Brown and Carney were

Wally Brown Wallace Edgar Brown (October 8, 1904 – November 13, 1961) was an American actor and comedian. In the 1940s, he performed as the comic partner of Alan Carney. Early years Wallace Edgar Brown was born in Malden, Massachusetts, the son of Her ...

and

Alan Carney Alan Carney (born David John Boughal; December 22, 1909 – May 2, 1973) was an American actor and comedian. Early life and career Born David John Boughal in Manhattan on December 22, 1909,"New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registrat ...

, a movie comedy team active from 1943 to 1946.

Notes

Wally Brown (born Oct. 9, 1904 in Malden, Massachusetts) and Alan Carney (born David Bougal, Dec. 22, 1911 in Brooklyn, N. Y.)''The 1946-47 International Motion Picture Almanac'',

Terry Ramsaye Terry Ramsaye (November 2, 1885, Tonganoxie, Kansas – August 19, 1954, Norwalk, Connecticut) was a journalist, film producer and film historian, the author of ''A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture hrough 1925' (New Yor ...

, ed., Quigley Publications, New York, pp. 33 and 40. were under contract with

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

. The two actors had appeared in three films in 1943 when RKO decided to team them as their answer to

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

. Brown & Carney's first film as a team was ''Adventures of a Rookie'', a military comedy along the lines of Abbott and Costello's 1941 film ''

Buck Privates ''Buck Privates'' is a 1941 American musical military comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bona fide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy te ...

''. RKO sent Brown & Carney on a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

tour together in 1944.Maltin 1970, p. 337 Brown's screen character is usually "Jerry Miles" and Carney's is usually "Mike Strager." The only exceptions are ''

Seven Days Ashore ''Seven Days Ashore'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by John H. Auer and written by Edward Verdier, Irving Phillips and Lawrence Kimble. The film stars Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Marcy McGuire, Virginia Mayo, Elaine Shepard, Gordon Oliver ...

'', '' Step Lively'', and ''

Vacation in Reno ''Vacation in Reno'' is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Leslie Goodwins and starring Jack Haley, Anne Jeffreys, Iris Adrian, Wally Brown, Alan Carney, and Morgan Conway. Plot Jack Carroll (portrayed by Jack Haley) and his wife (Anne Je ...

''. Actress

Anne Jeffreys Anne Jeffreys (born Annie Jeffreys Carmichael; January 26, 1923 – September 27, 2017) was an American actress and singer. She was the female lead in the 1950s TV series '' Topper''. Career Jeffreys was born Annie Jeffreys Carmichael on Janu ...

appeared in four of Brown and Carney's films. Most of the Brown & Carney comedies had connections to other films. Brown and Carney's third film ''Step Lively'' (1944) was based on the same play that inspired the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

film ''

Room Service Room service or in-room dining is a hotel service enabling guests to choose items of food and drink for delivery to their hotel room for consumption. Room service is organized as a subdivision within the food and beverage department of high-end ...

''. ''

Zombies on Broadway ''Zombies on Broadway'' (or ''Loonies on Broadway'' in the UK) is a 1945 American zombie comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas. It stars RKO's imitation Abbott and Costello, Alan Carney and Wally Brown, as a pair of men who are tasked with ...

'' (1945), co-starring

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

, is a semi-sequel to the

Val Lewton Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer, and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pai ...

film ''

I Walked with a Zombie ''I Walked with a Zombie'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. It stars James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway, and follows a Canadian nurse who travels to care for th ...

'';

Sir Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companio ...

reprises his role as a singer. '' Radio Stars on Parade'' (1946) is notable for guest appearances by several popular radio personalities of the time: Don Wilson,

Ralph Edwards Ralph Livingstone Edwards (June 13, 1913DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 86-87. – November 16, 2005) was an American radio ...

Skinnay Ennis Edgar Clyde "Skinnay" Ennis Jr. (August 13, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and singer. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Ennis, he was born Edgar Clyde Ennis Jr. in Salisbury, North Carolina, United ...

, and musical acts. In 1945, screenwriter

Monte Brice Monte Brice (July 12, 1891 – November 8, 1962) was an American writer, producer, and director of films. Biography Born in 1891 in New York City, Brice wrote his first screenplay in 1920. In 1926, he was promoted from scenario writer to director ...

went through older

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

scripts to find a new idea for Brown & Carney's next movie and combined plot elements from

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (1940) ...

