Alicia I love this movie so much

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

SimonJack 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.

calvinnme The set up of the mystery is pretty conventional. An over-amorous leading man (Paul Cavanagh as Wylie Thornton) feels like he must mate with every woman between 18 and 35 who crosses his path. All the while he's telling each of them that she is the only one for him. In one case though Wylie over-achieves and actually marries one of the women (Natalie Moorhead as Alma). That is a mystery in itself since Wylie is quite the social climber yet when he marries he does so with his secretary, the two are not living together, and he treats her badly but expects her to keep their marriage a secret. Even stranger is she DOES keep their secret and continues on as his secretary! But Natalie Moorhead does shine in the part of the wife. She sleeps with Wylie when the urge hits her then ridicules him in the morning and demands extra spending money. Maybe that's why he seems to hate her so much - she's the only one of his women who seems to see him for the not so wily ham actor that he is.When Wylie is shot at his birthday party after the lights go out, there are a multitude of suspects. Two detectives are brought in on the case - Martin Gallagher (Sam Hardy), a young detective, is in charge. His subordinate, Jim Hanvey (C. Aubrey Smith), is a much older man. The younger detective is always going off half cocked and jumping to conclusions, and the older detective is methodical and does not confront the younger detective about his careless methods. He just investigates in his own quiet way. In the end, when the younger detective thinks he has solved the crime, Hanvey lets him believe he is right and take the credit because it doesn't mean false arrest for anyone (I'll let you watch and see what I mean), plus, as Hanvey tells the actual killer, he would have done the same in their shoes. Thus the ending is definitely precode in that an actual killer goes unpunished.The unexpected history lesson I was talking about is when one of the reporters is hounding the younger detective for information. When the younger detective tells the reporter something he thinks is ridiculous his retort is "says Hitler!". I guess a popular alternative phrase in 1933 would have been "nuts to you". In other words, in 1933 at least, Hitler was seen as just a buffoonish little man.I'd recommend this as one of the better poverty row productions I've seen. It really is a showcase for C. Aubrey Smith, who usually played supporting roles in films at the bigger studios. Just don't expect much in the way of sets because these smaller studios didn't have the money for such niceties.

MartinHafer During the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made something like 1838234252847 murder mystery B-movies and "Curtain at Eight" is one of them. Like most of these films, it all hinges on a cliché--the dopey detective who is totally clueless. Chief Detective Martin Gallagher jumps to conclusions and comes up with theories and tries to make facts fit it (instead of vice-versa). If it weren't for another detective (C. Aubry Smith--in a very unusual role for him).When a two-timing actor is murdered, there are two obvious suspects. But, when one turns up dying, it looks really bad for the other suspect. It MUST be him, or so the dopey policeman thinks. But they realize that a chimp (mistakenly called a monkey throughout the film) might actually be the shooter...maybe. So who did it? And, more importantly, is there enough to separate this from the pack of films in the genre? Well, the answer is not a lot. It's very typical in most every way. The differences were the hero (Smith) and the very end when he learns who the real killer is. It's worth seeing if you like these sort of films but for most, it's quite skippable.

JohnHowardReid 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.