Curtain at Eight (1933)

An elderly detective sets out to find who murdered a stage actor.

Director:

E. Mason Hopper

Writer:

Edward T. Lowe Jr. (screen story)

Stars:

C. Aubrey Smith, Dorothy Mackaill, Paul Cavanagh

Cast

Complete credited cast:
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Jim Hanvey - Detective
Dorothy Mackaill	...	Lola Cresmer
Paul Cavanagh	...	Wylie Thornton - Actor
Sam Hardy	...	Martin Gallagher - Captain of Detectives
Marion Shilling	...	Anice Cresmer
Russell Hopton	...	Terry Mooney - Reporter
Natalie Moorhead	...	Alma Jenkins Thornton
Hale Hamilton	...	Major Manning
Ruthelma Stevens	...	Doris Manning
Arthur Hoyt	...	Watkins - Night Watchman
Dot Farley	...	Ella - Party Guest
Jack Mulhall	...	Carey Weldon

Storyline

An elderly detective sets out to find who murdered a stage actor.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | number in title

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Backstage Mystery

Filming Locations:

Mack Sennett Studios - 1712 Glendale Blvd., Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Majestic Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

A smidgen better than average for the genre.

During the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made something like 1838234252847 murder mystery B-movies and "Curtain at Eight" is one of them. Like most of these films, it all hinges on a cliché--the dopey detective who is totally clueless. Chief Detective Martin Gallagher jumps to conclusions and comes up with theories and tries to make facts fit it (instead of vice-versa). If it weren't for another detective (C. Aubry Smith--in a very unusual role for him).

When a two-timing actor is murdered, there are two obvious suspects. But, when one turns up dying, it looks really bad for the other suspect. It MUST be him, or so the dopey policeman thinks. But they realize that a chimp (mistakenly called a monkey throughout the film) might actually be the shooter...maybe. So who did it? And, more importantly, is there enough to separate this from the pack of films in the genre? Well, the answer is not a lot. It's very typical in most every way. The differences were the hero (Smith) and the very end when he learns who the real killer is. It's worth seeing if you like these sort of films but for most, it's quite skippable.