kevin olzak 1933's "The Circus Queen Murder" was Columbia's second adaptation of an Anthony Abbot Thatcher Colt novel, in this case 1932's "About the Murder of the Circus Queen," a followup to the previous year's "The Night Club Lady." Back as the lip reading Colt is Adolphe Menjou, happily teamed again with gorgeous Ruthelma Stevens as faithful secretary Miss Kelly, as savvy and sassy as ever. This time around, there's precious little mystery, with Colt taken out of his native New York City milieu, watching over suspicious activities in a traveling circus far from home. It does evoke Tod Browning's "Freaks," with such pre-code details as cannibalism adding to the doom laden atmosphere, not really a mystery as defined in the title, the circus queen only meeting her fate in the final reel. Fortunately, we have Dwight Frye's Flandrin commanding attention, and in a larger role than usual he's definitely in rare form, better in dangerous mode than his bland hero from 1935's "The Crime of Doctor Crespi." Both Thatcher Colt features have remained stubbornly elusive over the years, while one of Columbia's four picture Steve Trent series has suffered the indignity of actually disappearing without any trace. There would be one revival for Colt, in 1942's "The Panther's Claw," casting dependable Sidney Blackmer as Colt, his fate on screen ending just like his inspiration Philo Vance, at Poverty Row's PRC.

mark.waltz New York police commissioner Adolph Menjou heads out of town for a rest, and gets involved in the goings on behind a traveling circus. Spooky Dwight Frye (of "Dracula" fame) is the demented husband of carnival circus queen Greta Nissen, and is so insanely jealous of her and her obvious lover (Donald Cook) that he sets up a devious plan to knock all of them off (including himself!). Menjou and his pretty assistant Ruthelma Stevens must prevent Frye from going through with his evil plot, which includes cannibals, a chirping gorilla and Nissen's beloved dog. This is not really a mystery, since it is obvious from the start who the villain is, but simply a decent thriller of how Menjou deduces how to stop the killer from striking again. It is excellently photographed and moves along quickly enough to make it better than it could have been. Columbia pictures at this time was only noted for Frank Capra's "A" budget films, but occasionally, a nice surprise like this one comes along. Fortunately, some of them are cropping up at film festivals or revival houses (like New York's Film Forum or L.A.'s Nuart), and now on TCM. Menjou and Frye get the acting honors here, and Nissen's character is slightly reminiscent of Olga Baclanova's character in the earlier "Freaks". In fact, there are a few interesting similarities between this film and "Freaks", although there are none of the supposedly "grotestque" characters here that "Freaks" stunned 1932 film-goers with. Frye, of course, does menacing very well, and even as a cop, Menjou is still the elegant man about town. Keep an eye on the gorilla that Menjou observes screeching at him. It appears to be a plot development that somehow was deleted before the final print that made me think that one of the characters was somehow stuffed into a gorilla suit and was screaming "help me!" to get Menjou's attention.

samhill5215 Now here's a fun thriller with something for everyone. Adolphe Menjou plays the alpha male, a DA on vacation who is engulfed in the intrigue of a circus and gets to order everyone around and appear invulnerable. With a name like Colt what else could one expect. His assistant played by Ruthelma Stevens is sharp as a tack and every bit as resourceful. A real take charge lady unafraid to take chances. Then there's Harry Holman and his fat man act, wiping his brow and nervous as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs, as the circus' publicity agent. Dwight Frye is perfect as the spurned lover with another great performance two years after his Renfield in Dracula. And last but not least we have the pretty people, handsome Donald Cook and the delectable Greta Nissen, the acrobats and pivot of the film. Stock characters one might say but in this film they add up to a fun thriller. And let's not forget a hint of horror with the suggestion a disappeared body may have been eaten by lions or cannibals. How gruesome! It's snappy, it moves right along, and it'll keep you watching even though you might have guessed the outcome. My only criticism has to do with the utter disregard for the fate of the circus queen who is about to be murdered and the total lack of sensitivity toward the victim. That part was handled very poorly and in fact the movie would have been much better had the murder been prevented as it appeared it could have been. It would have led to some very dramatic action and a much better resolution.

Neil Doyle ADOLPHE MENJOU and RUTHELMA STEVENS do a nice job as D.A. and secretary, a sort of Perry Mason and Della Street type of relationship, both of whom are practicing the art of lip reading, which we know is bound to become a plot device in helping to put the murderer away.Menjou is desperately in need of a vacation, so like so many other criminal sleuths before him, he goes to a small town and is soon involved with a circus troupe and a slew of suspects who are trying to kill either the circus queen or her paramour. For an exotic touch, there are traveling cannibals among the circus entertainers.There are a lot of high wire acrobatics and tension as the jealous husband (DWIGHT FRYE) climbs aboard the tent's outside perimeter to peer down at the high wire acts with a crazy gleam in his eyes. GRETA NISSEN is the circus queen (with a thick accent) that Menjou has to keep a sharp eye on.It's a diverting little circus drama, well photographed by Joseph August and directed at a fast clip by Roy William Neill.