Curtain at Eight

1933
1h 8m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Paul Cavanagh in Curtain at Eight (1933)

An elderly detective sets out to find who murdered a stage actor.An elderly detective sets out to find who murdered a stage actor.An elderly detective sets out to find who murdered a stage actor.

Director
- E. Mason Hopper
Writers
- Edward T. Lowe Jr.
- Octavus Roy Cohen
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

227

YOUR RATING

Director
- E. Mason Hopper
Writers
- Edward T. Lowe Jr.
- Octavus Roy Cohen
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Featured reviews

7JohnHowardReid

It's always nice to find a film "presumed lost" sitting in a DVD store!

C. Aubrey Smith is first billed in the movie credits (although Dorothy Mackaill precedes him in the advertising posters) and does a fine job too. Admittedly, he looks much older than we would expect, but he carries his detective role role with all his customary assurance, even though he is sometimes forced to play second fiddle to Sam Hardy's aggressively loud-mouthed but dim-witted policeman. The support cast is full of interesting faces, not the least of which is an amazingly well-trained chimp! Good to see reliables like villainous Paul Cavanagh and Syd Saylor plus comic relief Herman Bing and ego-bruising Russell Hopton in prominent roles. The girls are rather stylish too. I love their costumes! Despite an obvious "B" budget, director E. Mason Hopper infuses a reasonable amount of mystery and suspense into the movie's 61 minutes.

GManfred

Almost 'Curtains' for "Curtain At Eight"

"Curtain At Eight" is only 61 minutes long, and I can't figure out if that's an asset or a detriment. It should have been longer to allow more plot development and it suffers from an editing problem - some scenes seem to be out of sequence and continuity suffers as a result.

On the other hand, maybe it's a blessing it was wrapped up quickly, as the production in general and the acting in particular is too stagey. There were no exterior shots and I thought that Sam Hardy, as the Detective Captain, nearly sank the whole picture with his outrageous overacting and obnoxious demeanor. He detracted from every scene he was in. C. Aubrey Smith and the female actresses were quite good, and the women were attractive (always enjoy watching Dorothy Mackaill), given that this was 1933, and this was an early 30's production through and through.

The mystery was above average and accounted for my rating - after all, the play's the thing, right? It was a whodunnit right up until the final scene, and with lots of suspects to choose from.

Interesting and marginally entertaining.

5SimonJack

Backstage mystery has too many holes

Movies like this make me appreciate the technical categories of Academy Awards. In this case, especially film editing and camera work. Both come into question in "Curtain at Eight," along with directing. The cast is mostly OK in this early "B" level mystery, but no one particularly shines in his or her role. The bombastic Sam Hardy stands out some in his role as Martin Galllagher, chief of detectives. Dislikable as he is, his braggadocio helps viewers see the clear difference in the abilities of the two policemen. That probably was intended in the script. We are supposed to like C. Aubrey Smith as the more calm and collected detective, Jim Hanvey. Smith is OK, but there is nothing special in his or any of the other performances.

The plot of this film is interesting, and is what kept me watching. But a number of disconnects makes it difficult to follow at times. It jumps around between abrupt scene breaks and suffers from lack of cohesion. Again, that may be the editing. The ending is rather abrupt as well. And though it leaves us with a sense of justice having been achieved, it also reinforces doubt about the police work. And, the character of the police. The production quality is very poor, and even a digital remastering of this film couldn't improve it enough to make it a good movie to recommend.

One other reviewer noted the retort by the reporter, Terry Mooney (played by Russell Hopton), to a boastful comment by Gallagher. "Says Hitler!?" surely says a lot about the times. Hitler had only just risen to power in Germany the previous year. The press on him was obviously good enough that the folks in Hollywood already perceived him as a liar and untrustworthy. But then, we should remember that a number of entertainers, writers and other artists were among the early people to flee the Nazis, in the early 1930s.

6boblipton

C. Aubrey Smith

It's a murder mystery set backstage. At a party for womanizing, broke, married actor Paul Cavanaugh, he blows out the candles on his cake, the lights go out, and a gun goes off. When the lights come back on, he's dead. Enter two detectives: blowhard Captain of Detectives Sam Hardy, who proceeds to lock up half the cast by the time the movie is over; and District Attorney investigator Jim Hanvey, played by C. Aubrey Smith.

Hanvey was created by prolific short-story writer Roy Octavus Cohen, and he later appeared in several mysteries in which Guy Kibbee took on the role. I really like the way Smith plays the role. I'm so used to seeing him as the elderly, gruff but ultimately kindhearted avatar of the British Empire, that when I see him playing far afield his usual casting, he's a constant surprise. Here, he's doddering, unsure of himself, methodical constantly muttering, seedy, and three steps ahead of Hardy.

