Sh! the Octopus (Warner Bros.) (1937)

“Good Hokum Comedy... Of The Dizziest Nonsensical Variety ... Plenty of Laughs! \— te exusito (Current) HUGH HERBERT IS ‘SEEN’ ON RADIO BY HIS PUBLIC There was a time when radio entertainment was purely a pleasure of the aural sense—when speaking was speaking and music was music, to be turned on or off as suited one’s inclination and mood. The movies and its fascinating folk have changed that. Credit the Champion spaghetti maker in Hollywood is not an Italian actor but Hugh Herbert, who is currently featured in Warner Bros.’ “Sh! The Octopus.” The late Enrico Caruso, immortal tenor, gave Herbert the recipe, which he guards closely. Even his wife and most intimate friends do not know its secrets, but no one has ever been known to turn down a portion of the delicious food. It makes Sunday night supper at the Herberts one of Hollywood’s most cherished invitations. films with giving the radio another dimension—the illusion of sight, figuratively as real as television. When Hugh Herbert takes the air, no introduction is needed to know who it is. The magic of his personality leaps through the ether and Hughie, with his “woo-woo” and fluttering hands, becomes an actuality as though he _ were standing beside the radio receiving set. No vivid imagination is required to visualize him; the personality familiar to millons of move fans does that. The same holds true of Eddie Cantor, his banjo eyes, clapping hands and dancing feet when he sings; Dick Powell and his personality in presenting songs; Jack Oakie, and numerous others. An interesting illustration occurred during the filming of Warner Bros.’ mystery screamer, “Sh! The Octopus,” now at the Strand Theatre. Herbert had appeared as guest star on a national broadcast the previous night. “T saw you on the radio last night,” said Allen Jenkins. “Missed the announcement and your introduction, but I couldn’t help but know it was you. You were as real as you are standing here now!” Has Scotch Brooch Elspeth Dudgeon, character actress in Warner Bros.’ “Sh! The Octopus,” wears a Scotch pebble brooch more than 150 years old. The pin is made of vari-colored pébbles found in the hills of Scotland, cleverly cemented together “and highly polished. Scotchmen have used such pins for generations to hold their plaids together. “Sh! The Octopus” is now showing at the Strand Theatre. Native Californian John Eldredge, who plays a featured role in Warner Bros.’ farcical mystery, “Sh! The Octopus,” is a third generation native Californian. His grandfather sailed *round the Horn in the gold rush days of *49 and John was born and raised in San Francisco. He is to be seen now at the Strand. Versatile Scotchman Hugh Herbert, star of the Warner Bros. mystery-comedy, “Sh! The Octopus,” played Hebrew comics for 25 years in vaudeville. He is the only Scotchman to speak Yiddish so fluently as to convince listeners he was of that race. He is now to be seen on the screen at the Strand Theatre. (Review) ‘Sh! The Octopus ’Starring Hugh Herbert Is a Side-Splitting Mystery at the Strand THE STORY: Dempsey (Allen Jenkins) and Kelly (Hugh Herbert), the world’s dumbest detectives, are lost in a police car somewhere on Long Island. Kelly is informed by radio that his wife is having a baby in a New York hospital and he begins to celebrate. They have a tire blowout. Dempsey fixes the tire while Kelly fin ishes the bottle. Kelly reads, while he waits, of the appointment of Patrick Aloysius Clancy as police commissioner and that Clancy’s first announced job will be to wipe out the giant Octopus of Crime that grips the metropolis. Dempsey gets into the car and they hear a general broadcast to all police, harbor patrol and revenue cutters announcing that the crew of the schooner “Tessie,” picked up adrift off Sailor’s Light, are believed to be the victims of the Octopus. Also that a mysterious submarine was seen in the vicinity, and that $50,000 is being offered for capture of the Octopus. A scream is heard. A girl faints in their arms. She comes to, says she is Vesta Vernoff (Marcia Ralston), and that her stepfather has been murdered in the old lighthouse, three miles from shore. Legend has it, she says, that the Octopus lives underneath the light house. Before Dempsey, Kelly and Vesta arrive at the lighthouse, four sinister persons, searching for a paper, leave, and Paul Morgan (John Eldredge), an artist who has rented the lighthouse, and Mr. Cobb (Brandon Tynan) arrive. Capt. Hook (George Rosener), a caretaker for the government and a sinister character, also arrives. He uses a hook in place of a missing hand and is driven to murderous frenzy when he hears a clock tick. The suspense builds as Hook warns Morgan of the Octopus and other dangers. Mystery and thrills follow in breathless succession as Dempsey and Kelly attempt to solve the crime. All the visitors to the lighthouse, including those mentioned: Polly Crane (Margaret Irving), a mysterious girl who is shipwrecked on the reef; and Nancy (Elspeth