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When The Walking Dead appeared on the Saturday morning bill on TCM it caught my eye. As a Karloff fan since my teens, I don't know why this minor masterpiece has escaped me. With Michael Curtiz directing, how could it be bad? The man who gave us Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca, and countless other classics can handle the horror genre with equal skill. Yes, the plot is a bit of a stretch, but a talented cast pulls it off within a fast paced 1:08 runtime. With eyes alone Karloff demonstrates the skill that made his name synonymous with horror. While not in the class of Frankenstein, the atmospheric direction and excellent photography gave me chills of a different sort. If you've not seen this one, watch for it. You won't be disappointed.

A Night to Remember should be retitled A Night So Bad it's Hard to forget. Loretta Young must have been hard up for cash to involve herself in this pathetic attempt at the mystery/comedy genre. I've watched some very lame poverty row comedies that put A Night to Remember in the "they couldn't be serious" category.

I spotted on the Classic Reel streaming channel, checked the cast and decided it would be great fun. Columbia assembled a group of dependable B stars including Don McBride, Sidney Toler, William "Billy" Benedict, Lee Patrick, the usually creepy Gale Sondergard and James Burke. Any B fan would rejoice in seeing these characters together. But not here.

Brian Ahern's attempts at comedy are inane. And, the musical score would be great as underscore on an episode of Ozzie & Harriet or Life of Riley.

In short, I wasted 90 minutes.

Originally I watched Garden of the Moon to see Margaret Lindsay. Born Margaret Kies in my hometown of Dubuque, Iowa, she was one of Warner Brothers most active co-stars in the 30s. As a young student at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC she and her friend Charles (Bob) Cummings noticed that many big roles were going to British actors. Together they traveled to England, worked stock companies and created British accents. They cruised back to the states as brother and sister and started landing roles in Hollywood. Her big break was Noel Cowards "Cavalcade." Numerous co-starring roles with the impressive roster of Warner male leads followed.

Teamed in this enjoyable "B" musical with John Payne, they make a delightful couple. At the time, her credentials were much larger than his. But Payne soon progressed to bigger roles and on to a FOX contract. His singing voice is impressive. The hotel orchestra in the film included the legendary Jerry Colona and jazz violinist Joe Venuti plus trumpeter Johnny "Scat" Davis. You'll remember him from "Hooray for Hollywood."

Pat O'Brien as the obnoxious hotel manager is great. Busby Berkeley's choreography adds a lot to the fun. The Harry Warren, Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer is not award winning but enjoyable.

If this shows up again on TCM take the time to watch it. You won't be disappointed.