That's Right - You're Wrong (1939)

Radio sensation Kay Kyser and his band are lured to Hollywood to make a movie, but the screenwriters assigned to the project have difficulty tailoring a script to Kyser's persona.

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

William M. Conselman (screen play) (as William Conselman), James V. Kern (screen play)

Stars:

Kay Kyser, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kay Kyser	...	Kay Kyser
Adolphe Menjou	...	Stacey Delmore
May Robson	...	Grandma
Lucille Ball	...	Sandra Sand
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Chuck Deems - the Band Manager
Edward Everett Horton	...	Tom Village - a Screenwriter
Roscoe Karns	...	Mal Stamp
Moroni Olsen	...	Jonathan Forbes
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Dwight Cook - a Screenwriter
Kay Kyser Band	...	Kay Kyser's Band (as Kay Kyser's Band)
Ginny Simms	...	Ginny Simms - Band Singer
Harry Babbitt	...	Harry Babbitt
Sully Mason	...	Sully Mason
M.A. Bogue	...	Ish Kabibble (as Ish Kabibble)

Storyline

A fictional-story film in which many of the people seen in it are using their real name portraying the character who shows up in this fictional film in a completely fictional-and-staged setting, which means their role name is their own name, and is not any combination of "Self": The fictional J. D. Forbes, head of the (fictional) Four Star Studios in Hollywood, informs his associate producers that business and attendance at Four Star Films has tanked, and changes must be made. J. D. has decided that the movie-going public has to be offered down-to-earth entertainment such as that offered by a band leader named Kay Kyser, who puts on a radio and-live theatre program called "The Kollege of Musical Knowledge," and Forbes dictates to his hirelings to "get me Kay Kyser." When Chuck Deems---a fictional character playing the manager of a 'real' band---gets the studio offer, he and band members Ginny Simms, Sully Mason, Ish Kabiddle, Harry Babbitt and the others are all fired up at the ...

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Plot Keywords:

grandmother | theatre | show within a show | song | singing | 

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Taglines:

RADIO'S HOTTEST AND THE SCREEN'S BEST - in the laugh-swing show that lets itself go!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Micro folies

Box Office

Budget:

$253,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the movie, Kay Kyser mentions having come from Rocky Mount, North Carolina. That was his real home town, and also the birthplace of modern jazz musician Thelonious Monk.

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Quotes

Grandma: Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

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Crazy Credits

Listed in the acting credits were "The College of Musical Knowledge", but that referred to Kay Kyser's audience at the radio program, which he called "students."

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Connections

Referenced in Famous Movie Dogs (1940)

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Soundtracks

The Volga Boatman
(uncredited)
Composer unknown
Hummed by Edward Everett Horton

User Reviews

Ginny is wonderful

"Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge" was an extremely popular weekly radio broadcast when RKO signed Kyser and his band to this, their first film. The studio's faith in the bespectacled band-leader paid off handsomely at the box office, this initial effort grossing more than a million dollars in domestic admissions alone. All told, the studio netted around $520,000 in U.S./Canadian rentals after paying all print, advertising and distribution expenses. On a negative cost of $300,000 this returned a tidy profit which was split three ways: RKO, Butler and Kyser himself.

As to whether the film is still entertaining today, that depends on whether you're a Kay Kyser fan and/or a Ginny Simms admirer. I put myself strictly in the latter class, though I must admit Kyser is quite tolerable here — and even mildly diverting, aside from the climactically generous (but specially staged for the movie) excerpt from his weekly radio program which wears my patience a little thin. Fortunately, Miss Simms does receive a large amount of the camera's attention (beautifully costumed and photographed she is too) and sings most of the songs as well. On the other hand, I'm happy to report that my pet hate, Merwyn Bogue (Ish Kabibble to you) receives comparatively little footage. Adolphe Menjou, typecast once again as a harassed film producer, gives a somewhat mechanical performance, but does contribute some amusing moments, as do Horton and Cavanaugh as a couple of egotistical scriptwriters.

I'm always a pushover for movies with a Hollywood background. The satire here is rather mild, but still reasonably entertaining. Especially the gondola screen test in which Lucy Ball (who has otherwise very little to do in this picture) finally gets some comic moments.