Genius at Work

A remake of 1937's "Super-Sleuth," "Genius at Work" splits the Jack Oakie role in half for RKO's comedy team Wally Brown and Alan Carney, in their eighth and final film together. Back from title six, "Zombies on Broadway," are pretty Anne Jeffreys and Bela Lugosi, here reduced to playing Stone, the assistant/partner in crime of noted criminologist Latimer Marsh (Lionel Atwill), quickly revealed to be master criminal The Cobra. Brown and Carney again play their signature characters, Jerry Miles and Mike Strager, radio detectives keeping audiences tuned in by reenacting The Cobra's crimes (RKO newcomer Robert Clarke can be glimpsed as a fellow radio announcer). Pity any investigator who can't figure things out while browsing through Marsh's latest book, "Murder and Torture Can Be Fun!" Nowhere near as obnoxious as other lesser duos, Brown and Carney were both experienced comedy veterans, bland yet watchable. Atwill and Lugosi are virtually the entire show, hugely enjoying themselves as they avoid detection one way or another. The climax finds both in disguise, with Atwill's wheelchair-bound old lady a real hoot (his customary twinkle belying his real life demons). What is sad is watching the dying Atwill, stricken with bronchial cancer, smoking incessantly throughout the film, giving his all with a brave effort, with only "House of Dracula" and the 13 chapter serial "Lost City of the Jungle" still ahead of him (completed Aug 1945, this picture sat on the shelf for more than a year). This was the last of seven titles that teamed Atwill and Lugosi: "Mark of the Vampire," "Son of Frankenstein," "The Gorilla," "The Ghost of Frankenstein," "Night Monster," and "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man."

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.

GENIUS AT WORK (RKO Radio, 1946) directed by Leslie Goodwins, marked the final screen teaming of Wally Brown and Alan Carney. Having worked together in a series of minor comedies since 1943, usually assuming the same character names of Mike Strager and Jerry Miles, Brown and Carney became the studio's replacement to its 1930s team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, but more to the level of RKO's answer to Universal's ever popular twosome of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Virtually forgotten both by name and film titles, GENIUS AT WORK is solid 62 minute mystery/comedy set in a radio station. Though this edition contains many similarities to Abbott and Costello's similar theme of WHO DONE IT (1942), it is actually an updated remake to RKO's very own edition of SUPER SLEUTH (1937) featuring Jack Oakie. As much as the routines for GENIUS AT WORK are a grand mix from good to forced comedy, it benefits greatly by the fine support of horror movie greats of Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi in the cast.

The story begins with business tycoon, John J. Saunders (Forbes Murray) being abducted by a shadowy figure. Next comes the introduction of Mike Strager (Wally Brown) and Jerry Miles (Alan Carney) as a couple of half-wits working for a radio station where they play master mind detectives in the popular "Crime of the Week" series. Their latest caper involves a killer known as The Cobra, whose series of murders have been baffling the police. Lammer Marsh (Lionel Atwill), a criminologist to the series, supplies information to Ellen Brent (Anne Jeffreys), the script girl. The radio program results to climax of its victims before it actually happens. With Saunders found murdered, police inspectors, Lieutenant Rick Campbell (Marc Cramer) and his assistant, Warren Gilly (Ralph Dunn) arrive to investigate as to where Ellen has been getting her information. Upon visiting the Marsh estate that includes his butler, Stone (Bela Lugosi), Jerry, Mike and Ellen encounter Marsh's hobby room consisting of wax-like figures and torture devises. With Marsh suspecting Ellen may be closing in on his identity being The Cobra, he intends on making her the prime suspect as well as putting her two assistants out of the way permanently.

Though GENIUS AT WORK is categorized by some to be the weakest of the Brown and Carney comedies, somehow I recall this being overplayed on New York CIty's own WOR, Channel 9, through much of the 1970s, especially in 1974 with four to five broadcasts alone. Anne Jeffreys and Marc Cramer make favorable secondary couple between comedy highlights including Bela Lugosi scaring Miles through sinister voicing through the intercom; Lionel Atwill disguised as a wheelchair bound old woman; and chase through the radio station leading to window ledge and rooftop reminiscent to Abbott and Costello's funnier WHO DONE IT. With Wally Brown's description of his partner (Carney) being so dumb, "He couldn't find a loaf of bread in a bakery," there are many moments where he proves his theory correct with another quip, "If he had another brain, he'd have one," Interestingly, Brown and Carney, assuming the same character names of Strager and Miles in the horror spoof, ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY (1945), had Bela Lugosi and Anne Jeffries in support, each bearing different character names.

For those who prefer non-stop comedy, GENIUS AT WORK is it. For anyone feeling GENIUS AT WORK should have been the tower of comic strength, maybe a genius at work might remedied that. Overall, this is as good as it gets. Formerly shown on American Movie Classics prior to 2001, GENIUS AT WORK, available on DVD, can be seen on Turner Classic Movies cable channel more for seeing Atwill and Lugosi in comedy than as a rediscovery to the forgotten comedy team of Brown and Carney. (**1/2)

Mike and Jerry star in a radio drama, but then they run into real criminals. Wally Brown, Alan Carney, and Anne Jeffreys produce a detective show at Spartan Broadcasting, and of course they are caught up in the real crime drama. somehow they have insulted both the crooks and the police, so they'd better watch out! You can't help but recognize Bela Lugosi by sight and by voice. it's all kind of silly and amateur-ish. plot-holes. Lionel Atwill is the Cobra... Atwill had started in the silent films, but this would be his last completed film, as he died after this. The studios had started filming another project, but Atwill died of pneumonia during production. some interesting notes in his personal life, as described on wikipedia dot org... hollywood shunned him after parts of his personal life came to light. and he was married to Douglas MacArthur's ex-wife for a time! all that is probably more interesting than the plot of this film. it's ok. a quick little caper. Directed by Les Goodwins, who was probably most famous for directing Lupe Velez in the Mexican Spitfire films.

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.