Remember back in the LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS entry, when I said horror comedies are rarely scary or funny? Here's a prime example. SH! THE OCTOPUS is an almost completely forgotten 1937 film, and if you happen to watch it, you'll know why it's been forgotten. Two detectives (played by perennial Warner Bros. second bananas Hugh Herbert and Allen Jenkins) get stuck in a lighthouse with some other poor schmucks and wind up being threatened by both an octopus (played by some fake-looking tentacles) and The Octopus (some sort of master criminal).
It's a dull, convoluted would-by mystery with lots of strained attempts at comedy from our two leads. (There's a reason Hubert was usually limited to supporting roles.) Even though it's only about an hour long, I barely felt like sticking with it to the bitter end.
But, boy, am I glad I did. In the last minutes of the film, we learn the true identity of The Octopus. Turns out -- spoiler alert! -- it's the seemingly nice old lady. But it's how that secret is revealed that makes SH! THE OCTOPUS worthwhile. The woman (played Elspeth Dudgeon) laughs maniacally at the others, then yanks her wig off, and ... well, I'll let these screen grabs speak for themselves:
That sequence takes place over a few seconds with absolutely no cuts. According to the article in GUILTY PLEASURES OF THE HORROR FILM by John Soister, the effect was done via color filters on the camera lens that, when removed, let the make-up show through. (A similar trick was used a few years earlier in the Fredric March version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.) At any rate, it's an amazing moment, startling and completely convincing -- mostly because it happens so quickly.
SH! THE OCTOPUS is never funny, but for a few seconds near the end, against all odds, it manages to be scary.
Watch it: SH! THE OCTOPUS might be the toughest movie on this list to see. As far as I can tell, it's never been released on home video. I caught it on Turner Classic Movies. It's not scheduled to air again anytime soon, but the TCM site does have the trailer.
Trivia note: Elspeth Dudgeon also had a role in the horror classic THE OLD DARK HOUSE, a much better take on the old "stick a bunch of quirky characters in a spooky setting and see what happens" genre.
Coming tomorrow: Vincent Price's scariest role
2 comments:
Vincent Price's scariest role, eh? Definitely got me curious for that. Dr. Phibes? The dude from House of Wax? The rapping narrator of "Thriller?"
I just saw this film on TV. That scene was pretty shocking. Thanks for telling how it was done.
I also thought that parts of the movie were oddly funny. Especially the scene with the baby twins.
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