A group of amateur detectives sets out to expose The Crooked Circle, a secretive group of hooded occultists.A group of amateur detectives sets out to expose The Crooked Circle, a secretive group of hooded occultists.A group of amateur detectives sets out to expose The Crooked Circle, a secretive group of hooded occultists.
Raymond Hatton
- Harmon (The Hermit)
- (as Ray Hatton)
Berton Churchill
- Col. Walters
- (as Burton Churchill)
Paul Panzer
- Cult Member
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn March 10, 1933, this became the first feature film ever shown on TV when the experimental Los Angeles station W6XAO-TV broadcast it from the corner of 7th and Bixel Streets. There were perhaps five or six television sets in the greater Los Angeles area which were able to receive the broadcast. It was still playing in local theaters at the time.
- Quotes
Brand Osborne: What the deuce?
- ConnectionsReferenced in Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film (2008)
Featured review
Zasu Pitts and James Gleason
I'm looking forward to seeing Zasu Pitts and James Gleason together in two of the Hildegarde Withers mysteries soon. So I thought I would try this first to see how the two actors gel together. James Gleason plays a policeman of lower rank in this than he does in the Hildegarde Withers series. At one point he comes out with the line "I ain't afraid of no ghosts" in such a similar way as Ray Jr Parker does it in his song for 'Ghostbusters' 52 years later.
This is a story of good versus evil gang warfare. The good are a bunch of amateur criminologists known as The Sphinx Club while the bad go by the name of The Crooked Circle. The baddies convene clothed in black hoods and robes in a cellar. One of their gang is a woman who draws the skull card when they are drawing lots to see who will perpetrate their avenging act on a member of The Sphinx Club.
Colonel Walters of The Sphinx Club receives a cryptic diagram message from which he gathers his life is in danger. There is a new Sphinx convert known as Yoganda who mysteriously foretells there is danger from a string. But like some other characters in the film it's difficult to tell whose side he is really on. At one point he is seen furtively sending a Morse coded message on the telephone while at a Sphinx gathering.
A lot of this film takes place at Melody Manor where a ghostly violin can be heard being played and also the ominous sound of a clock that strikes thirteen at midnight when "evil is on the way." This is an interesting lighthearted mystery and I'm pleased to say that Zasu Pitts and James Gleason do actually gel together well in this.
This is a story of good versus evil gang warfare. The good are a bunch of amateur criminologists known as The Sphinx Club while the bad go by the name of The Crooked Circle. The baddies convene clothed in black hoods and robes in a cellar. One of their gang is a woman who draws the skull card when they are drawing lots to see who will perpetrate their avenging act on a member of The Sphinx Club.
Colonel Walters of The Sphinx Club receives a cryptic diagram message from which he gathers his life is in danger. There is a new Sphinx convert known as Yoganda who mysteriously foretells there is danger from a string. But like some other characters in the film it's difficult to tell whose side he is really on. At one point he is seen furtively sending a Morse coded message on the telephone while at a Sphinx gathering.
A lot of this film takes place at Melody Manor where a ghostly violin can be heard being played and also the ominous sound of a clock that strikes thirteen at midnight when "evil is on the way." This is an interesting lighthearted mystery and I'm pleased to say that Zasu Pitts and James Gleason do actually gel together well in this.
helpful•11
- greenbudgie
- Mar 3, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Noche de fantasmas
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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