User reviews

In a previous post I expressed my opinion (heavily influenced by the Maltin guide) that this movie sucked. Subsequent viewings have radically changed my mind. This is a NICE little picture!

It's one of those so-corny-it's-hep 1940s comedy-horror farces that came into fashion with "The Ghost Breakers" and reached its full flowering with "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." Here, Kay Kyser and his Kollege provide rather more palatable comedy relief than Bob Hope or Bud and Lou, as well as some first-class musical interludes. Horror fans may regret that Lugosi and Karloff are not given quite as much screen time as Ish Kabibble, but will be pleased to find they are both handled with warmth, delicacy and a certain gravitas befitting such grand gentlemen of the cinema. As for the top-billed "bad humor man" Peter Lorre, in no other film has his exotic decadence been showcased so deliciously.

Classic horror film fans will salivate at the thought of seeing Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre all at their devilish best in any film even if it's not a horror film per se. But the star of this film was noted band-leader and radio personality Kay Kyser who back in 1940 was enormously popular for his music and his Spike Jones lite type of orchestra comedy.

You'll Find Out features Kay and the boys hired to play at a party that their manager Dennis O'Keefe has arranged for his girlfriend Helen Parrish. She's an heiress whose money is held in trust by her aunt Alma Kruger. But Kruger is in the thrall of fake swami Bela Lugosi who's got a séance also planned for the evening. Also in attendance in addition to Parrish's girlfriends are Boris Karloff as the family attorney and Peter Lorre as a psychologist hired to expose Lugosi as a fake.

If you liked as I do Abbott&Costello Meet Frankenstein than you should like this film as well. In fact Bud and Lou also did Hold That Ghost which is even more similar to this film. But it's a double treat if you like the music of the era as I did.

Kay Kyser's orchestra also featured singers Harry Babbitt and Ginny Simms who introduce I'd Know You Anywhere which gained for You'll Find Out an Oscar nomination. Kyser himself was good as both comedian and musician.

Even though it's a comedy and not a Gothic horror film one should never pass up seeing Karloff, Lugosi, and Lorre in the same film.

Bandleader Kay Kyser gets top billing over Karloff, Lugosi & Lorre in this classic RKO horror spoof.

Kay Kyser and his band travel with an heiress to a secluded mansion to celebrate her 21st birthday and get much more than they bargain for when they run into Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre.

It's a neat spoof of every old dark house picture ever made with every gimmick you ever saw- from seances and secret panels to giant stuffed gorillas.

Kyser gets a lot of screen time in the lead and does pretty well at comedy, although at times he does seem a little overmatched by the presence of three of the major horror icons of all time. There's some gimmicky music as well, including a tune called Bad Humor Man (which they really could have done without) and a song employing a device called the Sonovox, which sounds like a precursor to the guitar talk box of the '70s and even sounds a little like the auto tune they use today.

The version I saw recently looked very clean and sharp, like it had been restored with great care. I'd like to thank whoever is restoring these old films. I think it's important to preserve films like these for future generations.

I've loved this movie since childhood! Even if you're not sure who the heck this "Kay Kayser" is, you will love the performances of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre (who steals every scene he's in). The musical numbers are catchy enough to insinuate themselves into your head when you least expect it, and the one-liners come fast and thick. Ish Kabbible just slays me every time I watch it; he does great deadpan with those Eddie Cantor eyes.... And the dog Prince provides yet more comedic antics!

All in all, this is a great movie that the whole family can enjoy. From quick repartee to visual slapstick, it delivers from beginning to end. A refreshing break from the heavy-handed comedy too often found today.

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!

Kay Kaiser meets Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Bela Lugosi. This is probably the only time the three starred together in a movie and it's the interaction of the three horror vets that makes this film worth seeing.

Who was Kay Kaiser? A band leader with a very popular radio show. It was off beat and full of double talk and music. Kaiser's career last for only a short time before he decided to give up Hollywood and move back home to North Carolina.

Here the show is on the screen as Kay and his band end up stranded in a house where the three kings of horror are wandering about. Its standard fair but everyone milks it for all they can and for the most part it's a good, if too long by 20 minute horror comedy musical.

If you run across it on TCM or one of the other oldie stations give it a shot. Its a good 97 minutes. 7 out of 10.

