Sh! The Octopus

Delightfully irreverent variation on the old dark house comedy thriller. This one takes place in and below a lighthouse. The plot is so weird and things are explained then unexplained then explained again that I don't fault someone for thinking it makes no sense. But that's kind of the point. It's such a completely off-the-wall bizarre movie that I can't help but love it. It's totally ridiculous from start to finish. If you're too straight-laced for that, then you'll probably be filled with anger at this unassuming movie that's not even an hour that dared to waste your time. I've read a review or two like that and had to shake my head. What kind of sour puss do you have to be to not at least moderately enjoy, if not outright love, this movie? It's got nice sets, a fun cast, and some good special effects (especially for the time). Allen Jenkins is terrific. Yes, Hugh Herbert is an acquired taste. I get that. I admit I've been annoyed by him in other roles with all of his woo-hooing and fidgeting. But that's usually because he felt out of place in those movies. Here, his shtick is right at home. Just relax, don't take it more seriously than it was intended, and have some fun with it.

Sh! The Octopus was recommended to me by a friend who bought a few lobby cards from the film. I wondered why he had such an interest in a movie that I had never heard of. He told me he was afraid to tell me too much because it might spoil the fun, but that I should definitely see if I had the chance.

My time arrived.

The story begins with a sea-faring man selling the deed to a lighthouse to a polished-looking gentleman in a suit. In comes Captain Hook (that's right- Captain Hook!), a crazy sailor who goes insane at the sound of a ticking clock. Cut to two cops, Kelly (Hugh Herbert) and Dempsey (Allen Jenkins), who are racing to the hospital on a rainy night because Kelly's wife is having a baby. But they get a flat tire, and in the midst of their struggle to fix it, a woman comes tearing through the woods at them, begging for help. She has just seen her step-father's dead body in the lighthouse! The plot is laughable, and thankfully the actors and the director seem to be in on how ridiculous the story is, because it is presented as a comedy. Therefore, we're allowed to laugh at how silly it is that the villain is a murderous octopus with tentacles that creep in through doorways. And it is okay to laugh at the exaggerated plights of the characters and their overzealous performances. And we're expected to giggle at the constant twists and turns that often make no sense.

So why do I rate this movie so highly? Simply for the amount of fun I had watching it! It is packed with hilarious bits, by two comics who are generally relegated to being the 2nd or 3rd banana. Now, they're the leads, and they pull it off quite nicely. Jenkins is a great blend of comic and straight-man. He's too stupid to be taken seriously, but he is tame compared to his partner. Herbert, who often rubs people the wrong way with his giddiness, contributes nicely to the show.

Sh! The Octopus (1937)

** (out of 4)

Another version of The Gorilla but this time the old dark house is replaced with a lighttower and the gorilla is replaced with an octopus. Veteran character actors Hugh Herbert and Allen Jenkins play wannabe detectives trapped inside a lighttower with several others who are being attacked by the octopus. This version pretty much stays in tact with other versions and the other remake, which followed two years later with The Ritz Brothers and Bela Lugosi. Herbert and Jenkins aren't nearly as obnoxious and they do manage to get some good laughs. The octopus looks very nice and the scene where the killer "transforms" is quite memorable. The film moves at a lightening pace yet for some reason, one I don't know, the 56-minute running time felt overly long. This certainly isn't a bad movie but it's not a good one either.

This film is sort of a "nautical" version of the Ritz Bros. "the Gorilla". A criminal known as the "Octopus" is trying to get a secret device from an inventor stranded on an island (with a lighthouse), along with many suspicious characters. (One of whom is the "Octopus"!).

As in the "Gorilla", the plot of this film doesn't make much sense, but sit back & enjoy the thrills & jitters of the secret panels, clutching octopus tentacles (!) and spooky atmosphere! This film is for pure enjoyment; and not to be "analyzed"!

One interesting note: at the end of the film, one of the suspects turns into the "Octopus"& the effect is AMAZING! I pride myself on how they did special effects back then, but I can't figure this out, as the film does NOT "stop action" & change the person into the Octopus; it happens "live"!

Get out the popcorn & enjoy this great escapist film!

Entertaining comedy. While I was watching this, many of the lines were said in a way that reminded me of some other people. Martin and Lewis came to mind. Bing and Bob came to mind. But then it "HIT" me. They are really, Abbott and Costello. 3-4 years early. And the act works. I am thinking that by the time A&C came along, the formula had been perfected, or at least improved on, and that the time for this type of team comedy was ready to take off. Even down to the way lines are said, many that Hugh Herbert makes down in the basement of the lighthouse, when he is alone, is totally Lou Costello. I am wondering if A&C were just mimicking this style of comedy with their own spin. Great as they were. I enjoyed them very much, as well as the others I mentioned.

The movie, as a movie, is very enjoyable and moves along at a good pace. I had a good time, and that was the point, then as now.