Two dopey police detectives learn that the new police commissioner is targeting a criminal organization called The Octopus, which they confuse as being the real animal. A frightened woman has them travel to an island lighthouse during a storm for some cockamamie reason. A painter is staying at the lighthouse expecting it to be a quiet place to work. An assortment of other strange characters file in.
This film is complete nonsense. We are teased with some semblance of a story early on, but that goes out the window pretty quickly. Characters come and go without explanation, action happens without purpose, and the final reveal does little to satisfy. While it is not uncommon in some light comedies for the story to be nothing more than a framework to hang comedic bits off. Here, there is only a set piece and a basic premise for that purpose. And the comic bits aren’t funny.
The movie is memorable for one thing. A character transforms from normal looking into a witch-like appearance. This is achieved using special makeup and red and blue light filters. It was used in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and is quite effective. It would only work in black and white and I am surprised it wasn’t used more often.
Detective Kelly was played by Hugh Herbert and has a distinctive voice and mannerisms. I haven’t seen him in a film before but I am certain I’ve seen him characterchured in a Warner Brothers cartoon. He was teamed with Allen Jenkins for the first and only time.
SH! The Octopus really is a mess. Story elements are introduced, then never mentioned again. It appears characters are included simply because actors under contract needed work. They were asked to quickly create a character and run with it. Thing is, though, the movie seems to be based on a play. I'm sure a lot of foolishness was thrown during filming.
It's unclear how this movie got onto my radar, perhaps it was the visual effect, but it was quite skippable. That said, it was short and despite it all, held my interest. AMRU 2.5.
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