You Never Can Tell Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

You Never Can Tell Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 30, 2024

Lou Breslow's "You Never Can Tell" (1951) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by critics Michael Schlesinger and Darlene Ramirez. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A retired army dog named King inherits several million dollars after its eccentric owner, a well-known industrialist, dies. But shortly after someone poisons King, and while Ellen Hathaway (Peggy Dow), King’s guardian, is investigated, Beastatory, the animal heaven, opens its gates and welcomes its soul. In front of Beastatory’s almighty ruler, King’s soul then states its desire to return to Earth and expose the real killer, Perry Collins (Charles Drake), a shameless crook, who has conquered Ellen’s heart and intends to marry her. A few days later, King’s soul, now placed in the body of Rex Shepard (Dick Powell), and accompanied by the soul of a mare named Golden Harvest, placed in the body of a sexy secretary named Goldey Harvey (Joyce Holden), make the journey back to Earth.

Pretending to be a veteran private investigator, Rex contacts Ellen and explains that he would be willing to clear her name if she agrees to cooperate. At first suspicious but then intrigued by Rex’s offer, Ellen reluctantly agrees, instantly jeopardizing her future with Perry, who immediately goes to work to sabotage any progress that can tie him to King’s premature death. Rex’s investigative work is further complicated by a curious police detective and his associates who cannot quite figure out whether he is a real private dick, a smart phony, or a loon that has snuck out of the nut house.

Before directing You Never Can Tell, Lou Breslow adapted an original story he had written with help from David Chandler. However, in its current form You Never Can Tell features various original contributions from its leads that must be viewed as more important than Chandler’s. Many of these contributions are facial and body improvisations, done with great, frequently crucial for the progression of the story enthusiasm.

These improvisations make the story quite flexible and attractive in different ways too, which is why You Never Can Tell can easily appeal to young and older viewers. For example, once Powell is introduced as the temporarily reincarnated private investigator, his antics allow You Never Can Tell to effectively juggle two contrasting personalities -- one perfect for a contemporary fairy tale, the other for an old-fashioned romantic melodrama. For obvious reasons, most of the content overlapping that occurs during the investigation intentionally delays the inevitable, which is Dow’s realization that good ol’ King has come back as a human to right a wrong and prevent another one, but this is an unavoidable flaw in these types of genre films.

The comedy material is pretty good. Powell and Holden share the bulk of it and are in the most memorable sequences. The melodramatic material is not as good, but there isn’t much that could have been done to improve it because Dow, who is its catalyst, is required to play a naïve girl for as long as possible so that Powell gets enough opportunities and time for his shtick to work.

You Never Can Tell requires an instant and complete suspension of disbelief, so it will not charm viewers who expect its characters to be at least somewhat believable and appropriately rational. However, the total detachment from reality and rejection of conventional logic allow the silliness in it to become attractive. This silliness is also what ultimately shapes its identity.

Breslow was given a modest budget, so he shot You Never Can Tell entirely on the Universal lots. It is easy to guess that it was done there too, because there is not a lot of visual variety throughout the film. Breslow’s director of photography was Maury Gertsman, who is probably best known for lensing Audie Murphy’s greatest film, To Hell and Back.

Kino Lorber’s release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master struck from a 35mm fine grain, prepared on behalf of Universal.

You Never Can Tell Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, You Never Can Tell arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master struck from a 35mm fine grain, prepared on behalf of Universal. The overall quality of the visuals is very easy to describe as good. However, the film has not been fully restored, so you should expect to see small surface imperfections and visual inconsistencies. What type of visuals inconsistencies? In some areas, there are density fluctuations that are not introduced by the original cinematography but aging, plus small traces of light fading. Grain exposure is not as even as it should be, too. However, the entire film still has a pleasing organic appearance, and even if projected on a large screen, you will not be bothered by distracting anomalies. In other words, there is room for meaningful cosmetic adjustments and improvements, but the new 2K master is solid. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

You Never Can Tell Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All exchanges are very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. I did not notice any distracting anomalies to report. However, if you turn up the volume enough, as I did, from time to time you will notice a bit of light hiss in the background. This is something that easily could have been addressed with modern digital tools, but I do not think that it would have significantly affected the overall quality of the lossless track. The surprising dramatic score already creates very good contrasts, and the light hiss has zero effect on them.

You Never Can Tell Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Michael Schlesinger and Darlene Ramirez.

You Never Can Tell Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dick Powell played a lot of memorable characters, several of them in films that are rightfully considered American classics. In You Never Can Tell, Powell plays a hilarious private investigator on a mission to nab his killer, who plans to marry the young woman that looked after him while he was living the good life as a dog. Obviously, You Never Can Tell requires an instant and complete suspension of disbelief, so if you decide to give it a chance, it will have to be at the right time so that it entertains you as it should. If it works for you, also consider checking out Fluke. RECOMMENDED.