El castillo maldito

Cool nightclub singer Larry Todd (Dean Martin) and bumbling busboy friend Myron Mertz (Jerry Lewis) are on the run from the mob and the police. Heiress Mary Carrroll (Lizabeth Scott) helps them escape to Cuba where she had recently inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island.

This Dean and Jerry doing their song and dance and comedy bits. I kinda expected to have more movie at the haunted mansion. Instead, they do take a long while to get there. I guess that this allows them to do more song and dance. The boys are good although not their best. Carmen Miranda does a couple. Sadly, it's her last movie before her premature death.

As someone who loves Dean Martin's voice, and always have done, and who finds Jerry Lewis entertaining 'Scared Stiff' intrigued. It was enough for me to see with just one of them, but it's even more so with them together.

'Scared Stiff' has garnered comparisons to 'The Ghost Breakers', the general consensus being that it's inferior to that film. It is agreed that 'The Ghost Breakers' is the better film, funnier, scarier and combines those two elements together a little more strongly. This said, 'Scared Stiff' in no way disgraces it and works well on its own two feet too.

The story does jump around a little, with the shift to the darker and scarier elements slightly abrupt (emphasis on the slightly) and creaks in some parts. As alluring as Lizabeth Scott is, she is also a rather bland presence, not looking entirely comfortable in comedy or romance. The production values, apart from some very atmospheric sets, do betray a rushed production and that it was made in haste.

Conversely, 'Scared Stiff' has many positive elements. Regarding the songs, while not classics or ones that will necessarily stand the test of time, they are still pleasant enough and suit Martin's wonderful singing talents and Carmen Miranda's unique stage presence and such well.

George Marshall's direction is nifty and he and the nicely crafted script neatly combine genuinely funny comedy and suitably eerie and suspenseful chills. Miranda, in her final film, lives up to her nickname as "The Brazilian Bombshell", even if she has been much better before with material that adds more to the story than 'Scared Stiff' does.

Martin and Lewis are a very well matched double act, their talents well-utilised and contrast with each other deftly. Martin effectively plays it straight against Lewis' very kinetic energy (Lewis' impersonation of Miranda is not particularly good but still pretty hilarious, and his scene with Frank Fontaine is a scream).

In conclusion, a fun film that has made be interested in more of Martin/Lewis collaborations. 7/10 Bethany Cox

First of all, if you're considering watching a Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis picture, you must be aware of the fact that it is mainly slapstick comedy. If you can't laugh at a drunk guy slapping Jerry Lewis in the face, then this movie isn't for you.

With that being said, this movie has an interesting story line. Lewis and Martin are friends and when Martin gets in trouble with Shorty, a mob-type guy, Lewis goes to defend him. This leads to an accidental shooting that Martin gets blamed for and when he goes to hide, he meets Mary, who inherited a haunted island from her father. Martin and Lewis end up going with Mary and figure out the mystery of Lost Island.

Although the plot jumps around a lot, watching Martin and Lewis is always enjoyable and there are many funny situations in this movie. If you're a fan of slapstick, this movie is for you.

I know its now the 22nd of May 2006, but this film sticks in my memory. I first saw the great Comedy team Dean & Jerry way back in 1953 and this was the film I watched one rainy afternoon in a town called Walsall in Staffordshire, England. I was playing truant from school actually. But I remember laughing so much at Jerry Lewis that I was almost weeping. The film is a re-make of the Bob Hope vehicle The Ghost Breakers (1940) and even uses the same sets. The antics of the two are brilliant, and the business they work together is truly UNIQUE. I think that Jerry and Dean were the funniest of the teams of that era. I suppose that's why they were the highest paid duo in the world! Jerry wrote a lot of the visual gags, the scene where he is stuck in the trunk, and comes out doubled over, and the scenes in the Haunted castle with Jack Lambert as THE ZOMBIE likewise brilliant. Dean was a great foil for Jerry and Jerry was a great stooge for Dean. As I write Dean has gone, but Jerry is still with us at 80 years of age. Superb Film, superb and clean comedy. I recommend SCARED STIFF to you all.

An authentic recital of these two great showmen in the Fifties. A nightclub showman : Dean Martin , and his colleague , a former botcher waiter : Jerry Lewis freeing a murder charge , going from New York to Cuba accompanying a rich heiress . This beautiful woman is named Mary Carter : Lizabeth Scott who has inherited her family's ancestral mansion on a small island of Cuba and decides to take possession .The three enter at the haunted house to find a lot of surprises as gangsters , ghosts and eventually hunting for a hidden treasure . They are making a spook-tacle of themselves ! They are funnier than ever on the Giant Panoramic Screen with Stereophonic Sound ! .

Fun and attractive comedy with humor , tongue-in-cheek, musical numbers and loads of entertainment and amusement, incliuing final cameos from Bing Crosby , Bob Hope . Close remake of Ghost Breakers 1940 with Paulette Goddard , Bob Hope and Scared stiff 1945 with Jack Haley , Anne Savage, taking parts here of there of these films . It you love Jerry Lewis this is a real vehicle as the extremely funny impersonation of Carmen Miranda , his game with a doppleganger at a mirror , his confrontation with menacing ghosts , zombies , armor, and anything else . This is one of the first and best appearances by the great Jerry Lewis , following a long career full of successes, such as : "3 Ring Circus , Artists and models, Hollywood or bust , Pardners , The Delicate Delinquent , The Geisha Boy , Cinderella , The Bellboy , The Ladies Man, The Nutty Professor , The Disorderly Orderly , The Parsy , The Family Jewels , The Big Mouth , Which Way to the Front ? , The King of Comedy" , and several others .

The motion picture was well directed by George Marshall , providing an amusing and entertaining film. Marshall was a prolific Hollywood professional who had a notable career including a large number of films such as : "Destry rides again , Off limits , Perils of Paulina , Goldwyn Follies , Texas , Pot O'Gold , Pack Up your Troubles , Papa's condition delicate , How the West was won , and some Laurel and Hardy vehicles" , among others . Rating 7/10 . Better than average . The movie will appeal to Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin fans .