The Crooked Circle (1932)

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.

Producer: William Sistrom. A World Wide Picture, presented by E.W. Hammons. Released through Fox Film Corp.Copyright 25 September 1932 by William Sistrom. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 25 September 1932. U.K. release: 20 May 1933. 70 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An amateur detective club led by Colonel Wolters, is the target of a secret clan of thieves/murderers.NOTES: Lucky Humberstone's second film as a director, took 14 days to shoot. To Lucky's surprise and mine, it was so amazingly successful at the box-office that it was later re-issued by Astor Pictures Corp.VIEWER'S GUIDE: Adults.COMMENT: Disappointing. This attempt to mix farce with thrills and chills doesn't work because the farce is so strained, it isn't the least bit funny — despite all the over-strenuous efforts by ZuSu Pitts, James Gleason, Tom Kennedy and company. Miss Pitts is a frightened housekeeper whose gawky mannerisms will irritate and exasperate even the most indulgent viewers. Gleason and Kennedy play bumbling cops, with Gleason fulminating stupidly all over the place and Kennedy occasionally bringing up an echoing rear. The efforts of this gosh-awful threesome torpedo most of the potential thrills in what seemed a promisingly spooky script. True, hammy cameos by Christian Rub, Raymond Hatton and Spencer Charters didn't help. For once, Roscoe Karns is not blame-worthy. In fact, he seems quite overwhelmed by the antics of his competitors.Ben Lyon has difficulty keeping a straight face in this farcical mishap. C. Henry Gordon does what he can, though not helped by the director using him as a red herring in the film's introductory scene. We also liked Irene Purcell's mystery heroine, but the best performances came from Robert Frazer as a resourceful gunman and Frank Reicher as the hero's none too subservient valet. A lot of atmospheric photography and some grandly moody sets are largely wasted.

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 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