Sh! The Octopus (1937)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

William C. McGann

Writers:

Ralph Spence (play) and
Ralph Murphy (play) ...

Release Date:

14 December 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller | Mystery

Plot:

Comedy-mystery finds Detectives Kelly and Dempsey trapped in a deserted lighthouse with a group of strangers...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Lighthouse | Octopus | Underground Cavern | Dream

Cast

Hugh Herbert	...	Detective Harold Kelly
Allen Jenkins	...	Detective Dempsey
Marcia Ralston	...	Vesta Vernoff
John Eldredge	...	Paul Morgan
George Rosener	...	Capt. Hook
Brandon Tynan	...	Capt. Cobb (as Brandon Tyman)
Eric Stanley	...	Police Commissioner Patrick Aloysious Clancy
Margaret Irving	...	Polly Crane
Elspeth Dudgeon	...	Nanny

Runtime:

54 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #3615)

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

The transformation scene was done in much the same way the beginning part of the transformation was done on Dr. Jeckyll and Mr Hyde. The actress was made up in exaggerated highlights and shadows (including her teeth) using a single color shade of makeup. When filmed through a filter the same shade as the makeup, it's invisible to the camera. Take the filter away and the makeup suddenly becomes visible. Besides a filter, the makeup can also be hidden by similar colored light. This type of trick was only possible on black and white film, of course.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In many scenes, wires operating the octopus's tentacles can be seen.

Quotes:

Vesta Vernoff: [after discovering the "body" of her stepfather] Poor Nannie!
Detective Dempsey: Who's Nannie?
Detective Harold Kelly: Nannie's a goat! Whooooooo!

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Gorilla (1930)

What a HORRIBLE little film--one of the worst of the 1930s

This is just a god-awful mess of a film--terrible in just about every way. I thoroughly hated this movie and wonder why it didn't merit inclusion in Harry Medved's book, "The 50 Worst Movies of All Time"--it was that bad. Other than MANIAC (1934), it might just be the worst film of the 1930s. I honestly enjoyed SEX MADNESS (1938) and REEFER MADNESS (1936) more than SH! THE OCTOPUS as they seemed like Shakespeare compared to this painfully unfunny and confusing film!

Hugh Herbert and Alan Jenkins star in this B-movie and prove conclusively why they were relegated to supporting roles in films--they were amazingly annoying and unfunny here. While Herbert and Jenkins are fine in small roles, the are just awful and grating--and actually make we miss the Ritz Brothers (who, up until now, I thought were the most unfunny comedy team in history). Nothing, I mean NOTHING, they do is funny in the least. Heck, Dick Nixon and Spiro Agnew were significantly more funny than these two idiots!!

As far as the plot goes, it's sort of like an old dark house film--but with even more clichés and making even less sense. I could try to describe the plot, but it just isn't worth it--since it's THAT confusing and unimportant. Throughout all the mayhem, giant fake octopus legs appear rather randomly--and in some cases (such as when Captain Hook is struggling with it), the strings are so obvious that even Ed Wood, Jr. would laugh at the ineptitude of the special effects.

Unfunny, grating, loud and stupid--I hated every minute of this film and would rather gargle with scorpions that see this wretched mess again. Unless you have a severe head injury or are a masochist, you can't possibly enjoy this film. Please, don't trust the other reviews--it really IS that bad a film! Don't say I didn't warn you!!