User reviews

The Crooked Circle is a film that has a lot more potential than it fully realizes. It starts with an intriguing scene with a group of black hooded individuals in an underground room. These shady characters are the Crooked Circle and they are planning revenge on a group of amateur sleuths called the Sphinx Club. Now this set-up makes it sound like the movie could go in an interesting direction with both these groups fighting against each other. Unfortunately, the focus is subsequently too often on comedy, rather than suspense.

The film takes the form of the old dark house format which was hugely popular in the 1930's. The house itself is full of the usual array of secret passageways, trap-doors and hidden rooms that was part and parcel in these movies. The mystery isn't ultimately too compelling, although there is a reasonable twist near the end. It's as creaky as you would expect but not without some charm.

The Crooked Circle is a crime organization that meets in a dark room. All the members wear hoods. The group has one female member. They do not like the Sphinx Club, which is a local amateur crime fighting organization that is adding one new member because of the retirement of another. --Okay, if that makes sense so far then the rest of the film will, too.

Over in the old dark house, Zasu Pitts is spooked from the first moment we see her, and that's before the real action of The Crooked Circle has even started. Soon police officer James Gleason arrives, and Zasu spends the remainder of the picture clinging to various pieces of his uniform, much to his annoyance. They make a cute couple.

Other club members—who all end up assembled at the house, of course—include Berton Churchill as a jovial host who thinks it's amusing that the Circle has vowed to kill him; Rosco Karns, who manages a few wisecracks; and C. Henry Gordon as "Yoganda," a mystic of sorts who has just joined the group, claims to have insight to future events, and may or may not be an infiltrator from the other side. Ben Lyon and Irene Purcell are the obligatory handsome young couple who are both—in different ways—deeply involved in the case.

It's totally silly, but plenty of fun.

"The Sphinx Club is a group of amateur detectives who are the bitter rivals of The Crooked Circle, a collection of hooded villains. After The Sphinx Club aids the authorities in catching and imprisoning a member of The Crooked Circle, the evil gang swears revenge by targeting Colonel Walters, a well-known member of The Sphinx Club. Will the Sphinx Club be able to protect Colonel Walters or will The Crooked Circle succeed in their quest to kill him?" asks the DVD sleeve.

The threatened Sphinx Club member, Berton Churchill (as Theodore Walters) is pretty good - but, he is not the focus of this comedy-mystery. Instead, we get zany Zasu Pitts (as Nora Rafferty) complaining to Christian Rub (as Old Dan) about living in spooky "Melody Manor". Ms. Pitts does her best "Olive Oyl" (from "Popeye") dress and voice. And, as a bonus, Mr. Rub responds with his "Gepetto" (from "Pinocchio"). You won't see "Olive Oyl" and "Gepetto" in too many movies!

Meanwhile, Ben Lyon (as Brand Osborne) is preparing to resign from the Sphinx Club. His replacement is foreboding Indian C. Henry Gordon (as Yoganda), who warns, "Evil is on the way." When Gordon arrives at "Melody Manor", Pitts looks at his turban and says: "I'm sorry you got a headache sir, shall I get you a Bromo-Seltzer?" Others in the funny cast: cop James Gleason ("Here Comes Mr. Jordan"), hermit Raymond Hatton ("The Whispering Chorus"), and gay Roscoe Karns ("It Happened One Night").

****** The Crooked Circle (9/25/32) Bruce Humberstone ~ Ben Lyon, Zasu Pitts, C. Henry Gordon, Christian Rub

Bruce `Lucky' Humberstone's THE CROOKED CIRCLE begins with that eponymous quintet of `counterfeiters and thieves deluxe' pledging their dark allegiance (`To do for each other, to avenge any brother, a fight to the knife and a knife to the hilt!'), drawing lots from a hinged skull for the honor of bringing to ground Colonel Wolters, leader of an affluent band of amateur criminologists known as The Sphinx Club. In its second half, the film adheres faithfully to the established spookhouse syllabus (sliding panels, trap doors, and an attic stuffed with skeletons, sarcophaguses and Oriental objets d'art), with director Humberstone maximizing the felonious, comic and preternatural possibilities, all nicely complemented by the amusing dialogue of playwright Ralph Spence (THE GORILLA) and Tim Whelan. Rounding out the roster of red herrings, henchmen and gawkers are WHITE ZOMBIE's Robert Frazer, the ever-quivery Zasu Pitts (`There's a ghost in this house and when he plays the violin, something always happens to somebody!'), James Gleason as a malaprop-prone New Yawk flatfoot, KING KONG's Frank Reicher, and `queer-acting hunchback' Raymond Hatton (later the sour Farmer Larkin of INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN). It's corny and creaky and good old fashioned fun for those hip to the charms of Poverty Row whodunits. See for yourself!

