Behind That Curtain Reviews

A crackerjack melodrama that has a few interesting sidelights to it. This movie introduced Karloff to sound (in a role so small that it didn't have a character name), and, in a small cameo, we see the detective who would last longer than just about any other on the screen, Charlie Chan, in his third screen appearance. In this version, the redoubtable Chan is a lieutenant with Scotland Yard and is played by Park, one of the many Occidentals who did the role. King hires Shaw to pry into the background of Strange, who wants to marry Moran, a rich young woman and King's niece. Shaw is quickly murdered, and King then learns that Strange has married Moran and they've gone off to India. Baxter, an old pal who has long harbored the warmies for Lois, sees that she is not happy with Strange; the man is a cheat, liar, drunk, etc. She'd love to dump the cad and go back home. They leave together on a chartered plane. The picture winds up in San Francisco, where Baxter is giving a lecture when Strange comes in and starts shooting, but is quickly dispatched by Park. This is a fast-moving mystery with more twists than San Francisco's Lombard Street. It may get a bit confusing at times but worth staying with as the conclusion is worthwhile. Gilbert Emery (born Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle) never achieved the success expected of him and was relegated to stereotype roles.