In the 30's and 40's this kind of spooky whodunit was popular. These films would typically feature things like skeletons on strings, séances, secret passageways and fiends in hooded cloaks. To my memory, "You'll Find Out" seemed to be a quintessential film of that genre (even though it's comedy.)

I saw "You'll Find Out" on American Movie Classics many years ago and have wanted to see it again. Does anyone know if this has ever been released on DVD? Looks like it has not. Anyway, if you like this kind of stuff, its is one of the best. You might think its a blast. Or you might think it's goofy garbage.Watch it and "You'll Find Out!"

YOU'LL FIND OUT! (RKO Radio, 1940), produced and directed by David Butler, marks the second in a series of musical-comedies starring that band-leader and radio personality from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Kay Kyser. A sequel to his screen introduction, THAT'S RIGHT, YOU'RE WRONG (1939), with Adolphe Menjou, Lucille Ball and Dennis O'Keefe in the cast, this edition finds Kyser and his band members (Ish Kabibble, Sully Mason, Harry Babbitt and Ginny Simms) in a "haunted house" theme supported by not one but three horror film greats, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre, in straightforward performances. Also in support are Helen Parrish in a Deanna Durbin look-alike appearance; and Dennis O'Keefe as her romantic interest.

Beginning with Kay Kyser, dressed in graduation garb, hosting his Wednesday night radio quiz program, "College of Musical Knowledge" the story gets underway as Chuck Deam (Dennis O'Keefe), Kyser's manager, arranging for Kay and his band to come to the an estate where they are to entertain at the 21st birthday party for Chuck's girl, Janis Belocratz (Helen Parrish). Before their departure, Chuck rescues Janis from getting struck by a speeding automobile while standing outside the radio station. She then reveals to him this to be her second near miss experience during the past two weeks. Seeing that her life may be in danger, Chuck agrees to watch over her. Arriving by bus to the Belocratz estate with his troupe during a thunderstorm, Kyser and company find the place to not only have a spooky outlook but an assortment of oddball characters: namely Janis's aunt, Margo Belocratz (Alma Kruger), a psychic; Judge Spencer Mannaring (Boris Karloff), the family lawyer; Prince Saliano (Bela Lugosi), a turban wearing spiritualist; and Professor Karl Fenninger (Peter Lorre), the guest of honor. Mysterious circumstances occur following the explosion of a bridge being their only means of entering and leaving the estate; Janis's near death encounters ranging from a blowgun needle to a falling chandelier; a mysterious figure lurking through the window; and a mystery man (Leonard Mudie) claiming to be Professor Fenninger. As the Kyser band provide some musical entertainment to ease the tension, Kyser himself, assisted with Chuck and Kabibble's dog, Prince, takes it upon himself playing detective to see what lurks ahead. Does Kay get the results? You'll find out!

A mystery-comedy consisting of various songs by Johnny Mercer and Jimmy McHugh include: "I'm Telling You, Baby" (introduced by Sully Mason, sung by the Kyser band); "You Got Me This Way, Crazy for You" (sung by Harry Babbitt); "The Bad Humor Man" (sung by Babbitt and Kyser band); "I'd Know You Anywhere" (sung by Ginny Simms); "One Track Mind," "I'd Know You Anywhere" (reprise) and "One Track Mind" (sung by Simms).

Although the script may not appear too original, its time-worn related theme dating back to the silent era did serve as fine material for other comics as Bob Hope with THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940); Abbott and Costello in HOLD THAT GHOST (1941), or even The Three Stooges in one of their many comedy shorts for Columbia (1934-1959). Take notice how Ish Kabibble can very well be taken for the younger version of Stooge leader, Moe Howard, with his Buster Brown haircut that stands upward whenever Ish encounters elements of surprise. A little contrived, YOU'LL FIND OUT does allow for some exceptionally good individual scenes during its 97 minutes, namely the two separate séance sequences played for laughs with a touch of suspense, and Kyser going through the motions through secret panels and dark hallways, along with encountering movable objects and a sound effects machine known as the Sonovox.

Because Karloff and Lugosi share limited scenes together, and virtually take the back seat to the musical-comedy antics of Kay Kyser and his band, YOU'LL FIND OUT is generally dismissed or overlooked as part of their frequent pairings made famous over at Universal Studios. In spite of their great presence, it is Lorre who comes across as the creepier of the three with those sinister eyes and soft-speaking manner bearing no difference from his performance from suspense thrillers as his most recent STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (RKO, 1940) to add irony to the story such as it is. Karloff retains his dignified manner as does Lugosi with his mysterious intentions, leaving much of the comedy to others involved, namely its star, Kay Kyser, with a kind face and glasses reminiscent to silent film comedian Harold Lloyd.