Dudgeon), a housekeeper for Vesta and her stepfather, meet and become embroiled in a series of blood-chilling adventures. Doors open and reveal hidden stairs. Octopus tentacles and poison gas menace all and all are suspected of being the dread Octopus! From then on the action speeds swiftly to a smashing, unex pected, unforgettable finish. If you like chills up the spine in your movies—relieved every other moment by sidesplitting bursts of comedy—by all means go to see “Sh! The Octopus.” This Warner Bros. comedy, which opened yesterday at the Strand Theatre, has these things, plus innumerable altogether eerie and goofy antics by its leading players, Hugh Herbert and Allen Jenkins. It is quite likely that no more thrilling mystery-farce has ever been screened anywhere. But it’s all in fun, as you'll Mat 102—15c HuckiHaten. °° find out. Hugh and Allen play the parts of the world’s dumbest detectives, who set out to find an “Octopus of Crime” that has the city in its grip. The trail leads them to a deserted lighthouse three miles off-shore. And here a real octopus gets into action. You can imagine a long tentacle snaking its way through a crevice in the lighthouse wall and encircling the rotund body of the fluttery-fingered Hughie Herbert! And you can fancy the ultra-dumb and ultra-scared Allen Jenkins going to Hugh’s rescue. WHO’S IS IT? That’s the subject of the dizzy, daffy mystery-farce, “Sh! The Octopus,” now showing at the Strand. As for the “little stranger” — that’s what Allen Jenkins, Hugh Herbert and Marcia Ralston are trying to figure out. Mat 201—30c There are screams, shots, unearthly and unexplained noises, fainting women, the swish of waves, thunder and lightning, downpour of rain, mysterious shivering of the lighthouse itself, a cloud of poison gas—everything possible for the movies to show! Marcia Ralston and Margaret Irving carry the chief feminine interest. They, too, become deeply involved in the insane proceedings. Others in the cast include John Eldredge, Brandon Tynan, Eric Stanley and Elspeth Dudgeon. Hugh Herbert, one of those hardy perennials, who can always be counted on to carry the burden of the humor in any show in which he is cast, outdoes himself in this one. His fluttery, super-dumb brand of comedy dominates the picture. Marcia Ralston, an exceedingly lovely brunette, who made her screen debut in “Call It a Day” gives a very fine performance and is one of those girls who will bear watching as an up-and-coming star. William MeGann directed the picture from a screenplay by George Bricker. Mat 104—15c Allen Jenkins (Current ) HUGH IS BEST MAN AT THE WEDDING OF HIS STAND IN For five years Frankie Van has been stand-in for Hugh Herbert, the movie comedian, and has developed an affection and devotion for the Warner Bros. star that approaches idol worship. Recently Frankie married Lois Kennedy, daughter of Larry Ken Hugh Herbert and Hugh Cummings, dialogue director, baffled members of Warner Bros.” “Sh! The Octopus” with their mind reading during the making of that completely daffy mystery film. It is an old vaudeville routine but so cleverly done it mystified everybody and the two Hughs swore each other to secrecy on their methods. Both Hughs are veterans of the two-a-day circuit and veteran troupers nedy, studio head electrician, and Hugh Herbert appeared as best man—and therein lies a story. Frankie wanted Hugh to be his best man, wanted him more than he could say. For weeks on the “Sh! The Octopus” set Frankie tried to muster courage to ask the favor but failed, fearing Herbert would think him presumptuous. Hugh settled the matter himself when he asked Frankie if he could be best man! In addition to a wedding present of a handsome cash sum, he turned over his Malibu Beach home to the newlyweds for a honeymoon. A former boxer, Frankie won the A. M. A. flyweight championship in 1922. In 1922 and 1923 he was one of the leading contenders in Ohio for the world’s bantamweight championship. He gave up fighting in 1928, but is widely known to Southern California fight fans through his services as a referee. “Sh! The Octopus,” with Herbert co-featured along with Allen Jenkins and Marcia Ralston, is now showing at the Strand Theatre. Hugh in Accident Trapped 10 feet below the surface of the Pacific, Hugh Herbert escaped serious injury recently in one of the most unusual Hollywood accidents on record. For a comedy sequence in “Sh! The Octopus,” Warner Bros.’ new farce-mystery now at the Strand Theatre, Herbert had to don a diver’s suit and explore the deep waters of some seaside caverns. Every safety precaution was taken and the air pump was functioning perfectly when a cable short circuited and burned through the air line. In the confusion that followed, Herbert became tangled in the ropes that were to lift him and when he was brought to the surface and the helmet was removed he was near suffocation. He soon revived, however, and was able to continue with the sequence. NOTE ADDITIONAL PUBLICITY ON EXPLOITATION PAGES 10-11-12 Page Five