The Circus Queen Murder
Suave, lip-reading DA Thatcher Colt plans to get away from the big city for a while. So he and his secretary, Miss Kelly hop on a train for an Upstate NY town called Gilead. They expect a calm oasis, but when a small time circus rolls into town they soon find themselves caught up in a sordid tale of marital infidelity, murder, cruelty to animals, and cannibalism.
From the archive
“Nicely done with flavorsome atmosphere” "Highly entertaining, well made mystery” “What a hoot!” (IMDB reviews quotes). This second of two Colombia Thatcher Colt mysteries comes with a hefty dose of ‘30s racism. There is big trouble in a circus that has as one of its main attractions a large group of black cannibals. (yikes!) Adolph Menjou heads a strong cast that includes Donald Cook and Dwight Frye. The mystery is well plotted and well mounted with excellent production values. So if you can stomach blatant racism give it a look. IMDB rating 6.2. Directed by Roy William Neill. Released in 1933 Complete print. AKA “The Murder of the Circus Queen” TRIVIA: A third Thatcher Colt mystery (“The Panther’s Claw”) was produced by PRC in 1942. It’s available here at the Archive.
Why this is free to watch
The Circus Queen Murder (1933) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. No signup, no payment and no advertising interrupts playback. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Roy William Neill
- Starring
- Adolphe Menjou, Donald Cook, Greta Nissen, Ruthelma Stevens, Dwight Frye, Harry Holman, George Rosener
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