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Thursday, March 10, 2016

Sh! The Octopus (1937)

Starring Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins, Marcia Ralston, John Eldredge, George Rosener
Directed by William McGann
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A pair of bumbling detectives try to solve a mysterious murder at a lighthouse, which may be the work of "The Octopus," a criminal boss with real tentacles.  

Warner Brothers presents a very silly mystery-comedy, with several actors practicing their comedy shtick, most notably Herbert with an avalanche of puns and Jenkins playing his usual dimwitted persona.  Just when you think you can start to take the mystery plot seriously, some silly sight gag is unleashed on the audience, as when the long tentacles of an octopus grab one of the characters or Herbert disassembles a ladder trying to climb down it.  It's not a great comedy, but it is entertaining, and the team of Herbert and Jenkins are amusing enough.

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