The Crimson Circle (1936 film)

The Crimson Circle is a 1936 British crime film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Hugh Wakefield, Alfred Drayton, and Niall MacGinnis. It is based on the 1922 novel The Crimson Circle by Edgar Wallace. It was made by the independent producer Richard Wainwright at Shepperton and Welwyn Studios.

Plot
Detectives at Scotland Yard try to track down The Crimson Circle, a secret society of blackmailers.

Cast

 * Hugh Wakefield as Derek Yale
 * Alfred Drayton as Insp. Parr
 * Niall MacGinnis as Jack Beardmore
 * June Duprez as Sylvia Hammond
 * Paul Blake as Sgt. Webster
 * Noah Beery as Felix Marl
 * Basil Gill as James Beardmore
 * Gordon McLeod as Brabazon
 * Renee Gadd as Millie Macroy
 * Ralph Truman as Lawrence Fuller
 * Robert Rendel as Commissioner
 * William Hartnell as Minor role

Earlier versions
There was a British silent version in 1922; and a previous UK/German co-production of The Crimson Circle, produced in the De Forest Phonofilm sound-on-film system, which was trade-shown in London in March 1929, along with an early sound version of Wallace's The Clue of the New Pin.

Critical reception
The New York Times wrote, "after the first five minutes or so of the Globe's current thriller from England, it may occur to you that the title, The Crimson Circle, is a matter of slight understatement. Please remember, then, that this is an Inspector Parr story, and that British producers do not presume to change Edgar Wallace titles, no matter how much more fitting something like The Gory Horde may seem. Anyway, after the first five minutes you will become reconciled to this omnibus of 'omicide, remembering, if you know your Edgar Wallace, that a dozen murders is about Parr for the course."