Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

JohnHowardReid It's good to see this movie is now available on an excellent Warner Brothers DVD entitled "Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics". (The other titles in this four DVD set are The Walking Dead, Frankenstein 1970, and Zombies on Broadway). Mind you, it's not as entertaining on a third viewing as it is on a first or second – but what movie is? The surprises here are not only in Director David Butler's whodunit itself (when it finally gets going after a very long introductory sequence delightfully showcasing Kay Kyser and his band and his fabulous vocalists, Ginny Sims and Harry Babbitt) and the twists in the plot but in some of the characterizations. The talented Mervyn Bogue, for instance, who was actually the manager of the Kay Kyser Band in real life, is just a drag when he runs through his routines on a third viewing. Also, one is more horrified than amused in runthrough number three by Kay Kyser presenting himself as a first- class jerk and fraidy cat. On the other hand, nothing can dim Karloff, Lugosi, and especially Lorre who really comes to the fore when his two competitors are starting to lose their first and second times' charisma. And whatever happened to the lovely Helen Parrish? Ah, she went into TV as early as 1946 and died, alas, from cancer at the age of 35 in 1958.

samgrass-3 Here's a film with a good premise – an heiress has been threatened and plans to spend the weekend hosting her 21st birthday at the family's gloomy old mansion. Among the suspicious cast of characters are Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre. That' s the good news. Now, here's the bad news. The star is Kay Kyser. Yes, Kay is asked by his business manager (Dennis O'Keefe) to supply the entertainment at said birthday party. Janis Bellacrest (Helen Parrish) is the business manager's fiancé. Karloff, Lorre and Lugosi are pretty much wasted as the villains, although, Thank Goodness, none of them serves as a "red herring." Good only for fans of the villainous trio and any hardcore Kay Kyser fans (if there are any). Kyser does five numbers in the movie, thus validating the need for a fast-forward button.

JoeKarlosi I just watched this only for the first time, and I liked it. Much better than I thought it would be, and I have avoided this film for my whole life. I even had it recorded off AMC since around 1989 and I've never bothered with it. What a mistake. This was my first exposure to Kay Kyser, the famous '40s band leader/comedian, and he was okay. He agrees to bring his orchestra (including the annoying Ish Kabbible -- but the less said about him, the better) to a young girl's 21st birthday bash at a spooky mansion. Unfortunately, three criminal masterminds (Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Bela Lugosi) are on hand to try and kill her. Karloff, Lorre, and Lugosi were all quite good in their parts, I thought. They worked together well as the three bad guys and I was surprised that there were actual horror trappings in this film: a lot of thunder, lightning, and mystery. It's more of a comedy/mystery with a few musical numbers strewn about. The main trouble is that it's a little too long at nearly 100 minutes, but it had the right mixture for a good time. **1/2 out of ****

tedg This may seem like slight entertainment, and of course it is. But I am recommending it as must viewing until I find an earlier example with this structure.The setup is simple enough: it is explicitly a self-aware movie. In fact Kyser comes on at the end and assures the audience that Lorre, Karloff and Lugosi aren't really murders. Within that are several performances of the band, performances I assume are similar to what they did in non-movie-land. Two performances. Added to that in a clever way is a third. For this you need some background.From about 1880 to 1910, many North Americans were spiritualists. Yes, about as many as today call themselves evangelists, the movement that displaced spiritualism. The rapidity of the change is breathtaking in a sociological context and interesting in itself. By the thirties, the "next" generation was making serious fun of spiritualism, usually in terms of uncovering a fake séance.I've found several earlier fake séance movies, but they are all in the context of detective movies. That's another story all together. Superficially, they look like the fakery in this movie: a secret room, microphones, special effects, gullible participants holding hands. But this is the first I think that references it as a performance. A lot flows from that tipping point on both sides: movies and the religious show.Three layered performances, here.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.