Childhood Favorite

Sh! The Octopus is a childhood favorite of mine; and, amazingly, given its overall silliness, it held up to a repeat viewing thirty years later on TCM. It hasn't got an ounce of subtlety or sophistication, is broadly written and, even more so, played. Nobody seems to be taking himself the least bit seriously in it, and I found its simplicity delightful even in middle age. Warner Brothers often showed some flair with old dark house and, in this case, lighthouse mysteries and horror, and they made their fair share into the 40s, culminating, I suppose, with the 1944 screen adaptation of Arsenic And Old Lace, though that was a special Frank Capra project. Still, it played well for me.