Circus Queen Murder, The (1933)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Rare Columbia mystery was the second film in a two-film series. Police Chief Thatcher Colt (Adolphe Menjou) gets tired of the gangster in NYC so he takes a vacation with his secretary (Ruthelma Stevens) on a vacation. He runs across a friend who owns a circus and decides to stick around when an abusive husband (Dwight Frye) turns up dead. The suspects could be his wife, her lover or perhaps African cannibals. This is a fairly entertaining mystery that works best with its pre-code nature, which at times is fairly ghoulish considering the era that this was made. There's talk of bodies being cut up and fed to lions and there's even a theory that the African cannibals have eaten a victim. Some might be offended by the black folks being called cannibals with their voodoo dolls and skull lying around so be warned there. Menjou and Nissen work well together but it's Frye and Greta Nissen that really steal the show. Donald Cook, best known for his role in The Public Enemy is also good in his supporting role. The actual mystery isn't too hard to solve, which is the film's biggest problem but the 63-minute running time goes by fast. This isn't one of the best of the genre but it's a good time killer.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Rare Columbia mystery was the second film in a two-film series. Police Chief Thatcher Colt (Adolphe Menjou) gets tired of the gangster in NYC so he takes a vacation with his secretary (Ruthelma Stevens) on a vacation. He runs across a friend who owns a circus and decides to stick around when an abusive husband (Dwight Frye) turns up dead. The suspects could be his wife, her lover or perhaps African cannibals. This is a fairly entertaining mystery that works best with its pre-code nature, which at times is fairly ghoulish considering the era that this was made. There's talk of bodies being cut up and fed to lions and there's even a theory that the African cannibals have eaten a victim. Some might be offended by the black folks being called cannibals with their voodoo dolls and skull lying around so be warned there. Menjou and Nissen work well together but it's Frye and Greta Nissen that really steal the show. Donald Cook, best known for his role in The Public Enemy is also good in his supporting role. The actual mystery isn't too hard to solve, which is the film's biggest problem but the 63-minute running time goes by fast. This isn't one of the best of the genre but it's a good time killer.