Some things I liked some I did not.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The following two very entertaining comedy movies GENIUS AT WORK(1946 - Wally Brown, Allan Carney, Anne Jeffreys, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill - directed by Leslie Goodwins) Two radio detectives find themselves targets of a murdering fiend when their on-the-air recreations of the murders prove to be too accurate. The bonus film, GIRL RUSH, Wally Brown, Allan Carney, and Robert Mitchum, (1944 - directed by Gordon Douglas) is included free on the same DVD. Jerry and Mike (the comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney), two vaudevillians stranded in San Francisco during the 1849 Sutter's Mill gold rush, strike it rich in a completely unexpected way. They decide to bring a musical revue top- lined by female entertainers to the womanless frontier town of Red Creek, an idea which is quickly endorsed by the local miners who view these shapely recruits as potential mail order brides. Success brings complications, of course, and Jerry and Mike's plans to buy a wagon train and return east to New York are constantly frustrated at every turn by crooked gamblers and assorted varmints though a friendly cowpoke (Robert Mitchum) often bails them out of trouble. In the end, it takes a huge street brawl to set everything right and bring the townspeople together in a united front. These two movies are available online on one single DVD. Visit: http://htcnve.wix.com/sale

A lot of people are comparing the little-known today comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney with the much more famous Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and I can see the resemblance, though one crucial difference is that their relationship is never physically abusive; their put-downs to each other are frequent but strictly verbal. Brown and Carney may not be comedic geniuses, but they are quite funny in their own right. And they are surrounded by a strong supporting cast: Anne Jeffreys is a smarter-than-average female sidekick, while Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi make a great villainous team (I wish the identity of "The Cobra" hadn't been revealed so early, though). These two wisely play it straight - even when Atwill disguises himself as an old lady in a wheelchair! ** out of 4.

Genius at Work (1946) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Wally Brown and Alan Carney play radio show detectives who get caught up in the real murder case of a killer known as The Cobra (Lionel Atwill). The comedy duo Brown and Carney were RKO's rip of Abbott and Costello but I actually enjoyed their earlier film Zombies on Broadway. This one here isn't as good but there's some nice laughs and the supporting of Atwill really helps things. Bela Lugosi has a small, thankless role as Atwill's sidekick. The biggest highlight is seeing Lugosi playing an old man to his wife, Atwill in drag. Atwill' final film.

I wasn't really sure if watching another Wally Brown/Alan Carney vehicle so soon after ZOMBIES ON Broadway (1945) was a good idea, but this comedy-thriller actually works better than expected: there are a handful of genuinely funny one-liners and the chief villain (Lionel Atwill) utilizes a couple of clever ruses to escape detention when cornered - though his posing as an old lady in a wheelchair with a bearded Bela Lugosi (here relegated to the supporting role of Atwill's all-purpose henchman) in tow is a genuine camp moment; just as unflattering is the sight of Lugosi donning a bowler hat, not to mention his being on the receiving end in a couple of pratfall situations (I would also contend the absurdity of giving such a heavily-accented actor American names for his characters, in this case Stone, though this didn't happen often!).The narrative incorporates several well-worn elements from contemporary horror films and thrillers: a mysterious and seemingly invincible criminal mastermind, radio detective heroes, a renowned criminologist brought in to assist the investigation, a wax museum, torture/execution devices - and, for the climax, even reserves a few perilous stunts on the ledge of a building a' la the films of Harold Lloyd! As was the case with ZOMBIES ON Broadway, the film utilizes cast and crew members who also worked on the contemporaneous Val Lewton cycle of classic horror films - cinematographer Robert De Grasse had served in the same capacity on THE BODY SNATCHER (1945; also featuring Lugosi), while Marc Cramer had co-starred in ISLE OF THE DEAD (1945). In the end, I'd say that the film marginally edges ZOMBIES - even the Brown/Carney team seems to be more at ease with the material and, consequently, comes off as more sympathetic here.