Often funny, sometimes silly, but typical Kyser flare, especially when looking directly into the camera to address the motion picture audience that the movie was "all in fun," which was intended to be. YOU'LL FIND OUT, which often played on American Movie Classics prior to 2001, can be seen occasionally on Turner Classic Movies, appropriately around Halloween time. Watch for Kay Kyser's next escapade with his band in PLAYMATES(1941) with guest star John Barrymore. Any good? You'll find out! (***)

I expected to loathe this film...but, surprisingly, it wasn't all that bad. The musical performances aren't my cup of tea, and the comedy is so strained as to be embarrassing, but at its core this spooky old house story is fairly entertaining. Marking the only occasion on which Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre shared the screen (and the only time that Lugosi and Lorre appeared together at all), "You'll Find Out" benefits from RKO's high production values and director David Butler's willingness to let the three big-name horror stars play their parts straight despite the buffoonery taking place all around them. Lugosi is a turban-bedecked spiritualist who has attached himself to the eccentric aunt of a young heiress (pretty, personable Helen Parrish); Karloff is a distinguished judge who at least appears to be a friend of the family; Lorre is a phony professor who lurks in corners and is constantly lighting cigarettes. When screwy Kay Kyser and his band arrive at the aunt's creepy-looking Gothic mansion to perform for the heiress's 21st birthday party, shenanigans ensue.

Though it's no masterpiece, "You'll Find Out" is rendered watchable (and occasionally even fun) by the presence of Karloff, Lugosi and Lorre. At 97 minutes the film is a tad too long, but it had to be to make room for all those cringeworthy musical numbers.

This was a movie that I never heard of until I was working my way through a list of 1940s horror films and it appeared there. I thought I could stream this, but found that version was in Spanish. I then realized I could get this on DVD from Netflix. It is an interesting little film for sure that stars Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The synopsis is the manager of Kay Kyser's band books them for a birthday party bash for an heiress at a spooky mansion, where sinister forces try to kill her.

We start this movie at the live studio for the radio program of Kay Kyser and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge. There is a man and woman competing and it is an interesting way to introduce Kay. I'll admit that coming into this, I had no idea who he was, but I came to realize that he's the conductor of this band. He was quite talented as he could sing, dance and did a bit of comedy as well. This really seems to be a film that is showcasing him along with his band.

Kay's manager though is Chuck Deems (Dennis O'Keefe) and he's there entertaining Janis Bellacrest (Helen Parrish). The two of them met when she was in finishing school and now that she is graduated, his feelings for her have too. Since the following day is her 21st birthday, Chuck booked Kay and his band to play at her large estate. Before leaving, Chuck introduces Kay to Janis and they leave. Someone tries to kill her though and this shocks Chuck. She relays that this isn't the first time and that is why she's carrying a gun. He tries to calm her nerves that it is just a coincidence.

The following day Chuck, Kay and the whole gang that includes Ginny Simms, Harry Babbitt, Ish Kabibble (M.A. Bogue) and Sully Mason, mostly playing themselves, arrive at the large mansion. Janis' father was a collector of unusual artifacts, some of which are dangerous.

Janis lives with her Aunt Margo (Alma Kruger), who is in charge of the estate at this time due to her brother passing away some time ago. She has sunk a bit into believing in the supernatural and is an odd-bird. Also there at the mansion to celebrate is a family friend of Judge Spencer Mainwaring (Karloff) who was a friend of Janis' father. Also there is a spiritual guide who Aunt Margo is fond of in Prince Saliano (Lugosi).

Some of Janis' friends show up, but an odd thing happens. A storm rolls in and the bridge blows up. Judge Mainwaring believes it was lightning striking it and that he saw it happen. Something else of note is that Janis isn't fond of Prince Saliano. She believes he's taking advantage of her aunt, so professor Karl Fenninger (Lorre) shows up to prove he's a fraud. He at first spooks the young ladies when he's seen through the window.

