htcnve 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

Michael_Elliott 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.

MartinHafer Jealous of the success of Abbott and Costello at Universal Studios, RKO decided to create their own version of the team in the form of Carney and Brown. While the duo didn't bear much physical similarity to the other team, the writing for their films often seemed identical to those who wrote for Abbott and Costello.This film is rather reminiscent of the Abbott and Costello film WHO DONE IT? Both are about the duo working on a radio detective show and they actually get tangled up in a REAL crime--which they then solve on the air. However, since WHO DONE IT? came out four years earlier and featured the original comedy team, you are left wondering "why not just watch the original?". The bottom line is that this is a very competently written rip-off of the other film.Along with Carney and Brown, the film stars Anne Jeffreys and Bela Lugosi (who both starred with the team in ZOMBIES ON Broadway) as well as Lionel Atwill. Atwill comes off pretty good as the main villain, but Lugosi fans will no doubt be disappointed that Bela is given a subordinate and rather dull role in the film.

the_mysteriousx 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.