1930's comedy mystery about "The Crooked Circle" a band of hooded crooks who set about plotting the murder of some one who swore to oppose them. Enjoyable but really unremarkable little film, the movie works simply because the cast headed by Zazu Pitts and James Gleason (both of whom would later appear together in a couple of Hildegarde Withers films after Edna Mae Oliver dropped out of that series) and supported by a great cast of actors and actresses you know but may not know the name of (I don't hence the lack naming). A breezy hour long romp, the movie doesn't make a great deal of sense with mistaken identity, secret passages, ghostly music and people not being who they seem. Its the perfect thing for a dark and stormy night or a late night viewing when one is nostalgic for the late late show.

Okay, now I am pretty sure that my summary got your attention and my commenting that Zazu Pitts is Satan is not without some basis. Let me explain. The film at first appears to be a dandy B-movie about an evil organization called "the Crooked Circle" and their vow of revenge in the form of murder on a rival organization dedicated to solving crimes. While this is very odd (especially the idea of a club of private citizens who solve crimes) and COULD have been interesting, this film falls apart despite a rather impressive list of familiar supporting actors. Why? Well because Zazu Pitts (never one of my favorite actresses) spends most of the movie whining just like Olive Oyl with a bad toothache!! While murders are being committed, people are being kidnapped or whatever, you can always count on Zazu whining at full volume--almost like someone's obnoxious 3 year-old who wants everyone at a party to pay attention to her! At the same time, she's NOT an integral part of the film but received top billing. Why she is even there is beyond me--I assume it's just to whine and yell. As a result, I found the movie practically unwatchable and it was completely ruined. Now you probably know why I referred to this actress of dubious talent as "Satan"! I'm sure that when the actors in this film saw the final product, they, too, felt pretty much the same way I did about her horrible overacting and amateurish performance.

This film is in the public domain and can be found for free download on the internet. I can see why they didn't bother to renew the copyright.

I tried to watch this film but the longer I watched the more bored I became. I did not get a chuckle nor was I captured by a mystery. I won't say it's an awful film but I will say it was uninteresting to me.

One thing that I did find of interest was that Olive Oil (her whining ways) is patterned after Zasu Pitts (who plays Nora Rafferty in the film The Crooked Circle). That is cool trivia to learn. I never did like Olive Oil - except Shelly Duvall's depiction of her in Popeye (1980) - but that is a different story.

The Crooked Circle I'm sure it's a great film to some but I just did not like it like I thought I would. I love older comedy and mystery mixed but this movie did not do it for me.

1/10

The "old dark house" sub-genre that dominated the early talkies rarely fails to disappoint when we re-view the oldies to-day. Here is one that provides so very many suspicious characters you have to wonder how they will be able to tie up all the loose ends in the 6 reel running time.

The Crooked Circle is a gang of counterfeiters and thieves who have decided to take revenge on Col. Walters (Berton Churchill) who has sent one of their ranks to prison. They decide he must die that very night. Meanwhile the Colonel's own group, The Sphinx Club, is determined to protect him at all costs. This does not sit well with Thelma (Irene Purcell) fiancée of club member Brand Osborne (Ben Lyon, late of the mega-budgeted HELL'S ANGELS (1930)) who wants him to quit the club and stop endangering his own life. Brand promises to resign after saving the colonel's life. Everyone heads off to Walters newly purchased mansion on Long Island to await the assassin.

The Colonel might be the new owner of Melody Manor but it's an old dark house complete with eccentric neighbours (like Raymond Hatton as a local hermit) and maybe even a ghost. Top billed Zasu Pitts is Nora, the housekeeper who expects to see a spirit around every corner. Throw in a cop (James Gleason) who is certain Brand is a criminal and we have a picture which is packed with action and surprises.

