Zombies On Broadway (1945)

Starring Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Bela Lugosi, Anne Jeffreys, Sheldon Leonard
Directed by Gordon Douglas
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An ex-gangster opening a new "Zombie Hut" nightclub threatens his press agents' lives unless they bring back a real life zombie to showcase at its opening.

One of a series of pictures from RKO teaming Brown and Carney as a comedy team that never really caught fire, and it's easy to see why, as there's just not enough laughs or funny business, but that doesn't mean this isn't an enjoyable film.  Lugosi is in fine form in one of his last showcases for a major studio, even if the script doesn't give him much to work with, and the characters are so amiable, I was more than willing to forgive the movie's shortcomings.  Fans of Val Lewton's I Walked With A Zombie, which takes place on the same island of San Sebastian, may enjoy the re-use here of some of that's film's actors and sets.  

Genius At Work (1946)

Starring Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Anne Jeffreys, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi
Directed by Leslie Goodwins
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Radio stars Miles & Strager report on the crimes of the mysterious Cobra, not realizing the villain is planning to eliminate them and their clever writer/producer.

We have here one of a series of movies starring the comedy team of Brown and Carney, whose delivery and material aren't all that funny, but this is still an amiable production and entertaining time-passer.  This has been one of the more difficult films on Bela Lugosi's resume to see, and although his role is nothing special, as Atwill's loyal henchman, it's on par with his other appearances in comic mysteries in the 1940s.  This is probably also the only film that affords us a look at Atwill in drag, in keeping with the silly nonsense that characterizes Brown and Carney's work.