Mon 29 Jul 2013
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: THE CROOKED CIRCLE (1932).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[5] Comments
THE CROOKED CIRCLE. World Wide, 1932. Ben Lyon, Zasu Pitts, James Gleason, Irene Purcell, Burton Churchill, Frank Reicher, Tom Kennedy. Director: H. Bruce Humberstone. Shown at Cinefest 19, Syracuse NY, March 1999.
This hit all the right buttons for me, although some people felt it was one of the worst films of the weekend. Lyon, Churchill and Karns are members of the Sphinx Club, a group of amateur criminologists. Their opposite number is The Hooded Circle, a gang of masked villains, who appear to have infiltrated the Sphinx Club and to be poised to eliminate their competition.
Much of the action takes place in an old house, reputed to be haunted, and it has the requisite sliding panels, chairs that dump occupant down chutes, and a clock that strikes 13 times.
Almost nobody is what he (or she) appears to be, and you may not care, but I had a good time and I would like to think I wasn’t the only one. Yes, Zasu flutters like an inebriated butterfly, but Gleason’s dry style manages to provide something of a tonic.
July 30th, 2013 at 4:08 am
Walter, this got favorable mention in Don Miller’s book B MOVIES, so you’re not the only one who appreciates it.
July 30th, 2013 at 10:20 am
As soon as I get a hour’s worth of free time, I’ll watch the YouTube video I found. It certainly looks like a fun movie to me.
July 30th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Coincidentally, I downloaded this a few weekends ago. Watched the first few minutes thinking perhaps it was an adaptation of a Gerald Verner book with the same title, then turned it off when I realized it wasn’t. I’ll have to go back and watch it after reading this review. I agree with Steve: seems like a lot of fun.
March 12th, 2015 at 10:16 pm
This is an amazing revelation. It is the inspiration for the wonderful Topper Returns, and also of Ghostbusters [“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!”Irene Purcell was awesome, and after not too long after this movie, she married Herbert Fisk Johnson (third wife), of the Wax fortunes, and soon thereafter disappeared for real!!!? Can anyone find Fisk’s first two wives??
March 13th, 2015 at 11:46 am
Not much information about him on his Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Fisk_Johnson,_Jr.
which I assume you’ve seen. The only wife mentioned is Irene Purcell, who apparently retired from the movie business soon after they were married.