William Sistrom Movies
The "Crooked Circle" gang consists of a dozen or so hooded villains, all of whom have sworn revenge on the Sphinx Club, a dedicated anti-criminal organization. It's difficult to differentiate the heroes and the villains without a score card: sinister swami Yoganda (C. Henry Gordon), for example, turns out to be an operative for the secret service. The story comes to a head in a supposedly haunted house, where hero Brand Osborne (Ben Lyon) and heroine Thelma (Irene Purcell) try to make sense of things before ending up victims of the Crooked Circle. Rather top-heavy with comedy relief, the film features ZaSu Pitts and James Gleason during their usual ZaSu Pitts and James Gleason imitations. The Crooked Circle was written by Ralph H. Spence, who borrows heavily from his own stage comedy-melodrama The Gorilla. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, ZaSu Pitts, (more)
- 1932
While Paris Sleeps is a grim expose of the European white slave trade. To save his daughter Manon (Helen Mack) from falling into the hands of a vicious gang of pimps, convict Jacques Costard (Victor McLaglen) escapes from jail. Jacques' problems are twofold: he must keep Manon from being abducted into a life of prostitution, and he must also hide his true identity from the girl, who has been raised to believe that Jacques died a hero in WWI. The film's gruesome "money scene" finds the white slavers disposing of a stool pigeon by incinerating him in a huge bakery oven! Can this be the handiwork of the same Allan Dwan who later directed Shirley Temple's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Helen Mack, (more)
- 1931
An illusionist is performing his astounding tricks when an audience member is killed by another. This mystery chronicles the attempts of the magician to find out whodunit and why. He gives his theories to a police detective who thinks the illusionist is plumb nuts. Still the investigator goes along with the magician's plot and allows him to stage a seance. During the spooky doings, the killer is revealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Howard Phillips, (more)
- 1931
Actress Shelah Fane (Dorothy Revier) is in Honolulu to shoot a movie, but her chaotic personal life is keeping her from concentrating on work. She's supposed to marry millionaire playboy Alan Jaynes (William Post Jr.), but she's also got an ex lurking around and a possible skeleton in her closet in the form of her one-time lover, actor Danny Mayo, who was murdered in Hollywood three years earlier in a case that's still officially unsolved. Fane seems to have resolved some of her problems and is prepared to move forward with her life -- with help from phony mystic Tarnevarro (Bela Lugosi) -- when she turns up murdered. Inspector Chan (Warner Oland) is up to his neck in possible suspects, including Tarnevarro, who was getting inside information on Fane and working some kind of scam; Fane's assistant, Julie O'Neil (Sally Eilers), who felt compelled to tamper with evidence; her would-be fiance, Jimmy Bradshaw (Robert Young), who tried to keep Julie from finding the body; Fane's oily ex (Victor Varconi); Smith (Murray Kinnell), a painter and beachcomber who was lurking around the murder scene; and two servants, Jessup (Dwight Frye) and Anna (Violet Dunn), one of whom seems very nervous. Several of these people had motive and opportunity, and the plot thickens considerably when some seemingly innocuous witnesses admit to hiding evidence, others start turning up dead, and yet others seem to be destroying evidence. Chan, juggling this list of suspects (and the thinly veiled racism of some of them) and the presence of his well-meaning but inept assistant Kashimo (Otto Yamaoka), as well as his family life, maintains his cool, cerebral demeanor throughout, despite attempts on his own life and the slang-laden yammering of his children, which the detective scarcely understands. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Sally Eilers, (more)
A somewhat primitive early talkie version of Rex Beach's lusty 1909 novel of Alaska salmon fishers, RKO's The Silver Horde was one of Joel McCrea's earliest breaks. Although third-billed to the more established Evelyn Brent and character star Louis Wolheim, McCrea played the leading role of Boyd Emerson, an adventurer finding himself stranded in the Alaskan wilderness along with sidekick Fraser (Raymond Hatton). Saloon hostess turned copper mine proprietress Cherry Malotte (Brent) falls in love with the newcomer and persuades business associate Tom Hilliard (William Davidson) to bankroll a salmon fishing operation for Emerson and the brutish-looking but lovable Balt (Wolheim). Emerson, however, is in love with Seattle debutante Mildred Wayland (Jean Arthur), whose snobbish father (Purnell Pratt) schemes with salmon industry magnate Frederick Marsh (Gavin Gordon) to sabotage the new endeavor. The rival fishing fleets meet in hand-to-hand battle for superiority with the Emerson-Balt crew emerging the winners. In retaliation, Marsh attempts to slander Cherry Malotte, but is killed by an out-of-control Balt. A major star of the late silent era, Evelyn Brent is struggling to convey her trademark toughness before the microphone, but McCrea makes a stalwart hero and Louis Wolheim is watchable doing almost anything. Jean Arthur is merely window dressing this early in her career, but Blanche Sweet, an icon of the early silent era, is completely wasted in a bit part as the villain's former girlfriend. It became her final screen appearance. The Silver Horde had been filmed once before, by Goldwyn in 1916 starring Myrtle Steadman as Cherry and Curtis Cooksey as Emerson. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Sweet, Evelyn Brent, (more)
- 1930
The Fall Guy isn't Lee Majors in this 1930 RKO Radio programmer but instead a hapless druggist played by Jack Mulhall. Upon losing his job, Johnny Quinlan (Mulhall) falls in with underworld chieftain Nifty Herman (played by Thomas Jackson, usually cast as dedicated detectives). Hoping to use Johnny as a dupe to cover up his own shady activities, Herman plants a generous supply of illegal drugs on the poor fellow. Government agent Charles Newton (Pat O'Malley) is prepared to put the cuffs on the lad but instead goes along with Johnny's scheme to trick Herman into a confession. The picture is stolen by Mae Clarke (a full year before her "grapefruit massage" in Public Enemy) as Johnny's wife and Ned Sparks as a saxophone-playing boarder. Based on a stage play by Tim Whelan and George Abbott, The Fall Guy was directed by Leslie Pearce, who later helmed the memorable W.C. Fields two-reeler The Barber Shop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Mulhall, Mae Clarke, (more)
- 1930
Based on a play by Lolita Ann Westman and H.H. Van Loan, The Runaway Bride casts Mary Astor in the title role. Newly wed to Blaine (Lloyd Hughes), Mary (Astor) is all set to enjoy her honeymoon in Atlantic City. But the consummation of her marriage will have to wait, thanks to a jewel robbery, a pickpocket chambermaid (Natalie Moorehead), and an enforced stay at a shady hospital run by gangsters. Throughout it all, our heroine wears a resigned expression on her face -- and who could blame her? Runaway Bride was directed by actor Donald Crisp, who should have stuck to the business-end of the camera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes, (more)
- 1927
Glamorous Broadway actress Babe (Leatrice Joy) is cast as a Salvation Army lass in her latest musical. For research purposes, she pays a visit to a Lower East Side S. A. Mission, dons a uniform, and goes to work on a street corner, complete with tambourine and contribution pot. This upsets her sweetheart Jerry Wilson (Victor Varconi), who feels that Babe is poking fun at the Army and its good works. But the lovers are reunited when Babe's experiences make her a better and more reverential person. Angel of Broadway was the last silent-film effort of pioneering female director Lois Weber, who unfortunately was unable to finance another film project until 1934. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leatrice Joy, Victor Varconi, (more)
