Scared to Death is a 1947 American gothic thriller film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Nat Pendleton and Molly Lamont.[3] The picture was filmed in Cinecolor. The film is historically important as the only color film in which Bela Lugosi has a starring role.[4][5] Lionel Atwill was originally slated to appear in the film, but he was too ill to work, so George Zucco replaced him in the cast. Christy Cabanne completed the film in early 1946, but it wasn't screened until 1947.[6]
| Scared to Death | |
|---|---|
 Original 1947 theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Christy Cabanne |
| Written by | W.J. Abbott |
| Based on | play Murder on the Operating Table by Frank Orsino |
| Produced by | William B. David |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Marcel Le Picard |
| Edited by | George McGuire |
| Music by | Carl Hoefle |
Production company | Golden Gate Pictures |
| Distributed by | Screen Guild Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 65 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $135,000 (estimated)[2] |
Plot
edit
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The film opens with the disclosure by morgue examiners that a beautiful woman has literally died of fright. The plot reveals how she reached the fatal stage of terror.
The woman is married to the son of a doctor, the proprietor of a private sanatorium, where she is under unwilling treatment. Both the son and the doctor indicate they want the marriage dissolved. Arriving at the scene is a mysterious personage (Bela Lugosi) identified as the doctor's cousin who had been a stage magician in Europe. He is accompanied by a threatening dwarf (Angelo Rossitto).
After it is apparent that the wife is terrified of the foreigners, it is disclosed that she is the former wife and stage partner of a Paris magician known as René, who was believed to have been shot by the Nazis. Attempts to draw a confession that she had betrayed her magician husband and had collaborated with the Nazis led to the use of a device employing a death mask of the supposedly dead patriot, which literally frightens her to death.
Although the young newspaperman hero and his sweetheart guess the answer to the story, they allow the diagnosis "scared to death" to stand.
Cast
edit- Bela Lugosi as Prof. Leonide
- George Zucco as Dr. Joseph Van Ee
- Nat Pendleton as Bill Raymond
- Molly Lamont as Laura Van Ee / Laurette La Valle
- Joyce Compton as Jane Cornell
- Gladys Blake as Lilybeth
- Roland Varno as Ward Van Ee
- Douglas Fowley as Terry Lee
- Stanley Andrews as Pathologist
- Angelo Rossitto as Indigo
- Lee Bennett as Rene
- Stanley Price as Autopsy Surgeon
Production
editThe film was based on a one-act play which in turn was based on a 1933 murder case involving Dr. Alice Wynekoop.[7]
The film was announced in March 1946 as Accent on Horror.[8] The Autopsy was another title that was considered.[9]
Reviews
editHistorian Gary Don Rhodes commented that although the film was in color, "nothing manages to stave off the inevitable boredom. Critics found the film confusing, dull....Very possibly this remains Lugosi's worst horror film."[10]
References
edit- ^ Lugosi: His Life on Film, Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers by Gary D. Rhodes (2006) McFarland & Company. pg.136. ISBN 978-0786427659.
- ^ Internet Movie Database Box office/Business for
- ^ Erickson, Hal. "Scared to Death". Allmovie. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ "Scared to Death (1947) - Christy Cabanne, William Christy Cabanne | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie". Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
- ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/5746/Scared-to-Death/trivia.html Archived 2015-10-31 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
- ^ Lugosi: His Life on Film, Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers by Gary D. Rhodes (2006) McFarland & Company. pg. 136. ISBN 978-0786427659
- ^ Mark Thomas McGee, Talk's Cheap, Action's Expensive: The Films of Robert L. Lippert, Bear Manor Media, 2014 p 108
- ^ Schallert, E. (Mar 29, 1946). "Small plans classic; quints deal hovers". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165659150.
- ^ Lugosi: His Life on Film, Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers by Gary D. Rhodes (2006) McFarland & Company. pg. 136. ISBN 978-0786427659
- ^ Lugosi: His Life on Film, Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers by Gary D. Rhodes (2006) McFarland & Company. pg. 136. ISBN 978-0786427659
External links
edit
- Scared to Death at IMDb
- Scared to Death at the TCM Movie Database
- Scared to Death at AllMovie
- Scared to Death at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Scared to Death is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Review of film at Variety
- Paul Lewis, 2009: Review of Scared to Death at DVDCompare