's '' Super-Sleuth'' (1937) and

Wheeler and Woolsey Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois. Collaboration T ...

's '' The Nitwits'' (1935). The finished film was '' Genius at Work'', which also starred Bela Lugosi, as well as

Lionel Atwill Lionel Alfred William Atwill (1 March 1885 – 22 April 1946) was an English and American stage and screen actor. He began his acting career at the Garrick Theatre. After coming to the United States, he appeared in Broadway plays and Hollywood ...

in his last feature-film appearance. This film would become Brown & Carney's eighth and final film together as a team; the studio discontinued most of its "B" picture production when tycoon

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

purchased the studio. On occasion Brown and Carney appeared in the same film but not together ('' Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event'', ''

''). For 1961's ''

The Absent-Minded Professor ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' is a 1961 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is based on the 1943 short story "A Situation of Gravity" (May 22, 1943 ''Liberty'') by ...

'', they were listed in promotional material as "the comedy team of Brown and Carney" as though it was designed as a comeback, but they shared no scenes. After the team's split, Brown continued working in

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

and appeared on

television shows A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

such as ''

I Married Joan ''I Married Joan'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It stars actress Joan Davis as the manic, scatterbrained wife of a mild-mannered community judge (Jim Backus). Synopsis The show, whose syndicated opening makes the ...

'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'', and ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'' until his death in 1961. Brown had also been teamed with Tim Ryan in the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

short film ''French Fried Frolic'' in 1949, and with Jack Kirkwood in four

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

short films in 1950 and 1951. Carney also continued working in films, appearing in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

films and also had a cameo as a

police sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the Briti ...

Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous " message films" (he called his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a liberal movie icon.

's 1963 film ''

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American Technicolor epic comedy film in Ultra Panavision 70 produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, from a screenplay by William and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all ...

''.

Availability

Four of the eight Brown & Carney features were released in a DVD collection entitled "The RKO Brown & Carney Comedy Collection" in January 2015 by

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the int ...

. This two-disc set includes '' Adventures of a Rookie'', '' Rookies in Burma'', ''

The Girl Rush ''The Girl Rush'' is a 1955 American musical comedy film starring Rosalind Russell, filmed in Technicolor and VistaVision, and released by Paramount Pictures.

'', and ''Genius at Work''. ''Step Lively'' was released on DVD by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

in May 2008. ''Zombies on Broadway'' is available as part of the "Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics" DVD set, released by

in October 2009.

Films

* '' Gangway for Tomorrow'' (RKO, 1943) * '' Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event'' (RKO, 1943) * '' Around the World'' (RKO, 1943) * '' Adventures of a Rookie'' (RKO, 1944) (first film as a team) * '' Rookies in Burma'' (RKO, 1944) (sequel to ''Adventures of a Rookie'') * ''

'' (RKO, 1944) * '' Step Lively'' (RKO, 1944) (with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

) (remake of

' film ''

'') * ''

Girl Rush ''Girl Rush'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas (director), Gordon Douglas and written by Robert E. Kent. The film stars Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Frances Langford, Barbara Jo Allen, Robert Mitchum, Paul Hurst (actor), Pau ...

'' (RKO, 1944) with

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

* ''

'' (RKO, 1945) with

* '' Radio Stars on Parade'' (RKO, 1945) * '' Genius at Work'' (RKO, 1946) (last film as a team) with

(remake of Jack Oakie's ''Super-Sleuth'' and Wheeler and Woolsey ''The Nitwits'' * ''

'' (RKO, 1946) (no scenes together) * ''

Who Was That Lady? ''Who Was That Lady?'' is a 1960 black and white American comedy film directed by George Sidney and starring Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, and Janet Leigh. The movie was made by Ansark-Sidney, distributed by Columbia Pictures and produced by Norman ...

'' (Columbia, 1960) * ''

'' (Walt Disney, 1961) (Brown as Coach Elkins, Carney as First Referee)

References

External links

Brown and Carney: The Monkees of Obscure Comedy Teams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown And Carney American comedy duos

Notes

Availability

Films

See also

References

External links