Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

gridoon2018 If you like the "old-dark-house" mysteries of the type they just don't make anymore, "The Crooked Circle" should be added to your collection. It has many of the trappings of the genre, but what sets it apart are some plot twists that are both clever and progressive for 1932. At times the film seems to surrender itself to surreal chaos, but just about everything is well-explained by the end. Zasu Pitts and James Gleason are a comedy match made in heaven: she thinks that a myth is a "female moth", and he thinks that "it's OK to be in a hurry, as long as you take your time about it". My DVD print is in pretty poor shape (it could use some re-mastering), but still watchable, and the sound is fairly clear despite some background hiss. **1/2 out of 4.

jonfrum2000 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.

Cristi_Ciopron THE SPHINX, a club of thorough criminologists unaccustomed to loose a battle, changes direction—a Hindu with the unlikely name Uganda (--come on!--) (--yet the name is spelled differently, to give is some Hindu aspect--) becomes its new head.So, there are—a club of criminologists, a criminal association, a silly policeman, a spooked servant, a mansion, a hunchback, an attic, etc.; but this makes the movie sound better than it is.The frightened servant, the silly and feeble—minded Nora, seemed like a nice girl; and she's played by who else than the movie's star, Mrs. Zasu Pitts, who was 38 in this movie and she stands out immediately. She was simply hot—that is, before her ceaseless antics get too annoying--, her appeal transcending the datum of her role.CROOKED CIRCLE, a silly comedy, light amusement, might be of some interest to ZaSu Pitts fans. Her antics, as I stated, are annoying though.

missrebeckah 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/