Genius at Work

RKO's deceptively titled comedy-mystery endeavor Genius at Work offers no brilliance but plenty of lackluster shenanigans. Shoddy production values, feeble script, uninspired direction, and the mediocre comedic skills of stars Wally Brown and Alan Carney conspire to do the film in. What it does boast is the talents of Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi who are the main reasons for enduring this tepid film.

A master criminal known only as The Cobra is kidnapping and murdering folks. The Crime of the Week radio program written by Ellen Brent (Anne Jeffreys) re-enacts the crimes and give predictions for what will happen next. She is assisted by renown criminologist Latimer Marsh (Lionel Atwill) who, unbeknownst to her, is The Cobra. Unfortunately for her she is remarkably incisive in deducing The Cobra's activities which arouses Marsh's defenses and provokes him into attempting to scare her off his trail. The escalating cat-and-mouse game between them drives the rest of the plot.

The main culprit condemning this film is the weak script credited to Robert E. Kent and Monte Brice. Rife with stale gags and moronic vignettes the story sputters along eliciting more groans than chuckles. The fact one can summarize the plot without mentioning the two "stars" Wally Brown and Alan Carney (aka Jerry Miles and Mike Strager) betrays the fact they are completely superfluous to the narrative. They are put into some predictable situations - bumbling around Marsh's room of medieval torture devices while nearly getting killed by everything they touch, creating an infernal racket while purporting to be clandestinely snooping, etc. - and the ensuing antics are not only idiotic but tiresome. In short no one could be as dopey as they are portrayed to be particularly when the script requires them to be remarkably clever when the plot demands it. The one significant asset Genius at Work enjoys is the fact the villains - Marsh and his manservant Stone (Bela Lugosi) - are afforded plenty of screen time to offset the flaccid shenanigans of Miles and Strager. Curiously The Cobra is provided no motivation for his crimes other than for the sheer pleasure of outwitted the police; fortunately Atwill is such a superb villain that this lack of character development can be easily dismissed.

Director Leslie Goodwins contributes minimal inspiration or imagination to the tale. Obviously made on a shoestring budget the film looks it with a handful of cheap sets, small cast, and the overall feel of a project dashed off with a "let's get this over with" air. Even the highlight of the film (a climactic shootout and rooftop confrontation complete with revolvers that never run out of bullets, obvious studio backdrops, and blatant use of stuntmen) seems aped from the far superior Abbott and Costello yarn "Who Done It?" Given that Brown and Carney were RKO's answer to Universal's exponentially more famous and talented duo this seems fitting. There is one bit that is genuinely funny but so subtle it might have been a goof: Wally Brown stands just inside an elevator with a cigar protruding from his face while the doors slam shut leaving the tip jutting out.

Sadly the director fails to generate much comedic heat from his stars who zip around with plenty of energy but minimal conviction. This is the final endeavor for Wally Brown and Alan Carney as the ersatz Abbott & Costello which, given the nature of this offering, was definitely a good thing. While the script doesn't do them any favors they clearly don't have the comic chops to transcend subpar material and come across as more foolish than funny. Conversely Anne Jeffreys is most appealing as the clever Ellen Brent and even though her guesses and suspicions seem to come out of left field more than through believable sleuthing she makes for a most satisfactory heroine. Marc Cramer, probably best remembered for the infinitely superior Boris Karloff thriller Isle of the Dead, is pretty bland as the ineffectual cop who takes insults from Brown & Carney while still managing to win the hand of Miss Jeffreys. Sadly underused is Bela Lugosi who received star billing above the title in his previous Brown-Carney picture but here he is buried in the supporting cast in one of his infuriating butler roles that could have been played by anyone. One wonders the logic in giving him this demeaning role and not promoting his presence.