In the end, it's not much of a mystery. Director E. Mason Hopper tells the audience who did it even before the murder takes place. Still, Smith keeps things interesting throughout.

6nova-63

Rare Forgotten Mystery

This is the type of film that one might find listed in the old Forgotten Horrors book about forgotten chillers from independent studios. From Majestic Pictures during the golden age of mysteries, a rare film I had tried to hunt down many years back with no luck. I was pleasantly surprised to see the film listed for sale on Amazon and quickly made the purchase.

For it's type, a 1930's independent studio release, it is quite good. An actor with many enemies is bumped off during a party at a theatre. The actor was a true rogue making it tough for the detectives probing the case. C. Aubrey Smith plays Hanvey, a cagey, methodical sleuth. While, Sam Hardy, plays Gallagher, a dim-witted police captain, played mostly for laughs. One of the running gags throughout the film is Gallagher arresting whomever is the top suspect at a certain time.

Did I mention the monkey? Groan if you want to, that's what I did when I saw him. Yes, monkeys were certainly popular in films during the late 1920's and early 1930's and yes the monkey is a suspect in the case. Although the monkey is not really annoying, far too much screen time is wasted on him, especially when considering the talented actors on hand for this minor B picture. C. Aubrey Smith is always welcomed. Ruthelma Stevens was a treat whenever she made a rare appearance. Same for Paul Cavanagh and Hale Hamilton, all excellent performers.

The finale is unique, in that Smith, like Sherlock Holmes was to do upon occasion, solves the mystery, but then lets the killer go free, feeling justice had been served. For collectors of rare films and the people like myself who enjoy the poverty row studios, warts and all.

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The earliest documented telecasts of this film took place on the East Coast in New York City Thursday 26 August 1948 on WCBS (Channel 2) and on the West Coast in Los Angeles Thursday 23 November 1950 on KTLA (Channel 5).

Quotes
Alma Jenkins Thornton: A wife has some rights, particularly an undivorced wife.
Wylie Thornton - Actor: If Doris Manning smelled a rat, she'd back out like that
[he snaps his fingers]
Alma Jenkins Thornton: And we can't afford to lose the Manning millions, can we, Dear?
Wylie Thornton - Actor: Keep on, keep on, you'll throw a monkey wrench into the whole works.
Alma Jenkins Thornton: Oh, you'd find words to soothe the troubled waters. Your lips fairly drool honey when they want to. That's how you got me.
Wylie Thornton - Actor: I wish some of the same could get rid of you.
Alma Jenkins Thornton: [mockingly] Ah, what is life without you, my Sweet? Each hour away from you is a nightmare, torn with despair. Each day a Purgatory of waiting, waiting for night and the sweet caress of your tender lips. You cackling boudoir rooster!
Alma Jenkins Thornton: [she resumes mocking him] I was the only woman in your life. The glorious sunburst on the dark horizon of your lonely days. And the very night you married me, you had dates with two of your ex-sweeties!
Alma Jenkins Thornton: [still mocking him] Oh, but Darling, don't you understand, these other women, they mean nothing to me. They're just stepping stones on the pathway to our happiness. And I fell for it. I believed you, you bedroom Ananias. I loved you. I laugh myself sick when I think about it now. But I used to sit in my room and cry over you. Till I got next to him and me. You big Baboon! But you're going to pay for every bit of unhappiness you caused me and you're going to pay for it the only way it hurts you - through your pocketbook.
Wylie Thornton - Actor: Alright, alright. You're getting yours, aren't you?
Alma Jenkins Thornton: You've held out on my cut for the last four weeks. And unless you kick in, I'm going to move in and stay in. Now what about my dough, Big Boy, what about it?
Wylie Thornton - Actor: I had to pay...
Alma Jenkins Thornton: Oh, don't lie to me. You gambled it away. I know when, how and with whom. You've lost three salary cheques, one after another. And last night, you gave a certain well-known gentleman a cheque that'll still be bouncing when Gabriel toots his horn!
Wylie Thornton - Actor: Listen, Alma...
Alma Jenkins Thornton: I'll do the talking, you flannel-mouthed Romeo. Wylie Thornton, matinee idol, pride of every kitchen mechanic and points south. Why you worn out Adonis, pull any fast stuff on me and I'll lay you out among the lilies - and little Alma Thornton is the one that can do it!