You'll Find Out

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.

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.

It's funny how many 'reviewers' didn't 'get' YOU'LL FIND OUT. Kay Kyser was a huge star (as big as Karloff, Lugosi, and Lorre) in the late 30s thru the 40s, and his top-rated radio show spawned 7 feature films, playing himself every time except one, so to brand him as 'silly' means you're uninformed, bub! Corny, yes, but that was the cornerstone of his appeal. THAT'S WHAT RADIO COMEDY WAS LIKE THEN. Judging Kyser by today's standards is like criticizing a Jack Benny radio show because he was 'stingy'!! THAT'S THE HUMOR, FOLKS!!! I find the most criticism comes from those who watched YFO because Boris, Bela and Peter appeared together in it. Well, guys, the news for you here is, it was without a doubt a KAY KYSER VEHICLE, complete with his name above the title and everything, so don't expect friggin' FRANKENSTEIN MEETS DRACULA. The music was wonderfully appropriate, with all song lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and an academy award nomination for the song, I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, so any detractors should be suitably chagrined.

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.

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! :)