Everyone settles in, some music is played and to culminate in the night, Prince Saliano does a séance. Things seem pretty real, but not everything is as it seems. There are a couple more attempts on the life of Janis and not everyone can be believed. Can Kay and the crew get to the bottom of what is going on here before it is too late?

That's where I want to leave my recap as I don't want to spoil what the reveal of the movie is, but I will say, I was letdown by it. My issue with it is that the movie doesn't hold the mystery long enough. We get a scene where a blow dart is used to try to kill Janis and I was trying to guess who did it. Not even 10 minutes later it gets revealed. I shouldn't harp too much as this is early cinema so they really just wanted to make an entertaining movie. I will give it that, it is fun, but I wanted more from the story.

Going from there, it really seems like RKO wanted to showcase the popular Kay Kyser and his band by putting them in the movie. I can say that he's talented all around. He can sing, dance and do some comedy, so I'm impressed there. The same can be said for Ginny Simms, Harry Babbitt, M.A. Bogue and Sully Mason. The problem is that I didn't really want to see them showcased for their acts and musical numbers. I'm sure there were fans of this back in the day, but it just isn't for me.

That's not to say the acting for the movie isn't good. We have some legendary actors in this movie. Lorre is just so creepy and just looks to be up to something no matter what he's doing. Karloff on the other hand comes off as stoic and just always in charge. He really just takes the scene most of the time. Lugosi comes off similar to Lorre for me as well. Parrish, O'Keefe, Kruger and the rest really do round this out for what was needed as well.

Taking this next to the effects, I thought what little ones they used were fine. We get a cool scene where there is something white floating in the dark in the room of Kay and Chuck. The reveal was funny and it worked for me. The setting of this mansion along with the props in it really helps as well. There were a couple of things from King Kong. I'm a sucker for secret passages and what the truth of things we see happening in the movie. The cinematography was fine in those regards.

That's all I really wanted to go over for this movie. I can't blame RKO for this cash grab, especially when you get the built in audience from Kay Kyser and his band along with the heavy weight actors of Lorre, Karloff and Lugosi. I would say the acting is good. The story is lacking a bit. The music numbers aren't really my cup of tea, but they're pretty fun. The movie never really got boring so there is that. I would just say that this movie is lacking to make it really good, but was still enjoyable to check out. My rating for this would be just over average in my opinion, getting close to being really above average. Being the story a bit and I think we got some a bit more interesting.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10

You'll Find Out is another 'old, dark house' comedy murder mystery, with the corny gags and general zaniness coming from popular radio bandleader Kay Kyser and his musicians. Kay and his band travel to the creepy mansion of batty old Margo Bellacrest, to play at the 21st birthday party of her niece Janis Bellacrest (Helen Parrish).

Attorney Judge Spencer (Boris Karloff), bogus spiritualist Prince Saliano (Bela Lugosi) and occult debunker Karl Fenninger (Peter Lorre) plan to kill Janis before she reaches twenty-one and inherits the Bellcrest estate, so that they can continue to con money out of Aunt Margo. Kay and Janis's fiance Chuck (Dennis O'Keefe) try to keep Janis safe and foil the villains' plans.

Kyser's wacky brand of humour and big-band sound is energetic, but very much of its time; I think a modern audience will struggle with both. Of course, for many, the big draw of this film won't be the music or the comedy (of which there is a lot), but rather the teaming up of horror icons Karloff, Lugosi and Lorre. They acquit themselves well enough (Lorre is particularly creepy), sending themselves up a treat, but there's only so much they can do when the script is so predictable.

Expect the usual thunderstorms, revolving wall panels, hidden passageways, and unsuccessful murder attempts that typify the genre, with the lunacy interrupted often by musical numbers.

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for the use of the Sonovox talk box, decades before Peter Frampton got his mitts on one.

Yeah, it's pretty corny and most people won't like it -- but it's my kind of film! OK! Kay Kyser and his band invited to perform in a spooky old mansion may not be a show stopper; but throw in Bela Logosi, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre -- play it for laughs, and you've got a surprisingly good film. Karloff, and especially Lorre, are a maniacal hoot! Had they been more screen time this would be a super Halloween film must. I'll give it a *7 1/2*. If others don't like it, well to bad! :)

Chuck Deems is the manager of the Kay Kyser's big band. His girlfriend Janis Bellacrest claims that someone is trying to kill her. The band is set to play for her 21st birthday at her family's mansion. It's a weird place with one bridge as the only exit until that bridge gets blown up.

