The droll Dick Powell (Christmas in July, Pitfall) stars as a hardboiled PI with a taste for kibble in the over-the-top screwball comedy You Never Can Tell. When an eccentric tycoon leaves six million dollars to his faithful dog, King, trustee Ellen Hathaway (Peggy Dow, Bright Victory) is besieged by fortune hunters when they learn she’s next to inherit. After the German Shepherd is poisoned and Ellen is accused of the crime, King’s spirit is granted special permission to go back to Earth in human form and help clear Ellen’s name. Returning as private eye Rex Shepard (Powell) and aided by a former racehorse named Goldie (Joyce Holden, Iron Man), King puts his nose to the ground in a dogged attempt to sniff out his killer’s name. You Never Can Tell when everything’s gone to the dogs in this gleefully whimsical farce! You Never Can Tell was the only feature film directed by veteran Hollywood screenwriter Lou Breslow (Murder, He Says, Bedtime for Bonzo).

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Video Quality

You Never Can Tell makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a brand new 1080p transfer from a 2K scan of the 35mm Fine Grain which holds up exceptionally well. This film is over 70 years old, but this presentation shines despite a few hiccups lingering after the remastering process. The rich black-and-white photography shot by Maury Gertsman excels in high definition with natural grain intact and resolved well. Black levels are in nice shape with no major occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is favorably defined with only fleeting instances of flicker and density fluctuation in the print.

The new transfer exhibits a strong amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. The exteriors feel sprawling despite understanding that the production was not actually shooting on location. There is a great amount of detail present with textures on the clothing and within the environment. Occasional stray lines and minor marks of damage remain, but most fans will be pleased with how much this has been spruced up. Kino Classics has provided a notable presentation for this one.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a straightforward DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie nicely considering the age and source of the material. Dialogue and background elements are balanced with all competing elements that make this world feel balanced and bustling. The dialogue is able to be heard quite easily with little in the way of sibilance. The track can sound the slightest bit thin when it comes to the Hans J. Salter score, which likely can be attributed to the quality of the source elements. The music does not drown out the dialogue or other important information. Viewers will observe a minor amount of age-related wear and tear and some faint hissing, but it is not a significant issue throughout. Kino Classics has evened out the audio with the quality of the video. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historians Michael Schlesinger and Darlene Ramirez deliver a pretty solid commentary track in which they talk about the production of the film, the background of the performers, the animal performers, and more. This track feels slightly stilted as one of the participants seems newer to commentary tracks, but it works well enough.

Trailers: This disc provides trailers for Never Say Die, The Bank Dick, Murder He Says, Bedtime For Bonzo, Francis In The Navy, The Man In The White Suit, and Some Like It Hot.

Final Thoughts

You Never Can Tell is a very peculiar narrative that you will have to buy into if you want any chance of enjoyment. The fantastical elements are silly but amusing enough to keep you engaged with the plot. The film is pretty breezy and keeps things moving along its expected story beats. It is a minor work in the grand scheme of things, but we desire it all the same. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that sports a very nice A/V presentation and a fine commentary track. If you are a fan of the performers or see promise in the narrative description, be sure to seek this one out. Recommended

You Never Can Tell is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.