The Crooked Circle ~ 1932 -BW

QUICKIE: "Olive Oyl" is stuck in a Haunted House with murderers!

PLOT: 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?

SUMMARY: 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!

Horror Collection: Disc 45 - Side A

Watch for free here:
http://www.archive.org/details/crooked_circle

Eternally Yours ~ 1939 -BW

QUICKIE: Self centered illusionist makes his happy home life disappear by neglecting his wife.

PLOT: (from IMDB): Anita (Loretta Young), engaged to solid Don Barnes, is swept off her feet by magician Arturo (David Niven). Before you can say presto, she's his wife and stage assistant on a world tour that seems never to end. Anita is mildly annoyed by Arturo's constant flirtations, but his death-defying stunts give her nightmares. As for her plan to retire in a farmhouse, forget it. Finally, she's had enough and disappears for real...

SUMMARY: Ah, what a fabulous cast! The lovely Loretta Young, David Niven, Billie Burke, and Eve Arden too! The plot summary tells all, except that this is an engaging film with great actors that keep you interested in this different take on the rather predictable "neglected housewife leaves" plot.

Broadway Limited ~ 1941 -BW

QUICKIE: It's a game of "hot potato" played with a baby instead of a 'tater!

PLOT: (from IMDB): As a ploy to gain publicity, a motion picture director (Leonid Kinskey) wants his star actress (Marjorie Woodworth) to take a baby with her on a train trip. The director's secretary (Patsy Kelly) asks the train's engineer (Victor McLaglen), an old boyfriend, for help. As the engineer ponders what to do, a stranger in the train station tells him that he has a baby that could be used. On board the train, the actress meets a young doctor (Dennis O'Keefe) whom she knew in school, and whom she is still in love with. The presence of the baby causes a series of misunderstandings between them, but the real problems begin when the engineer begins to suspect that the baby may have been kidnapped.

SUMMARY: OMG, is this stupidly enjoyable. We have the beautiful blonde starlet, an adorable baby, the handsome Dr. love interest, a bunch of kooky supporting people, all traveling on an express train. Misunderstandings abound and nobody wants the baby until everybody wants the baby. It's supposedly a kidnapped baby from a very famous rich family, which, it turns out not to be in the end, of course. But the mix ups in between are pretty entertaining. The ending is our typical feel-good ending with everyone running off to get married and the baby ending up with it's parents again. Awww.