Scared to Death

Scared to death is a fun movie. I really liked the character of Bill Raymond (played by Nat Pendleton), who was a detective sitting around a house waiting for someone to be murdered so that he could impress his superiors on the police force.

There were a great deal of fun turns in the movie. The bad guy was really a good guy and the person who was "murdered" really deserved it. As I mentioned before, the cop was there for no reason but to wait for a murder and the reporter was also there waiting for something to report. There was also a dwarf who seemed to just be hanging around to make the movie strange, a man who wanted a divorce and couldn't figure out how to get one, a doctor who never saw a single patient and a maid who sometimes seemed like she might be a nurse.

The plot was so silly and contrived that you couldn't take it seriously- so you have to just sit back and have some fun with it. It's not an expensive movie, I bought it on a DVD that also has 2 other Bela Lugosi movies on it- White Zombie and The Corpse Vanishes. It's not the best plot in the world, but it is a nice distraction for an hour of your time.

The classic trope of several people in a house with a killer. Right away, we're assaulted by a garish color palette, but OK whatever. We're introduced to the cast one-by-one and we are trying to figure out whodunit and why. Pretty standard so far. Then about 65 minutes in, the killer is abruptly revealed and the movie ends. Wait, what? The movie starts out not being too bad, and seems like it could have gone somewhere, but ultimately it's like they just gave up (ran out of time? Money?) and ended it. The unsatisfying ending turns a mediocre movie into a somewhat bad one.

Bela Lugosi's only color feature film. VERY strange movie about unhappily married Laura (Molly Lamont) convinced that her husband and his father are trying to scare her to death. (Why they are supposedly doing it is kind of vague) In strolls the mysterious Prof. Leonide (Bela Lugosi) and his mute, deaf midget friend (Angelo Rossitto) for no real reason. Then there's private cop Bill Raymond (Nat Pendleton) casually walking around the house looking for a murder!

Not a good movie--badly directed with some of the worst color designs I've ever seen in a movie. The acting ranges from unbelievably hammy (Lugosi) to bad (everyone else). The plot is full of holes and unexplained people and circumstances--I'm still not sure what Rossitto is doing in this. Also someone in a blue mask keeps looking in windows--but everyone says it's a GREEN mask! Love the part when George Zucco listens to the heartbeat of a woman who fainted and immediately declares she's under hypnosis!

None of it makes much sense but--in a way--this is lots of fun. Just silly enough to enjoy and keep you interested. The "explanation" at the end is just ridiculous. The color is actually pretty strong in the print I saw and it's all narrated by a dead woman! It's bad (that's why I give it a 3) but oddly compelling. A must for bad film fans.

This film is notable because it's the only color film Lugosi ever made.

The entire plot is very confusing (in the vein of "the Gorilla") and a lot of the "thrills" are done for their "creepy effect", without any real explanation for some of them.

Even so, the floating green mask at the window, secret panels, disembodied heads and other things provide an "undercurrent" of an eerie mystery.

It's also interesting that Zucco & Lugosi are in this film; to my knowledge, they never made another film together.

It's a difficult film to find, but see it if you have the chance!

Most of the reviews on IMDb for Scared to Death give it a good trashing. And, while I understand it has many flaws, I didn't find it to be as bad as some of the reviews would lead one to believe. Maybe I was just in the right frame of mind or something.

The basic story: A women is slowing being driven mad. So mad in fact, that by the end of the movie she is literally scared to death (I'm not giving anything away as the fact she is dead is presented in the first minute of the movie). She is presented with numerous images and circumstances that become too much for her to bear. There are several suspects - her husband, her father-in-law, the maid, her husband's mysterious uncle, the uncle's dwarf companion, or could it be someone else? But which one of the suspects is behind it? You'll have to watch to find out.

Scared to Death stars Bela Lugosi and George Zucco. Lugosi is obviously having fun. He seems to understand just how silly some of the situations are, yet he handles each as if it were life and death. Zucco, on the other hand, acts most of the film as if he would rather be someplace else. Very aloof. The rest of the cast does a decent job with the material they are given.

This is the only time I've ever seen Lugosi in color. The film is marketed as being his only color picture, although I'm not sure that's true. The color is very nicely used throughout the movie. Very vivid.

Some of the flaws in the movie: a little stagey at times, goofy dialogue, and it may prove slow to some. The biggest annoyance, however, is the way the story is told. It's presented in a series of flashbacks from the dead woman at the morgue. It gets old real quick. But for the most part, I was able to look past these weaknesses and have a good time.

One final note. I picked up the DVD for $5 from Alpha. This is one of the better Alpha DVDs I've seen. While there are a few spots and other picture flaws here and there, overall the picture quality is good. The sound (so often bad on older films) is above average. All in all, for $5, Scared to Death is a wonderful addition to my DVD library.