I've never heard of Kay Kyser before this. He's a comedic bandleader during the 30's and 40's. His brand of comedy can best be described as dad humor. The bandmembers deliberately overselling it does come with its own charms but I wouldn't say that it's my cup of tea. This movie does have a lot of horror veterans and as a horror comedy, it has a certain amount of fun. At the end of the day, this is a light weight flick which closes with Kyser telling us that it's all pretend. It is so light weight that it threatens to float into nothingness.

IMDb lists this film as a Comedy / Horror / Musical / Mystery. While it does have elements of all four genres, none are portrayed very well. The comedy is weak. The horror is almost non-existent. While there are musical numbers, none is very memorable. And the mystery could be solved by a first grader. Sounds pretty bad, huh?

With all this having been said, I still enjoy this movie. Why? Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre make their only joint appearance in a film (that I'm aware of). Each provides a level of excitement and enjoyment to what would otherwise be a very forgettable movie. In the film, they are plotting together to scheme a rich heiress out of her fortune. It's up to Kay Kyser and his band to save the day. The plot involves psychics, poison darts, ghosts, trap doors, and hidden passageways. If you're a fan of Lugosi, Karloff, and Lorre, You'll Find Out can be fun.

Despite the emphasis on music, via Kay Kyser & the College of Knowledge, this is a true Old Dark House film. There's a very large, spooky old mansion, a thunderstorm, secret passageways, comedy, mystery, attempts at murder, a butler (who, oddly enough, is never a suspect), creepy characters, etc. In the "creepy characters" category, they don't get any creepier than Boris, Bela, & Peter (in his first film in the horror genre). Boris plays, well, Boris, & he doesn't have quite enough to do here. But his presence alone adds weight to the film. Bela is quite creepy as a "Prince" who conducts seances. Peter (who looks very spooky here & is even thinner than in earlier movies) is very good as always; just watching him roll those big round eyes is worth the price of admission. For my taste, there's too much emphasis on Kay Kyser (who is the "star" of this film), who's good but becomes distracting after a while. Kyser fans will enjoy his role, as he gets to display all of his many talents here. Ginny Simms (a vocalist in the Kyser band) is lovely in a supporting role. This film is a real treat to Boris, Bela & Peter fans. I didn't know of its existence until very recently, & I was quite pleased to see these guys at this stage in their careers in a movie I had never seen before. I rate it 7/10.

This is the only movie featuring popular bandleader Kay Kyser that I have ever seen, and having seen it I am not tempted to see another. Mister Kyser was a bandleader-comedian, a sort precursor of Spike Jones, but not so clever. I don't find his humor or that of his various sidekicks, like Ish Kabibble, the least bit funny. Kyser's ponderous line-readings are so inept as to make Lon Chaney, Jnr. sound like John Gielgud by comparison. He is literally embarrassing to listen to; and his band's music makes me cringe. Yet Kyser, for all his deficiencies, had his vogue, and was quite a radio star in the thirties and forties. For a while he was a movie star as well, though he never made it into the really big-time on screen.

You'll Find Out is an old dark house comedy-thriller along the lines of The Cat and the Canary, which had been filmed the previous year with Bob Hope, and was a big hit. This doubtless inspired some studio executives to make this vehicle for Kyser & Co. The old house itself is exceedingly well-designed, and I hope was preserved for posterity. Three of moviedom's most popular ghouls,--Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre--are given prominent billing, and in the trailers were featured as more important players in the film than they actually are. They are all wasted, as they are overwhelmed by the true horror of the film, it's star and his monumentally unfunny sidekicks.

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 ****

The film which officially tarred poor Peter Lorre with the same "horror boy" brush as Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, this film doubles the insult by treating the aforementioned actors--the only reason why any sane person would sit through this embarrassingly witless kermess--as mere garnishes for the film's main course, the sub-Spike Jonesian novelty swing band leader Kay Kyser. There is, however, one genuinely creepy seance scene that's worth pausing in your fast-forwarding for.

The open to You'll Find Out is the worst part. It begins with Kay Kyser and band doing their radio show. The lame jokes, over-the-top actions of the band, irritating song, and Kyser giving new meaning to the word obnoxious make it hard to sit through. After watching this opening eight or so minutes I imagined I was in for a great deal of pain for the next hour and a half.

