O Palácio dos Espíritas

Mystery, horror, music, slapstick, suspense - you name it - is all here. And with the all-time greatest horror actors - Lugosi, Karloff and Lorre. All we needed was Chaney with the Larry Talbot character and it would've put the icing on the cake. Who cares about the musical numbers and the singing? It all tied in to the storyline. Kay Kyser is at his best, I think, as the bumbling bandleader who gets all tangled up in this mess of a mystery. With the comic help of Ish Kabibble (who does look like a cross between Jim Carrey and Moe Howard, more the latter) this film manages to deliver chills, suspense and many, many laughs. Peter Lorre alone could've carried the suspense factor but with the other masters added it proved to be a classic.

It's wonderful how the storyline was meshed into that of a musical. That was brilliant writing. The story centers around the typical 40s mystery/horror genre - old mansion, creepy happenings, things flying around in the dark, people stuck because the bridge washed out, and music to shake in your boots by. I can certainly recommend that you check this out if you're a fan of slapstick because the horror line will definitely keep you watching. Great stuff!

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! :)

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.

This may seem like slight entertainment, and of course it is. But I am recommending it as must viewing until I find an earlier example with this structure.

The setup is simple enough: it is explicitly a self-aware movie. In fact Kyser comes on at the end and assures the audience that Lorre, Karloff and Lugosi aren't really murders. Within that are several performances of the band, performances I assume are similar to what they did in non-movie-land. Two performances.

Added to that in a clever way is a third. For this you need some background.

From about 1880 to 1910, many North Americans were spiritualists. Yes, about as many as today call themselves evangelists, the movement that displaced spiritualism. The rapidity of the change is breathtaking in a sociological context and interesting in itself. By the thirties, the "next" generation was making serious fun of spiritualism, usually in terms of uncovering a fake séance.

I've found several earlier fake séance movies, but they are all in the context of detective movies. That's another story all together. Superficially, they look like the fakery in this movie: a secret room, microphones, special effects, gullible participants holding hands.

But this is the first I think that references it as a performance. A lot flows from that tipping point on both sides: movies and the religious show.

Three layered performances, here.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

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.