La villa des piqués

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.

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.

I liked this movie, I have seen it at least 5 times so far. Let's be fair to the movie,it is not Gone With The Wind, it is a B movie, but a really cute one. Kay Kaiser is always Great.

This movie has a GREAT gimmick called the Sonovox. It is similar to the electronic voice box of today, but with much better fidelity. Two small very high powered speakers are held against the upper throat, and you just mouth the words, the speakers provide the voice. Peter Frampton used a variation of this for one of his songs.

There is a wonderful demonstration of the Sonovox at the end of the movie.

Also the big band numbers are great. The two main singers "Handsome" Harry Babbitt and "Gorgeous" Ginny Simms have very fine voices and sing very fine songs in the movie. Yes "The Bad Humor Man" is silly but "WHO CARES"?

The three "horror" stars are great too, Bela Lugosi steals the show, Peter Lorre smokes up a storm, and Boris Karloff is oddly restrained. If you like Big Band music and Old Movies, I think you will like this one.

I've loved this movie since childhood! Even if you're not sure who the heck this "Kay Kayser" is, you will love the performances of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre (who steals every scene he's in). The musical numbers are catchy enough to insinuate themselves into your head when you least expect it, and the one-liners come fast and thick. Ish Kabbible just slays me every time I watch it; he does great deadpan with those Eddie Cantor eyes.... And the dog Prince provides yet more comedic antics!

All in all, this is a great movie that the whole family can enjoy. From quick repartee to visual slapstick, it delivers from beginning to end. A refreshing break from the heavy-handed comedy too often found today.

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!

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.