However, after the unbearable start, it becomes a fun little "old dark house" movie. Don't get me wrong, Kyser and company still try to be funny throughout...and they're not...but it isn't quite as in-your-face as that opening scene. Ish Kabibble is especially lame. Often he reminds me of the snickering dog Muttley on the old Wacky Races cartoon. As a matter of fact, cartoonish is the perfect word to describe the humor in this film .

The movie's selling point is not the corny humor, however. It's the horror trio of Karloff, Lugosi, and Lorre in their only outing together. They don't get a lot to do but the movie of course belongs to them anytime they're on screen. Also highly enjoyable was the usage of the cool and creepy Sonovox. Those scenes are some of the movie's highlights.

It seems strange to recommend a comedy that isn't funny. But there's enough going on with the mystery and the stranded guests to keep you entertained. It's a fun movie with a good cast. Just prepare to grit your teeth to get through the opening mess.

I knew my summary would get you. How is this movie like a Pet Rock and Disco?! Well, unless you lived through the 1970s or 80s, you probably can't understand WHY anyone would like a New Coke or own a Pet Rock (and frankly, at least in the case of Pet Rocks, I STILL don't understand it completely). They're just a couple things that seemed to make sense at the time but really baffle the younger generation. The same can be said for Kay Kyser and his band. At the time (the 1940s mostly), they were very popular and had enough clout that the studio starred them with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi AND Peter Lorre in this film. Yet, if you didn't live at that time (it was well before my time), you wonder why anyone liked this sort of "entertainment". After all, Kyser and his band mates are incredibly obnoxious and their humor is very, very broad (i.e., unsophisticated and cheesy). Frankly, I couldn't stand their antics nor did I appreciate that there were just too many musical numbers in the film. Because of these factors, the great supporting cast was given a back seat and fans of these actors will probably be disappointed.

The film involves Kyser and the band coming to a mansion where a young lady and her wacky aunt live. Once there, the bridge is washed out and strange happenings begin. Eventually, it culminates in some attempts on Sally's life and a séance (of sorts). It's all played for laughs--and it's really not a horror movie despite the cast.

Overall, it's passable entertainment at best. As a Lugosi and Karloff fan, I sure felt cheated having to watch Kyser and his knuckleheads.

This movie is genuinely routine as those WWII comedies featuring popular band leaders & their comedic and/or horror foes.. But this one stands above most of the others in it's genre, mainly due to Horror Legends Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre...and Comedy relief from the one & only Ish Kabibble, Kay Kyser's one true maniac...(Check out Ish's haircut, seems like he influenced Jerry Lewis' Nutty Professor hairdo & Jim Carrey's Dumb & Dumber.) The plot is irritating at times, although the safest thing to do is to forget about the plot & enjoy these legends of horror change licks with Ish, Kay & the rest of the house full of guests. I recommend this movie to anyone not wanting to get lost in a story line from hell but to just sit back, with the family and enjoy a moment in time that only our parents or grandparents could remember, I truly enjoyed the innocence of a time lost watching this Comedy/Horror diamond in the rough. Ish Kabibble to all and to all an Ish Kabibble.

Knowing this film was a mix of horror and musical comedy elements, I wasn't expecting much from it: also, being kind of lengthy at 97 minutes, I was really dreading the fact that Kay Kyser and his Band would occupy most of the running-time and, thus, nullifying the main reason I was watching the film in the first place, i.e. the once-in-a-lifetime casting combo of Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Bela Lugosi - naturally, as villains.

However, I was quite surprised by it: true, Kyser's schtick is a matter of taste (and that of Ish Kabibble, the member of his outfit who's a dead ringer for Jerry Lewis, eye-rollingly bad!) - but, actually, the three horror stars do pretty well by their roles: Lugosi once again plays a phony mystic in Oriental attire, Karloff is an ostensibly benevolent judge and Lorre (who really shines here) the harmless-looking crime boss who poses as a renowned professor out to expose Lugosi!

Despite being an RKO production, the film actually plays a lot like an Abbott & Costello Universal vehicle - with Kyser and his gang providing both the comedy and the songs, and future noir stalwart Dennis O'Keefe acting as the straight man - and, thus, anticipates to a degree Karloff and Lugosi's subsequent outings with that popular duo, as well as Karloff and Lorre's THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU (1942; done in a similarly spoofy vein).