You will notice right away that the script writer was at a loss to come up with too much dialog because a lot of characters repeat the same lines over and over. Yoganda (C. Henry Gordon) a Hindu mystic (which movies of that time were loaded with) says "Evil is on the way." many times and I lost count of how often Ms. Pitts says "Something always happens to somebody!". There are many suspects and two characters (Mr. Gleason as the stereotype dumb cop and Roscoe Karns as Mr. Lyon's pal) who serve as comedy relief. The house itself is appropriately spooky looking (in fact I think the same set was used in THE PHANTOM (1931)) with lots of secret passages and violin music coming out of empty rooms but somehow you never really get a feeling of danger. Maybe it's because no one in the movie, and I do mean no one!, is entirely what they seem to be. It all comes out right in the end though; but to go into any more detail would spoil it for you.

Watch carefully for Robert Frazer (from WHITE ZOMBIE) and Frank Reicher (best remembered as Capt. Engelhorn from KING KONG) to pop up among the suspects.

THE CROOKED CIRCLE is a fun film. Some aspects of the plot are predictable and then again several others are not. I suspect you will enjoy it.

By 1930, film was already a living, breathing organism that was manipulating artists and audiences in its quest to survive and grow. From 1932 to 1938, that organism tried a number of potential branches of evolution before settling on one main one. But during that period, many experiments can be viewed, experiments that did not blossom and quickly became extinct.

Sadly, this exemplifies one of them and it is such a perfect example, such a pure specimen, it really must be seen if only for history. I'm increasingly convinced that we cannot be fully in the film experience until we have shared in some of its failed attempts.

What characterizes this is extreme abstraction. The basis is the detective story, a basis that is so strong in narrative appeal it survives today as the root of most film. But this experiment abstracts it extremely.

The bad guys are not just bad, but have a club. The good guys are not just good and smart, but they have a club too. The two clubs are at war, mostly it seems because that's what two groups do: define the other as the enemy and adopt roles accordingly.

The setting is abstract too: a "haunted" mansion with trap doors, secret passages, resident hunchback, disembodied music, skeletons (that predictably catch on the girl's dress) and blackouts. There's a very, very clever twist in the story too, one you know is there but you just can't pin down until it happens.

Zazu Pitts does a spooked housekeeper whose voice would be appropriated for Olive Oyl who would make her first appearance the following year.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Crooked Circle... badly in need of restoration. Sound is just terrible. Something about a group that murders people they don't like, and an amateur group of citizen sleuths who hunt the murderers down. Zasu Pitts is "Nora", the housekeeper. Pitts was in just about every silent and talkie film... made 26 films in 1932 alone. James Gleason is the cop, bumbling his way through the story, a role he made famous in so many films. Watching this thing is so much work. so many people doing so much talking. Henry Gordon is "Yoganda", the hindu, an expert in something, giving people advice. Skip this one. Wants to be funny but isn't. We stop caring after a while... Directed by Bruce Humberstone... he had directed a whole bunch of the Charlie Chan films.

I'm looking forward to seeing Zasu Pitts and James Gleason together in two of the Hildegarde Withers mysteries soon. So I thought I would try this first to see how the two actors gel together. James Gleason plays a policeman of lower rank in this than he does in the Hildegarde Withers series. At one point he comes out with the line "I ain't afraid of no ghosts" in such a similar way as Ray Jr Parker does it in his song for 'Ghostbusters' 52 years later.

This is a story of good versus evil gang warfare. The good are a bunch of amateur criminologists known as The Sphinx Club while the bad go by the name of The Crooked Circle. The baddies convene clothed in black hoods and robes in a cellar. One of their gang is a woman who draws the skull card when they are drawing lots to see who will perpetrate their avenging act on a member of The Sphinx Club.

Colonel Walters of The Sphinx Club receives a cryptic diagram message from which he gathers his life is in danger. There is a new Sphinx convert known as Yoganda who mysteriously foretells there is danger from a string. But like some other characters in the film it's difficult to tell whose side he is really on. At one point he is seen furtively sending a Morse coded message on the telephone while at a Sphinx gathering.

A lot of this film takes place at Melody Manor where a ghostly violin can be heard being played and also the ominous sound of a clock that strikes thirteen at midnight when "evil is on the way." This is an interesting lighthearted mystery and I'm pleased to say that Zasu Pitts and James Gleason do actually gel together well in this.

