YOU'LL FIND OUT

Kay Kyser bolstered by Petter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff

YOU'LL FIND OUT (1940). Director: David Butler.

Playing himself, band leader Kay Kyser brings his College of Musical Knowledge, along with singers Ginny Simms and Harry Babbitt (also playing themselves) to a spooky mansion where resides Janis Bellacrest (Helen Parrish of First Love), who happens to be engaged to Kay's manager, Chuck Deems (Dennis O'Keefe). Before long the group finds itself cut off from everyone with a cut phone line and a bridge that falls apart due to an explosion. Janis' Aunt Margo (Alma Kruger of Craig's Wife) is friends with a spiritualist named Prince Sallano (Bela Lugosi), who seems to be held in little regard by Professor Fenninger (Peter Lorre) and Judge Mainwaring (Boris Karloff). As Kay, Chuck, and alleged comic Ish Kabibble explore secret passages in the old mansion, attempts are made on Janis' life more than once. RKO obviously hedged its bets by bringing in that triumvirate of terror in the persons of Lugosi, Lorre, and Karloff, who get right into the silly spirit of things with marked professionalism and without losing their dignity. Kyser remains a likable presence, although some of the comedy shtick he does in the film is not only unfunny but painful to watch; ditto for Kabibble, whose jokes wouldn't impress a three-year-old. However, O'Keefe [Abroad with Two Yanks] is just right for this kind of material and he and Kyser make an engaging comedy team at different points in the story. Ginny Simms, who was not only Kyser's singer but was involved with him at the time, zestfully sings two nice numbers, including "I'd Know You Anywhere" and "One Track Mind." Late in the picture Kyser has the band instruments imitating human voices with horrific results. There's an amusing business with the dog Prince, who gets phosphorescent paint on his tail at one point, and later on plays catch with a bomb! Experienced director David Butler helps keep this whole thing running more or less smoothly. A number called "The Bad Humor Man" may have made the "Good Humor" ice cream people nervous.

Verdict: Silly, but with some nice numbers and a few laughs, not to mention those horror stars! **1/2. 

BROADWAY RHYTHM

George Murphy and Ginny Simms

BROADWAY RHYTHM (1944). Director: Roy Del Ruth.

John Demming (George Murphy) is a Broadway producer and dancer who is planning a new show and hoping to get film star Helen Hoyt (Ginny Simms) for the lead. For her part, Helen thinks John's script is too "arty" and she can't afford a flop, but she is importuned by John's father Sam (Charles Winninger), to appear in his production, a show about the illustrious Demming family itself. John's sister, Patsy, (Gloria DeHaven) also gets into the act. Broadway Rhythm is a sort of oddity, a backstage musical with a creaky "let's put-on-a-show" plot that is filmed in startling Technicolor. The songs feature the work of a number of composers, but except for a couple of old standards, they are mostly forgettable. The film's musical highlights include Lena Horne (playing a character instead of herself but getting little dialogue) singing "Somebody Loves Me," and Charles Winninger and Tommy Dorsey teaming for "I Love Corny Music." Murphy [No Questions Asked] is smooth and pleasant, as is Simms [Night and Day] in one of her infrequent film appearances; DeHaven is also notable. Charles Winninger [Destry Rides Again] is as winning as ever, and whether singing or clowning Nancy Walker is delightfully deadpan throughout. Others in the cast include perky singer Kenny Bowers; Eddie "Rochester" Anderson; the excellent dancer Walter B. Long (his only film appearance); Sara Haden (in an unbilled bit as a school headmistress); and Ben Blue as Felix. Dean Murphy certainly makes an "impression" as a farmhand who is also an expert impressionist, imitating everyone from Mortimer Snerd to Jimmy Stewart to Cary Grant to (hilariously) Bette Davis! The Ross Sisters do an awful number called "Potato Salad," but they are certainly skilled contortionists if nothing else. Tommy Dorsey proves as personable as rival band leader Kay Kyser in this.

Verdict: Oddball but entertaining musical. **1/2. 

NIGHT AND DAY

Cary Grant and Alexis Smith

NIGHT AND DAY (1946). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"Love can be a delight, a dilemma, a disease, or a disaster." -- Monty Woolley.

Over his grandfather's objections, Cole Porter (Cary Grant) decides to leave Yale and pursue a career as a songwriter instead of as a lawyer. Things don't go smoothly at first, with WW1 interrupting things, but eventually he becomes a big success. Unfortunately, his marriage to his neglected wife, Linda (Alexis Smith), hits the rocks, and he has a horse riding accident that requires operations. Will the rather self-centered composer and his wife ever be reunited? Actually, if there was any threat to Porter's marriage, it was because he preferred gentlemen, but the film glosses over this except for one moment when Porter's friend, Monty Woolley, (played by Monty Woolley, who had indeed been a friend of Porter's and was also closeted) tells him he probably shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. The rest of the film is a mix of truths and half-truths and outright fabrication, little of which is very compelling.

Therefore we're left with Porter's music, of which there is quite a lot: "Miss Otis Regrets;" "In the Still of the Night;" 'I've Got You Under My Skin;" "I Get a Kick Out of You;" "You're the Top;" and many, many others. Jane Wyman [All That Heaven Allows] makes a positive impression as performer Gracie Harris, and Ginny Simms [Hit the Ice], who has a lovely voice, made a bid for stardom as another performer, Carole Hill. Mary Martin  plays herself to perform her signature tune "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and there are several lively, TechniColor production numbers, including one on the lawn of Porter's massive estate.

As for the acting, Alexis Smith [The Sleeping Tiger] actually fares better than Grant, who is adequate, but seems oddly listless and unconvincing; Porter himself was still alive when the film was made and died in 1964. Eve Arden shows up as a French chanteuse to warble one number. I didn't even recognize Dorothy Malone as Porter's cousin, Nancy. Years later Kevin Kline played Porter in a film that was franker, but not necessarily better.

Verdict: The music is all that matters. **1/2.

HIT THE ICE

HIT THE ICE (1943). Director: Charles Lamont.

Bud and Lou are photographers who inadvertently wind up consorting with bank robbers and being accused of their crime. They and the real crooks hot foot it to Sun Valley, where there are further complications. Oddly, the best thing about the movie are the snappy numbers performed by Ginny Simms -- who sings as good as she looks -- who plays Marcia, and Johnny Long and his Orchestra (including the bizarre "Slap Happy Polka.") Mantan Moreland has a brief funny bit with Lou at a train station. Sheldon Leonard plays the head crook and Joe Sawyer and Marc Lawrence are gang members. Patric Knowles is a doctor and Elyse Knox the nurse who's looking after a supposedly sick Leonard. An interesting bit has Lou winding up in a single bed in-between a husband and wife after he crashes through a wall. What's interesting about it is that even in the following decade Lucy and Ricky had separate beds in their bedroom, not one.

Verdict: Primarily for A & C addicts, but easy to take if nothing special. **1/2.