The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Just the whole set-up alone seems ridiculously unbelievable, even if it is set up to be light-hearted entertainment in "The Thin Man" mold of complex situations. The world of mind reading and prophecy dominates the background of murder, set up by the light-hearted banter of mind reader Robert Young, paired with the beautiful Florence Rice, an almost forgotten leading lady of MGM's golden age, overshadowed by Garbo, Shearer, Crawford, MacDonald and Loy, seemingly second string among those legends. She possesses light charm and a witty demeanor, yet lacks in the glamorous mystery of MGM's more famous leading ladies. By now one of MGM's longest leading men, Young benefited from the ability to provide both comedy and drama in his teamings with practically every available leading lady at the studio where the make stars were practically all interchangeable.In support, a huge cast of character actors add amusement in contrast with the outlandish plot. Of them, Frank Craven (very funny as Young's acerbic father, Gloria Holden as an obviously phony psychic (reunited with director Tod Browning from "Dracula's Daughter"), and Henry Hull as one of the more obvious suspects. Rather rushed together as part of MGM's B unit, this has the typical MGM gloss but too many convoluted moments to really be a success. At least in the twists and turns of "The Thin Man" movies, the humor and droll observations of Nick and Nora mixed well with the elements of surprise. The only surprise that exists here is that the script wasn't sent back for necessary improvements.

The Thirties were racing towards their close, accompanied by a curious speeded-up style of film dialogue, as though the writers were being paid by the word. These flat, metallic exchanges are suitable enough for wisecracks, but they kill any sincerity in lines that are meant to carry emotional depth. So for example, the film opens on Robert Young (later to be your favourite TV doctor Marcus Welby) putting the case for exposing fake mediums in order to protect genuine seekers after psychic truth. He sounds like more like an auctioneer at a meat-market.This was the last film to be directed by Tod Browning, who exploits his own early experience in the circus by replicating all manner of smoke-and-mirror spectaculars that can hold the attention of audiences who may have been left somewhat behind by the intricacies of the plot. But a conference of magicians is always going to make a good start to a murder story.It was Browning who had also directed the first Dracula talkie, and he brings in touches of it here, notably in the casting of Gloria Holden, previously of Dracula's Daughter, whose disdainful manner was believed to reflect her genuine boredom at appearing in movies she felt were beneath her. But her disdain manages to suggest mystery, and we are kept wondering whether this glamorous medium will be unmasked before the end. Glamour of a more conventional kind is provided by Florence Rice as the vulnerable blonde at the mercy of sinister dark forces. They say there were also some dark forces in the studio, claiming that it was only her well-connected father who got her the roles, apparently blighting her career.One joke that certainly wouldn't be allowed today - a haunted skull moving its jaw up and down ("Obviously a woman!"). And a good disciplined performance by a fortyish William Demarest as the regulation sceptical cop.

This film rarity was the last film directed by Tod Browning, who directed Dracula (1931) and FREAKS (1932) as well as several Lon Chaney films. Sadly it turns out to be a surprisingly conventional murder mystery. The main character, played by Robert Young, is an inventor of illusions for stage magician and in his spare time he is a debunker of fake spiritualist mediums. Browning, who used real circus freaks for FREAKS, did not bother to use real stage illusions from the magicians. Instead he uses obvious camera tricks or card tricks in which he plants convenient cards in the performers hands. Fans of Universal horror films of the 30s and 40s will enjoy seeing many familiar faces including Henry Hull of THE WEREWOLF OF London, Gloria Holden of Dracula'S DAUGHTER, and Frank Craven of SON OF Dracula. Also playing is William Demarest and Eddie Acuff. In the end the film really does not work because someone who uses a disguise is just not very well disguised. Rating: 0 on the -4 to +4 scale or 4/10

Miracles For Sale (1939) ** (out of 4) Tod Browning directed film about an ex magician (Robert Young) who now spends his days tracking down fake psychics. One night he meets a strange woman (Florence Rice) and soon bodies are showing up and it appears they are being killed by spirits. Browning's direction is really lacking in this film as it really doesn't contain any of the charm or mystery that it's going for. Young is decent in his role and Henry Hull is nice as well even though she's pretty much wasted. Gloria Holden from Dracula's Daughter also has a small part. There are way too many twists in the film and it also contains one of the most obvious red herrings in film history.