"The Crooked Circle" was an overcooked mystery about a secret, five member, illuminati-like organization that wanted to kill one of its detractors. When the Crooked Circle (the organization) was shown they all had on black hoods which covered their entire faces except their eyes. All we knew was that one member was a woman and she was charged with killing Theodore Waters (Berton Churchill), the man responsible for locking up one of their members. Just about the entirety of the movie takes place in Col. Waters' new home known as Melody Manor, one of the oldest manors in Long Island. His place was crawling with people, both invited and uninvited, which seems to be one of the two ingredients of old murder mysteries: 1.) big home/mansion and 2.) many guests. The manor was full of trap doors and hidden passages which only added to the mystery and absurdity.

Other notable actors in the movie were Zasu Pitts, who always makes a perfect scaredy-cat, James Gleason, Ben Lyon, and C. Henry Gordon, who played an Indian mystic.

Free on Tubi and YouTube.

Apparently, one reviewer didn't read the earlier reviews before writing his entry. As other reviewers pointed out, Zasu Pitts didn't talk like Olive Oyl - Olive Oyl's voice was modeled on hers! This was a comedy/mystery, and Zasu Pitts was one of the most popular comediennes of her time. She was a star of silent films, and her voice and manners transferred successfully to the talkies, where she was a big star, and favorite of audiences. Her 'whining' was her shtick, and audiences loved her for it.

The role played by Zasu Pitts in this, and many other films, is actually almost identical to the one played by Stepin Fetchit and Mantan Moreland. Zasu is a whimpering, cowardly fool - played for obvious comic relief. Of course, she was a white woman, so no one mentions the obvious connection. If she had played Charlie Chan's maid, she would have fit right into the Birmingham Brown role.

The plot in this film is clunky, and the acting a bit stiff and caricatured, but it was made in 1932, and they were still trying to figure out how to make talkies. Watched with that in mind, The Crooked Circle is quite enjoyable.

*** After over a year, and with a second viewing, I'm back to add a few comments. It's interesting that even at the very beginning of the old dark house genre, humor was already an essential part of the mix. One might think that the setting would have featured horror/mystery films, but Hollywood had already figured out that to sell a film to the largest audience possible, it was best to mix genre elements. Thus, we get a murder mystery set in a semi-Gothic atmosphere, with more than one comic relief character. This film did have the other common element, an attractive young couple in the romantic role, but that element played only a small role here. If it was a murder mystery without the old dark house, they might have added a musical number as well. Something for the boys, the men, and the ladies and girls, all in one. Personally, I find the humor far overdone here, and would much prefer a straight Gothic thriller, but I've learned to get along with the humor over time. The policeman-as-fool was played rather hard here, the price you have to pay to get the rest of the story. I still give this a six out of ten on second viewing, but I can see where audiences would have enjoyed it at the time.

If you've never experienced the thing that is Zasu Pitts, here is a Zasu zinger! In 1933 Mae Questel caricatured Pitt's voice for the character Olive Oyl for the Fleischer Studios animated cartoon version of the comic strip Popeye. Zasu (pronounced Zay-Sue) does her best "Olive Oyl" impersonation walking around whining and ringing her hands or attaching herself to the policeman's laynard. I kept waiting for her to say "ohhh myyyy", but instead it's "something always happens to somebody." The first time I saw this film I loved Zasu and found her character really funny. I've since seen her in other films where she does this same whining, uptight, fragile-flower routine. So, upon watching this film again I started getting a little annoyed with the constant whining and near hysteria over a piece of dust. But, there are some funny comedy bits here, and it's also a mystery movie as well. It's an interesting mix of mystery and comedy that actually works. The mystery plot holds together well through the camp of Zasu Pitts and James Gleason who plays Arthur Crimmer the policeman. The haunted House is fun with many a secret passage and even a skeleton in the attic! Well worth the watch. Read more public domain movie reviews at: http://pdmoviereview.blogspot.com/

I tried to watch it because it is an early Bruce Humbertsone's film, a director whose filmography will become a little more known during the forties and fifties with the likes of I WAKE UP SCREAMING, TEN WANTED MEN, THE PURPLE MASK and some Tarzan adveture yarns. I am not fond of those all alike thirties mystery flicks, talkative, mostly comedies, and boring for me. So, maybe I am not the best reviewer for this kind of stuff. But if you are courageous enough, go, don't bother my review. It is rare, short and maybe you belong to those who can enjoy it. I don't know very much the actors except maybe Zasu Pitts.