Fortunately the film has Lionel Atwill in his last significant role before bronchial cancer claimed his life. Atwill plays a character he could do in his sleep by this point: a master criminal with a bombastic ego who feels he is above the law and everyone else. Most of his finest horror genre characters are in this vein and he provides one final reminder as to why he was one of the best at doing it. A couple added bonuses are witnessing him in drag for the slapstick climax and seeing him without his trademark mustache for the first time since the early 30s. The character chain smokes throughout the film which is a poignant demonstration of the instrument that would soon curtail the performer's life. Hard to believe his health was so severely compromised at the time of filming; you wouldn't know it from both his appearance and deft performance.

Genius at Work is likely the weakest entry in the Wally Brown - Alan Carney comedy series and sends the pair off with a forgettable whimper. The main attraction is Lionel Atwill who transcends the material to give a stellar performance and when partnered with the legendary Bela Lugosi it becomes mandatory viewing for fans of these actors. For everyone else this is a film that won't be worthy of one's time.

GENIUS AT WORK (RKO Radio, 1946) directed by Leslie Goodwins, marked the final screen teaming of Wally Brown and Alan Carney. Having worked together in a series of minor comedies since 1943, usually assuming the same character names of Mike Strager and Jerry Miles, Brown and Carney became the studio's replacement to its 1930s team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, but more to the level of RKO's answer to Universal's ever popular twosome of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Virtually forgotten both by name and film titles, GENIUS AT WORK is solid 62 minute mystery/comedy set in a radio station. Though this edition contains many similarities to Abbott and Costello's similar theme of WHO DONE IT (1942), it is actually an updated remake to RKO's very own edition of SUPER SLEUTH (1937) featuring Jack Oakie. As much as the routines for GENIUS AT WORK are a grand mix from good to forced comedy, it benefits greatly by the fine support of horror movie greats of Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi in the cast.

The story begins with business tycoon, John J. Saunders (Forbes Murray) being abducted by a shadowy figure. Next comes the introduction of Mike Strager (Wally Brown) and Jerry Miles (Alan Carney) as a couple of half-wits working for a radio station where they play master mind detectives in the popular "Crime of the Week" series. Their latest caper involves a killer known as The Cobra, whose series of murders have been baffling the police. Lammer Marsh (Lionel Atwill), a criminologist to the series, supplies information to Ellen Brent (Anne Jeffreys), the script girl. The radio program results to climax of its victims before it actually happens. With Saunders found murdered, police inspectors, Lieutenant Rick Campbell (Marc Cramer) and his assistant, Warren Gilly (Ralph Dunn) arrive to investigate as to where Ellen has been getting her information. Upon visiting the Marsh estate that includes his butler, Stone (Bela Lugosi), Jerry, Mike and Ellen encounter Marsh's hobby room consisting of wax-like figures and torture devises. With Marsh suspecting Ellen may be closing in on his identity being The Cobra, he intends on making her the prime suspect as well as putting her two assistants out of the way permanently.

Though GENIUS AT WORK is categorized by some to be the weakest of the Brown and Carney comedies, somehow I recall this being overplayed on New York CIty's own WOR, Channel 9, through much of the 1970s, especially in 1974 with four to five broadcasts alone. Anne Jeffreys and Marc Cramer make favorable secondary couple between comedy highlights including Bela Lugosi scaring Miles through sinister voicing through the intercom; Lionel Atwill disguised as a wheelchair bound old woman; and chase through the radio station leading to window ledge and rooftop reminiscent to Abbott and Costello's funnier WHO DONE IT. With Wally Brown's description of his partner (Carney) being so dumb, "He couldn't find a loaf of bread in a bakery," there are many moments where he proves his theory correct with another quip, "If he had another brain, he'd have one," Interestingly, Brown and Carney, assuming the same character names of Strager and Miles in the horror spoof, ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY (1945), had Bela Lugosi and Anne Jeffries in support, each bearing different character names.

