Search - Circumstantial Evidence on DVD

Just goes to show, never get involved with fake murders

H. Bala | Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA | 07/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"When a man is convicted of murder on mere circumstantical evidence, two reporters, Jim Baldwin and Fred Stevens, decide to expose the flaws in the judicial system. To prove their point, they concoct a scheme in which they pretend to be bitter enemies and, later, they fake Fred's own death . But the fit hits the shan when Fred actually does turn up dead - murdered with Jim's own gun, in fact. Jim is arrested, tried and convicted but, with mere hours left before his execution, he escapes from prison. Now, with the help of his erstwhile fiancee and some devoted pals, he must track down the real killer and bring him to justice.



Circumstantial Evidence is a short, brisk whodunit shot way back in 1935, one of those typical, run-of-the-mill B movie types they use to turn out by the bushel. It is also a darn good picture. And because of its short length (running time: 67 minutes), it doesn't have any fat in it, moving quickly from plot point to plot point. Lesser lights Chick Chandler, Arthur Vinton, and Shirley Grey make it work and earn their acting wages. They were fun to watch.



The dvd version I saw is from the Platinum Disc people, under the heading of Mystery Classics, and includes three other short feature films: Chandu on the Magic Island (1935), Trapped (1949), and Up in the Air (1940). The dvd transfer isn't too awful. The picture resolution is a bit grainy. The sound is muffled or dead in a few parts, and in one sequence - about 48 minutes in - there's a distracting background noise that sounds like someone's loudly munching on granola cereal (it lasts about a minute). Having said that, Circumstantial Evidence is still eminently very watchable. Recommended, if you've got an hour to kill.

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Good story, poor transfer

John M. Clement | 07/09/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The plot which is typical of movies of the 30s is fun, and is worth seeing. Unfortunately the transfer by Alpha Video (oldies.com) is very poor and looks like it was transferred from a poor VHS copy. In addition to many scratches it has excessive noise with not very good resolution. The packaging is very nice and the CD plays well, but the transfer is poor. You would be better off buying a good VHS copy from Sinister Cinema."