Evening star., 1939-11-24

Is folly raised to the 'Steenth power.
Now following that preface, it can
be reported that R-K-O's deal with
Kay Kyser yesterday placed upon
Keith's screen, That's Right,
You're Wrong" a picture that
marks the movie debut of the North
Carolina melody man. 1t can be
reported further that when the pic
ture is being simple band enter
tainment it is very worthy affair,
but when 1t is not, it is favored
with dullness. Kay and his boys
and girl can play and sing like
nobody's business, but they can't
act for sour apples, even though
they are supposed to be merely
themselves. Moreover, they dis
concert the professionals, even such
honored troupers as May Robson,
Adolph Menjou, and Edward Ever
EFT Horton. That's bad.
Good. however, is the music which
some dozen composers created for
the picture. "Chatterbox," Fit to
be Tied" and The Answer is Love"
are hit parade candidates, and
maybe so is Happy Birthday to
Love-" what with all this passion
of the public for three-four time.
In a way, R-K-O was as smart as
fox in its handling of Kyser's band.
Knowing that no studio ever found a
suitable story for introducing a
popular musical group to the screen,
it sought to satirize all previous fol-
lies of that character. The story of
That's Right, You're Wrong" there
fore, became one about how utterly
impossible it is to find story suit
able for such a purpose. If it had
only worked with the deserved sue
cess, it would have rated as the
brightest idea since Hollywood flung
its first custard pie. 1t did not, but
that cannot keep the picture from
being pleasing to Kyser fans in those
stretches when the Kollege of
Musical knowledge is dispensing its
melodious nonsense.
Such passages are generously
spotted throughout the course of
Keith's feature attraction. They
come to their climax, naturally
enough, in sequence which is pure
Kyser, a literal reproduction of one
of those radio broadcasts which
glue reputedly fabulous millions to
their loud-speakers. That is partic-
ularly fine, what with it's revelation
of how earnest Kyser enthusiasts
battle their way through those
quizzes which the professor conducts
with such simple humanity and
excellent showmanship. One of the
contestants, comically cultured
woman of forbidding facade, hap
pens to have been given a Wash
ington address in the script of the
storyless picture. 1t intensif1es the
outlaws in this sequence more than
anything else could do the old home
town touch to perfection.
X \
When it is less sprightly, "That's
Right, You're Wrong" has Mr..
Menjou around in the role of q
craven producer who is going
rapidly mad while trying to dig
a story out OF a pair of writers
named Village and Cooke, who look
and act surprisingly like the real
life pair whose names are Towne
and Baker. Village and Cooke are
played, respectively, by Horton and
Roscoe Karnes, pair Of comedians
who could talk a lot more like
Gene Towne and Graham Baker
if the latter two had written their
dialogue.
The satire is not limited to the
ways Of producers and writer's, but
includes also jibe at another great
cinema institution, the screen test.
It is this which gives the studio
excuse, If one were needed. for in
jecting the pretty face of Lucille
Ball into the picture. Miss Ball
and the resourceful Kay make this
quite amusing bit.
Hollywood clothes, Hollywood
scale Of living and press parties are
other subjects for ironic comment
in That's Right, You're Wrong"
The press party sequence is par
ticularly worthy Of attention for
its revelation that newspaper peo-
pie are even worse actors than
bandsmen. Some of the cinema's
most notable commentators play
themselves In this spacious lawn
frolic. J.C.