For those who prefer non-stop comedy, GENIUS AT WORK is it. For anyone feeling GENIUS AT WORK should have been the tower of comic strength, maybe a genius at work might remedied that. Overall, this is as good as it gets. Formerly shown on American Movie Classics prior to 2001, GENIUS AT WORK, available on DVD, can be seen on Turner Classic Movies cable channel more for seeing Atwill and Lugosi in comedy than as a rediscovery to the forgotten comedy team of Brown and Carney. (**1/2)

First some background - this was Lionel Atwill's final film. He shot half a serial "Lost City of the Jungle" after this and then passed away. This was Lugosi's final studio film other than "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein". This was also, I believe, their 7th teaming together. Usually red herrings, or one good and one evil, this is the only real film they did together when they were both the bad guys from beginning to end (also Ghost of Frankenstein).

That all being said, this is really a comedy from a weak team of comics Brown and Carney. The comedy is not terrible and is on par with the lesser Abbott and Costellos from the period. The best part is watching Atwill play the master criminal, "The Cobra", with Lugosi as his dedicated sidekick, Stone.

It was really great to see the both of them ham it up. They have some great moments toying with the comics, Atwill in particular jawing one of them on to shoot through his robe to embellish the accolades for catching him. Lugosi gets to be just as menacing throwing knives and chloroforming the nosy female lead, and well, being Lugosi.

It's a fun little flick that's definitely worth the 61 minutes for any fans of either Atwill and Lugosi. Being a fan of both, it was great to see them work together for the bad of mankind, which is what they always did best.

Mike and Jerry star in a radio drama, but then they run into real criminals. Wally Brown, Alan Carney, and Anne Jeffreys produce a detective show at Spartan Broadcasting, and of course they are caught up in the real crime drama. somehow they have insulted both the crooks and the police, so they'd better watch out! You can't help but recognize Bela Lugosi by sight and by voice. it's all kind of silly and amateur-ish. plot-holes. Lionel Atwill is the Cobra... Atwill had started in the silent films, but this would be his last completed film, as he died after this. The studios had started filming another project, but Atwill died of pneumonia during production. some interesting notes in his personal life, as described on wikipedia dot org... hollywood shunned him after parts of his personal life came to light. and he was married to Douglas MacArthur's ex-wife for a time! all that is probably more interesting than the plot of this film. it's ok. a quick little caper. Directed by Les Goodwins, who was probably most famous for directing Lupe Velez in the Mexican Spitfire films.

A remake of 1937's "Super-Sleuth," "Genius at Work" splits the Jack Oakie role in half for RKO's comedy team Wally Brown and Alan Carney, in their eighth and final film together. Back from title six, "Zombies on Broadway," are pretty Anne Jeffreys and Bela Lugosi, here reduced to playing Stone, the assistant/partner in crime of noted criminologist Latimer Marsh (Lionel Atwill), quickly revealed to be master criminal The Cobra. Brown and Carney again play their signature characters, Jerry Miles and Mike Strager, radio detectives keeping audiences tuned in by reenacting The Cobra's crimes (RKO newcomer Robert Clarke can be glimpsed as a fellow radio announcer). Pity any investigator who can't figure things out while browsing through Marsh's latest book, "Murder and Torture Can Be Fun!" Nowhere near as obnoxious as other lesser duos, Brown and Carney were both experienced comedy veterans, bland yet watchable. Atwill and Lugosi are virtually the entire show, hugely enjoying themselves as they avoid detection one way or another. The climax finds both in disguise, with Atwill's wheelchair-bound old lady a real hoot (his customary twinkle belying his real life demons). What is sad is watching the dying Atwill, stricken with bronchial cancer, smoking incessantly throughout the film, giving his all with a brave effort, with only "House of Dracula" and the 13 chapter serial "Lost City of the Jungle" still ahead of him (completed Aug 1945, this picture sat on the shelf for more than a year). This was the last of seven titles that teamed Atwill and Lugosi: "Mark of the Vampire," "Son of Frankenstein," "The Gorilla," "The Ghost of Frankenstein," "Night Monster," and "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man."