sergeant (1942)
* Cinderella Swings It (1942)
* Keep 'Em Slugging (1943)
* Dixie Jamboree (1943)
* Sensation Hunters (1945)
* King of the Bandits (1945)
* Scared to Death (1947)
* Robin Hood of Monterey (1947)
* Silver Trails (1948)
* Back Trail (1948)

* v
* t
* e

The Crime Club

Films|

* The Westland Case
* The Black Doll
* The Lady in the Morgue
* Danger on the Air
* The Last Express
* The Last Warning
* Gambling Ship
* Mystery of the White Room
* Inside Information
* The House of Fear
* The Witness Vanishes

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