''Sh! The Octopus'' is a 1937 American

comedy mystery film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the olde ...

produced by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, directed by

William McGann William C. McGann (April 15, 1893 – November 15, 1977) was an American film director. He directed more than 50 films between 1930 and 1942. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles, California. He worked for ten year ...

, and starring

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

and

Marcia Ralston Marcia Mascotte Ralston (19 September 1906 – 23 November 1988) was an Australian-born American actress who appeared in Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. In Australia Ralston's father was well known Australian singer and actor John Rals ...

. While contract players Herbert and Jenkins frequently appeared in the same picture, this is the only film to present them as an actual team. In 2022, the film garnered attention on social media for a character transformation scene that was accomplished using

practical effects In filmmaking a practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques. In some contexts, "special effect" is used as a synonym of "practical effect", in contrast to "vi ...

with a combination of makeup and graduated filters.

Plot

Two bumbling detectives are in pursuit of a master criminal, The Octopus. They find themselves inside a haunted lighthouse full of suspicious characters, including the titular character, who appears to be an actual

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

Cast

as Kelly *

as Dempsey *

as Vesta Vernoff *

John Eldredge John Eldredge (born June 6, 1960 in Los Angeles) is an American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity. He is known for his best-selling book '' Wild at Heart''. Life and work Eldredge received his undergraduate degree in theater from ...

as Paul Morgan *

George Rosener George Michael Rosener (May 26, 1884 – March 29, 1945) was an American film actor and writer. He also wrote and acted in the Frank Buck (animal collector), Frank Buck serial ''Jungle Menace''. Career Rosener began his acting career at ag ...

as Captain Hook *

Margaret Irving Margaret Irving (January 18, 1898 – March 5, 1988) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1898, Irving is best remembered today for her roles as Aunt Gus in the 1950s sitcom '' The People's Choic ...

as Polly Crane *

Elspeth Dudgeon Elspeth Dudgeon (4 December 1871 – 11 December 1955) was a Scottish character actress. With a career spanning nearly two decades, she was involved in 67 films, only 14 of which included her name in the credits. Her best known appearance ...

as Nanny *

Lew Harvey Lew Harvey (October 6, 1887 – December 19, 1953) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1918 and 1950. He was born in Wisconsin, educated in Portland, Oregon, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected f ...

as Sinister plotter *

Frank Hagney Frank Sidney Hagney (20 March 1884 – 25 June 1973) was an Australian actor. He is known for his work on '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), '' Ride Him, Cowboy'' (1932) and '' The Sea Beast'' (1926). Early life and career Born in Sydney, ...

as Sinister plotter *Ed Biby as Sinister plotter *Molly Doyle as Nurse *Jack Jorgensen as Sinister plotter

Other media

In 2010, the film was released by

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the int ...

as part of the six-film DVD-R collection ''Warner Bros. Horror/Mystery Double Features''. It also airs occasionally on

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

References

External links

* * 1937 films 1937 comedy horror films 1930s comedy mystery films American black-and-white films American comedy horror films American detective films American films based on plays American haunted house films Warner Bros. films Films set in lighthouses American comedy mystery films Films directed by William C. McGann 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films about cephalopods English-language comedy horror films English-language comedy mystery films {{comedy-horror-film-stub