Though billed as a ‘Lugosi’ movie, William Christy Cabanne’s ‘Scared to Death’ makes very little use of its only valuable asset and suffers badly for it. Actually, that’s not quite fair as even Bela couldn’t be expected to do much with this terrible little film.
The premise is a promising one; from her slab in the morgue a dead woman tells the tale of how she got there. We are told to expect a ‘maze of murder involving a hypnotist, a midget and a mysterious figure in a blue mask’. However, with such promising material to play with Cabanne gives us a turgid and confused tale which never fulfils its potential and leaves the viewer dazed, confused and thoroughly disappointed. Any suspense or drama is flagged up way in advance by a sloppy (though commendably pioneering I suppose) use of narration from the dead girl. Carl Hoefle’s insipid and relentless score does nothing to help and quickly becomes irritating and distracting, especially whenever the ‘mask’ appears at the window.
Also, what might have been promising characters are never fully developed and integrated with the plot. There are usually far too many people on screen at any one time which, because of the plodding script, has the effect of making you feel as though you’re stuck in a crowded airport terminal waiting for a flight that’s already 30 hours late; cranky, wondering why you decided to bother in the first place and looking for any possibility of escape.
Lugosi is completely wasted as the sinister hypnotist Leonide, which is a real shame as the character is much more interesting than many of the ‘red herring’ roles he was given during this period. Bringing a real sense of menace to the part, he deftly plays off the ‘comical’ character and acts as the only thread in the film. It’s also only one of two appearances in colour that he made, and even in 1941 (the film was released several years after production) the consequences of his troubled lifestyle choices are clearly visible.
This is one of the rare movies that I found so bad that I had to turn it off before the end and thus, alas, I do not even have the ability to tell you how our girl died for my troubles. I can’t see how it would be worth hanging on to see what happens as I can promise that you won’t care.
One last note; don’t let this put you off buying the ’3 Classic Bela Lugosi Films of the Silver Screen’ as it’s the only dud on there.