Bela Lugosi Week Film 4: Scared To Death

This week I've decided to do something a little different here at Blues In The Night. Every film reviewed this week will star Bela Lugosi. For film #4 Lugosi is a famed illusionist and is again teamed with his mini-me Angelo Rossitto and this time, in COLOR!

Scared To Death
1947 - Golden Gate Pictures
Directed By Christy Cabanne



SYNOPSIS

A dead woman (Molly Lamont) recounts how she ended up that way. She is slowly going mad and claims she is being held prisoner by her husband (Roland Varno) and father-in-law (George Zucco.) A wise cracking maid (Gladys Blake) and a detective (Nat Pendleton) also share the house. Things start to unfold as an old family member (Bela Lugosi) shows up... as does someone lurking about in a green (blue) mask.


MY THOUGHTS

Should have been called "Bored To Death."

At a time when color film was at a premium in feature films, the studios only put out sure-fire successes in color, like the lavish MGM musicals.
Yet, here is a forgettable, poor excuse of a horror film starring two icons of 'b' movie horror (Lugosi and George Zucco,) who are given little to do.
Not surprisingly, the production company would cease to exist after the film.



The script falls into a lame structure, that stifles any interest in the story.
It's told from the perspective of the dead woman (a la Sunset Boulevard released a few years later.) She says a few dry sentences in a voice-over and we're sent into a flashback. This lasts for about 10 minutes or so, then we're back with the body at the morgue. She says some more and we're back in the past. This is repeated many times.

The film lacks any horror and little to no action. It's just people standing around and talking. The film has some good suspenseful music... but nothing suspenseful to go along with it.

Molly Lamont is the dead woman. We never feel sympathy for her. Without that, who really cares what happened to her or who killed her? The character has no likable qualities. She's quick-tempered and a raving lunatic.

We're supposed to believe that George Zucco is mastermind behind driving the woman crazy, but he does little more than sit behind a desk and scowl. If he was a really in control he would have strangled the dumb detective and the bitchy maid long ago. Every line they give is cliched and annoying.

Bela Lugosi is in the house for most of the film. But he's mostly elsewhere and only pops in for a few moments here and there. He's basically playing a creepy character (as usual) and doesn't bring much to the role but that.
Angelo Rossitto disappears 10 minutes into the film and is never seen or spoken of again.

The mask appears lurking in windows. It lacks eye-holes or mouth-holes and looks like a piece of plaster. Not terrifying at all. Everyone says it's green, but it appears blue in the film (maybe the color has faded?)

It's a shame this was the only color film Bela Lugosi starred in because its one of the most rotten films he ever made... and... even including the films he made with Ed Wood... this is the most inept.