''Sh! The Octopus'' is a 1937 comedy-mystery film produced by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, directed by
William McGann and starring
Hugh Herbert
Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches.
Career
Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Unive ...
,
Allen Jenkins
Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television.
Life and career
Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. ...
and
Marcia Ralston
Marcia Mascotte Ralston (19 September 1906 – 23 November 1988) was an Australian-born actress who appeared in Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s.
In Australia
Ralston's father was well known Australian singer and actor John Ralston. She a ...
. While contract players Herbert and Jenkins frequently appeared in the same picture, this is the only movie to present them as an actual team. The film's oddball qualities have made it something of a cult favorite.
Premise
Herbert and Jenkins play two bumbling detectives, who, in pursuit of a master criminal, The Octopus, find themselves inside a haunted lighthouse full of suspicious characters, including the titular character, who appears to be an actual octopus.
Cast
*
Hugh Herbert
Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches.
Career
Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Unive ...
as Kelly
*
Allen Jenkins
Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television.
Life and career
Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. ...
as Dempsey
*
Marcia Ralston
Marcia Mascotte Ralston (19 September 1906 – 23 November 1988) was an Australian-born actress who appeared in Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s.
In Australia
Ralston's father was well known Australian singer and actor John Ralston. She a ...
as Vesta Vernoff
*
John Eldredge
John Eldredge (born June 6, 1960 in Los Angeles) is an American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity. He is known for his best-selling book '' Wild at Heart''.
Life and work
Eldregde received his undergraduate degree in theater from ...
as Paul Morgan
*
George Rosener
George Michael Rosener (May 26, 1884 – March 29, 1945) was an American film actor and writer. He also wrote and acted in the Frank Buck serial ''Jungle Menace''.
Career
Rosener began his acting career at age 19 as a circus clown, follow ...
as Captain Hook
*
Margaret Irving as Polly Crane
*
Elspeth Dudgeon as Nanny
*
Lew Harvey
Lew Harvey (October 6, 1887 – December 19, 1953) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1918 and 1950. He was born in Wisconsin, educated in Portland, Oregon, and died in Los Angeles, California.
Selecte ...
as Sinister plotter
*
Frank Hagney
Frank Sidney Hagney (20 March 1884 – 25 June 1973) was an Australian actor. He is known for his work on ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), ''Ride Him, Cowboy'' (1932) and '' The Sea Beast'' (1926).
Early and career
Born in Sydney, New Sou ...
as Sinister plotter
*Ed Biby as Sinister plotter
*Molly Doyle as Nurse
*Jack Jorgensen as Sinister plotter
Other media
In 2010, the film was released by
Warner Archive as part of the six-film DVD-R collection ''Warner Bros. Horror/Mystery Double Features''.
It also airs occasionally on
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...
.
References
*
*
1937 films
1930s comedy horror films
American black-and-white films
American comedy horror films
American detective films
American films based on plays
1930s comedy mystery films
American haunted house films
Warner Bros. films
Works set in lighthouses
American comedy mystery films
1937 comedy films
Films directed by William C. McGann
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
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