The Crooked Circle

1932
Passed
1h 10m

IMDb RATING

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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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

394

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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The Studio Murder Mystery

Storyline

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Trivia
On 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?

Connections
Referenced in Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film (2008)

User reviews21

Review

Featured review

4/10

Typical old dark house comedy-mystery

The Crooked Circle is a film that has a lot more potential than it fully realizes. It starts with an intriguing scene with a group of black hooded individuals in an underground room. These shady characters are the Crooked Circle and they are planning revenge on a group of amateur sleuths called the Sphinx Club. Now this set-up makes it sound like the movie could go in an interesting direction with both these groups fighting against each other. Unfortunately, the focus is subsequently too often on comedy, rather than suspense.

The film takes the form of the old dark house format which was hugely popular in the 1930's. The house itself is full of the usual array of secret passageways, trap-doors and hidden rooms that was part and parcel in these movies. The mystery isn't ultimately too compelling, although there is a reasonable twist near the end. It's as creaky as you would expect but not without some charm.