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.

This picture was made in 1937.I think I saw it when it was first released.I must have been 8 years old. I remember I thought it was both scary and hilarious.I thought Hugh Herbert's "woo,woo,woo" comic trademark was a hoot. Now that I am no longer 8 years old,I'd like to see it again to see how my tastes have matured(if at all).

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.

... if you don't' watch to the last scene, in which he inanity of everything that preceded it is clearly explained. Walk away with five minutes or more of the film to spare, and you'll most likely agree with the current low rating this film has.

It is true that almost from the first scene of what appears to be a comedy/thriller nothing makes sense, but please stick around and just go with it. I won't even begin to try to explain the plot, but be prepared for people that have first one identity and then are all revealed to be federal law enforcement agents of one type or another, a human criminal mastermind that is called "the octopus" whose actual identity is unknown that they all are seeking, and an actual octopus whose tentacles are repeatedly reaching out from the walls of the old abandoned lighthouse into which everyone is congregated in order to grab someone. Warner contract players Allen Jenkins and Hugh Herbert as two local cops are probably the best known actors here, and they provide the outright comedy to counterbalance the ham served up by the dramatic overacting of the rest of the cast. After you've seen the whole thing you'll have to marvel at how this film comes together. It's hard to overact in such a way that the audience gets that this is all tongue-in-cheek versus believing that you're simply giving a poor dramatic performance.

The final scene has what could almost be considered a precode moment, but it is quickly explained that what is being implied is not at all the case. I'm being intentionally vague here because I don't want to spoil it for you. If you like older cult comedy films, I believe you'll really like this one. Since Jack Warner generally didn't like to take chances, I don't know how he ever let this one slip by.