One often wonders what could have caused the last thought that was cut off by death.
Laura Van Ee (Molly Lamont) is dead. There is no doubt about that. She is on a slab in the morgue and about to be autopsied. The doctor wonders what happened to her. Laura is pleased to tell everyone. Laura’s marriage to Ward Van Ee (Roland Varno) is not a happy one. They live with Ward’s father Dr. Joseph Van Ee (George Zucco). Dr. Van Ee lives in a former private sanatorium and he is treating Laura, although she is not exactly a willing patient. Both Ward and Joseph want the marriage dissolved but Laura refuses.
A mysterious man arrives named Professor Leonide (Bela Lugosi). He is referred to as the doctor’s cousin. He is a former vaudeville hypnotist. At one time he had been an inmate at the sanitarium. Supposedly there are hidden passages in the mansion. Leonide has a dwarf with him who is referred to as Indigo (Angelo Rossitto).
Laura’s life is being threatened. Someone sent her the head of a mannequin that looks like her. There is a reporter, Terry Lee (Douglas Fowley) that shows up half way through the movie with his fiancée. Apparently he is the “hero”. He attempts to pull all the clues together to find out what is going on. He learns that Laura is the former wife and stage partner of a Paris magician called Rene. Supposedly he was shot by the Nazi’s. Someone believes that she had betrayed him and had collaborated with the Nazis. A death mask of the dead patriot is used to frighten her to death.
“Scared to Death” was made in 1946 but released in 1947. I had high hopes for this movie. Unfortunately there were too many things going against it. The plot was all over the place. There were too many suspects and too many red herrings. Comic relief that wasn’t funny. Characters that had nothing to do with the movie. A mask that floated in the window from time to time that wasn’t necessary. Annoying spooky music every time a fade in or out was done with the dead woman on the gurney. And anything the corpse had to say added nothing other than to precede a jump cut to the next scene. It was a waste of a good plot devise.
There were a few things that I did like. I was pleased with Zucco and Lugosi’s performances. They also seemed to play off each other well. Too bad they never did anything else together. At least that I’m aware of. I was also OK with the ending of the movie. There was just this maze of junk that you had to thread your way though before you got there. It could have been a really good horror mystery if some of the superfluous stuff was eliminated.
There are a couple of interesting notables: This is the only film Bela stared in that was in color. He did one other but he did not have star billing (“Viennese Nights”) in 1930. It is also the first film ever to be narrated by a corpse.