1h 37min || 22 November 1940
Director: David Butler
Stars: Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Dennis O'Keefe, Ginny Simms
Genres: Comedy | Horror | Musical | Mystery | Romance
Watched online; sharp print.
This is more Comedy | Horror than Music (and it shouldn't be Musical). Here's a list of 34 Comedy | Horror films through 1940 (this one is next to last), dating back to 1917. The 1st 9 are silent, the 10th has talking sequences. #16 has Bela Lugosi in the stars visible on the results (so among the top 4 billed), #18 has Boris Karloff; this is the 1st to have Peter Lorre, and all 3 are visible. Searching for collaborations, this is the only film title where all 3 work together.
This is the first musical I've seen where Dennis O'Keefe is not a chorus boy, and since we get no dancing, not even social dancing, he doesn't strut any stuff.
Kay Kyser is definitely the star of the film, doing the heavy lifting to solve the mystery. He's not particularly heroic, but he persists when others want to withdraw. (Of course, there's no where to go; the bridge was blow up after their arrival, but before the invited dates for the girls could arrive.)
This genre is not up my alley, although since it's comedic instead of scary, it's tolerable. Previously rated this a 4; no idea why, unless the print was awful. Then again, I think I've become more tolerant of mediocrity in this quest.
RKO, dir. Butler; 5+
