ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

JohnHowardReid Mischa Auer (Swami Yomurda), Phyllis Barrington (Clare Walton), Ralph Lewis (John Walton), Earl McCarty (Jimmy Reeves), Fletcher Norton (Dan Lukes), Mae Busch (Mame), Kit Guard (janitor in the editor's office), J. Frank Glendon (Meehan), Al Bridge (Hunter), Mona Lisa (the "princess"), Anita Faye (Angel-face).Directors: MELVILLE SHYER, DOROTHY REID. Original story and screenplay: Willis Kent. Photography: James Diamond. Film editor: S. Roy Luby. Settings by Republic Studios. Assistant director: Harry Crist. Sound by International Recording Engineers. Producer: Willis Kent. A True Life Photoplay by Willis Kent Productions.Copyright 30 March 1933 by Willis Kent. New York opening at the Globe: 6 April 1933. U.S. release through Progressive Pictures: 5 April 1933. Never theatrically released in Australia. 8 reels. 70 minutes. U.K. release title: VICTIMS OF THE BEYOND.NOTES: The crusading widow of silent star, Wallace Reid, turns her attention from drug abuse to another social menace: A reporter goes undercover to expose a fake psychic racket.COMMENT: A really extraordinary "B"-movie, deserving of the highest commendation in all departments, particularly in its fine acting, suspenseful script, inventive direction, moody photography, make-up and film editing. As the vicious charlatan, Auer gives a most forcefully striking performance. Mae Busch is also an absolute stand-out, but the player who grabbed my eye was personable Earl McCarty in a difficult role which he plays with such panache — admittedly assisted by superb photography which turns his "stage" make-up into a stunning grotesque — we wonder why his films were so few.

dougdoepke A crew of phony spiritualist scammers hooks a big bucks sucker, but things get complicated when an undercover reporter joins the crew.It's hard to do a spiritualist scam movie without getting hokey, especially with the lesser technology of the 30's. Nope, no digital wonders here, just costumed characters, back- projection screens, and fateful voices. Do the suckers fall for the phony theatre. Of course, they do, and for big money, too. I guess the pigeon here is smart enough to be a big-time investor, but dumb enough to be taken in by dime-store theatrics. Anyway, if you can get past the stumbling narrative and the awkward staging, there are a few compensations. Actress Busch conveys a sassy sense of reality that may not fit with the rest, but lends needed spark to the flat direction (two directors, which probably didn't help). Looks like she should be trading barbs with other street-smart types like Joan Blondell. Auer's got the face of a supernatural type, but rather surprisingly, doesn't play it up, thus weakening a pervasive sense of evil. And, I may be alone, but actor McCarthy could pass for an earlier edition of Paul Newman, at least in some shots. Too bad he died so young. And those two hulking black door guards amount to a note of visual inspiration, even if their dialog amounts to Amos and Andy.Overall, the movie's not bad enough for camp. In fact, it might even suffice for old movie junkies, like myself.

kidboots Again Phyllis Barrington had the female lead in this follow up to "Sinister Hands" but once again she was completely overshadowed, this time by veteran Mae Busch playing an alcoholic singer employed by the sinister Swami in his fake fortune telling racket. Mischa Auer impressed as the mysterious Swami Yomurda in "Sinister Hands" the year before so he was back again in "Sucker Money". In this movie his sinisterness is exposed as downright evil - all owing to the co-director Dorothy Reid. She had been married to Wallace Reid and his death, from narcotics, led her on a one woman crusade to expose the menace of drugs through films. After ten years of films like "Human Wreckage" and "The Red Kimona" she turned to another social evil that was reaching plague proportions in Hollywood - the phoney spiritualism racket!!Jimmy Reeves, reporter (Earl McCarty, a younger dead ringer for Jack Mulhall, star of "Sinister Hands", what happened, wasn't he available??), is ordered by his boss to apply for a job in which actors are wanted - he hopes Jimmy will be able to write an expose on crooked psychics. While there he meets Claire (Phyllis Barrington) whose father is being persuaded to invest in a phoney oil field by another of the Swami's actors. Veteran Mae Busch steals the movie with her portrayal of "Beautiful", an alcoholic ex singer who jumps at the chance of helping Jimmy expose these crooks. Of course Claire recognises Jimmy and feels he is part of the con but when he explains things he is overheard and sets in motion the thrilling climax where Claire is kidnapped and hypnotized and "Beautiful" saves the day by escaping to send an SOS to Jimmy's paper.The theme of fake spiritualism has been shown to better advantage in any film you could name - "Darkened Rooms" (1929), "The Hole in the Wall" (1929), even the later "Bunco Squad" (1950) but Mae Busch makes this one seem better than it is by her professionalism.

Hitchcoc With a bunch of gullible types like this film presents, we could all make a fortune off them. They even fall for things like a back projection of film, thinking it has some magical quality. The bad guys are good at bilking unsuspecting bank presidents and rich widows by making contact with loved ones. This sounds interesting until you see it. It has that old cliché of getting rid of all your problems except the one that is the biggest danger. Why not shoot the reporter who is on to your whole scheme when you are bumping off everyone else? I'm sure mysticism would have appealed to the viewers of the time, but this is just as dull as can be. The only people I cared about were the black guards who were obviously only in it for the cash. They at least had personalities, though they had all the racial stereotypes of the era.