The Crooked Circle - 1932

Explicit content warning

03/01/24 • 75 min

"The Crooked Circle" from 1932 is an 'old dark house' mystery/comedy that pits an amateur detective group against a crime syndicate. The Crooked Circle gang has marked a member of The Sphinx Club for death. But they first have to find him at his country house on Long Island, which is supposedly haunted by the violin playing ghost of a jilted lover. Mike and Amber take on this Zasu Pitts vehicle that delivers on some fronts but falls short of others. Plus, Mike debuts a truly unique character for use in tabletop role playing games, which you will absolutely not find anywhere else!

Title: The Crooked Circle

Director: H. Bruce Humberstone

IMDB Rating: 5.3/10

Rating: NR

Content warnings: Racism and racial slurs, trivializing mental illness, drugging someone against their will, stalking

Notable actors: Zasu Pitts (Strangers of the Evening), James Gleason (he fought in the Spanish American War and World War 1, Arsenic and Old Lace, lots of TV)

Hilarious tagline: “Evil is on the way, and it’s tied with a string."

5th Edition Character: The Crooked One, a violin-playing skeleton

Learn more at World of Welstar:

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Instagram: @world_of_welstar

Facebook: @worldofwelstar

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talien

Watch this movie on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/100002600/the-crooked-circle

Buy the 50 movie set: https://amzn.to/3Nj5PGn

These show notes contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, Mal and Tal Enterprises, LLC may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Title: The Crooked Circle

Director: H. Bruce Humberstone

IMDB Rating: 5.3/10

Rating: NR

Content warnings: Racism and racial slurs, trivializing mental illness, drugging someone against their will, stalking

Notable actors: Zasu Pitts (Strangers of the Evening), James Gleason (he fought in the Spanish American War and World War 1, Arsenic and Old Lace, lots of TV)

Hilarious tagline: “Evil is on the way, and it’s tied with a string."

5th Edition Character: The Crooked One, a violin-playing skeleton

Learn more at World of Welstar:

Twitter: @WorldofWelstar

Instagram: @world_of_welstar

Facebook: @worldofwelstar

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talien

Watch this movie on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/100002600/the-crooked-circle

Buy the 50 movie set: https://amzn.to/3Nj5PGn

These show notes contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, Mal and Tal Enterprises, LLC may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

The Shadow of Silk Lennox

Lon Chaney, Jr is once again the headliner for this post-Hayes code crime drama, "The Shadow of Silk Lennox.” This movie follows a crime boss, Silk, who decides to rob a bank with the help of his gang. He has been running his criminal enterprise mostly unopposed by the local police. But this time, federal agents show up on the scene and he is out of his depth. This movie has some interesting moments, but Mike and Amber both nitpicked on some things that they really hated about it.

Title: The Shadow of Silk Lennox

Director: Ray Kirkwood and Jack Nelson

IMDB Rating: 4.2/10

Rating: NR

Content warnings: Assault, murder, violence, racism, kidnapping, misogyny, threats against women

Hilarious tagline: “A crooked nightclub owner, pretending to go straight, is forced to kill a henchman when the latter tries to run off with the gang's latest haul."

5th Edition Character: Silk, a wizard and master illusionist

Learn more at World of Welstar:

Twitter: @WorldofWelstar

Instagram: @world_of_welstar

Facebook: @worldofwelstar

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talien

Watch this movie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gCSrO3pngY

Buy the 50 movie set: https://amzn.to/3Nj5PGn

These show notes contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, Mal and Tal Enterprises, LLC may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Drums of Africa (Jungle Man) - 1941

"Drums of Africa (Jungle Man)" is a jungle adventure that suffers from a lack of a plot as well as an insidious white savior complex. This Buster Crabbe vehicle follows a family who travels from the United States to Africa in order to search for a lost city and also visit an uncle who happens to be a missionary. While there, they also find Dr Hammond, who was working on a treatment for an infectious disease that's in danger of becoming an epidemic. An outbreak of the condition, encounters with wild animals, and a sunken ship all come into play as the newcomers try to find the lost city and Dr Hammond tries to save lives. Mike and Amber go through the huge problems with this film, including how it treats the entire continent of Africa and its lack of a plot.

Title: Drums of Africa (Jungle Man)

Director: Harry L. Fraser

Writer: Rita Douglas

IMDB Rating: 3.6 out of 10

Rating: NR

Content warnings: Misogyny, racism, mistreatment of animals, death

Notable actors: Buster Crabbe, who was Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon and Charles Middleton, who played Ming the Merciless in the 30s. He was also in Duck Soup with the Marx brothers.

5th Edition Character: Malaka, a tiger-like beast with a spiky spine ending in a barbed tail, large bat-like wings, and a humanoid face

Learn more at World of Welstar:

Twitter: @WorldofWelstar

Instagram: @world_of_welstar

Facebook: @worldofwelstar

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talien

Watch this movie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPHeLu0gQZE

Buy the 50 movie set: https://amzn.to/3Nj5PGn

These show notes contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, Mal and Tal Enterprises, LLC may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.