SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
Teddie Blake
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Rainey Dawn
It was a dark and comical night... this movie turned out to be a very pleasant surprise! I knew it was a comedy-horror but it was funnier than I expected. This flick is worth watching if you like old school comedy films. I have to say this movie is underrated!! The movie has all the ingredients for a good old fashioned comedy-horror: we have a dead man, a will, greedy & goofy inheritors, a murderer on the loose, a big spooky mansion, secret passages, a stormy night, Bela Lugosi & COFFEE.I think the best parts of the film were: the insurance man in a towel in the secret passageway, the wicker basket, the coffin in the water and COFFEE! LOL. You will have to watch the film to get the scenes I am referring to. COFFEE is peppered throughout the entire film! This is a great afternoon film and would make a great double feature with a film like: The Comedy of Terrors (1963). I highly recommend skipping the COFFEE while watching these films. ;) 9/10
morrison-dylan-fan
Taking a look at a box set that a very kind IMDber had sent me,I was happy to spot a title which had Bela Lugosi in a Horror/Comedy crossover,which led to me getting ready to find the one body too many.The plot:Attending the reading of Cyrus J. Rutherford's will,Rutherford's relatives are disguised at the rather harsh 'final words' that Cyrus has written for them.Correctly predicting that they are only interested in his cash,Cyrus places an 2 orders in his will,with the first being that his body must be placed in a glass case at the top of the house,rather then buried underground,and second;that if they don't won't to see their cash go down the drain,each of the relatives must stay at his mansion until his demand is completed.Desperate to keep the body safe, (partly due to Cyrus saying that he will get a % of the will)Cyrus's former lawyer decides to phone up for a cop,so that none of the family members try to change the burial plans.Arriving at the mansion,the officer is knocked out by a mysterious stranger before he's able to knock on the door.Having made an appointment with Cyrus to help him sort out a new insurance plan, Albert L. Tuttle decides to go to the mansion,so that he can finally meet Cyrus.Due to being completely unaware about Cyrus's arranged meeting with Albert,the family instantly think that Albert is the cop who has been sent down,whilst Albert soon discovers that a member of the family will do everything possible,to be the only 1 alive to get Cyrus's cash.View on the film:Setting the entire movie in an old dark house,the screenplay by Winston Miller and Maxwell Shane offers a refreshing mixture of Old Dark House murder-mystery and frantic slap-stick,as Miller and Shane isolate the house with harsh rain,creaky corridors,and a proto- Giallo black glove wearing killer,being joined by frantic chases and dry 'black coffee' Comedy.Building upon the mood in the screenplay,director Frank McDonald wraps the mansion in a sinister Gothic Horror atmosphere,as Tuttle discovers family members hiding in secret corridors and pitch-black corners who have their devilish eyes on the prize.Given a supporting role,Bela Lugosi gives a terrific performance as loyal butler Merkil,with Lugosi delivering each of the dark comedic lines with a real curl of the lips,whilst a great Jack Haley stays away from the metallic paint,to show the out of his depths Albert L.Tuttle accidentally find out that one dead body really is one dead body too many.
MartinHafer
The biggest reason I watched this film is because it co-stars Bela Lugosi. Sure, he made a lot of totally wretched films during his long career (there are too many to list, but would include BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and BRIDE OF THE MONSTER). However, even his bad films are usually fun to watch--sometimes because they are so bad!! However, I was greatly disappointed to see that Lugosi's part was so small and undeveloped. He played a butler and had NOTHING to do other than to keep offering people coffee! That's really it!! Despite this, the film is pretty good because it doesn't take itself seriously and there are many deliberately funny moments. Now this isn't the most sophisticated humor (as evidenced by its star being Jack Haley), but it has a certain charm that help it to transcend the genre and make it more than just another murder mystery or scary old house film. Not great, but still it's an agreeable time-passer.
Hitchcoc
You know, this had some potential. There were some great character actors, including Bela Lugosi and Jack Haley (the Tin Man). He mugs for the camera and plays the star struck cowardly insurance salesman. The sad thing is that they set up all these relatively interesting characters and then didn't know what to do with them. The pacing is terrible. There are actually pauses in the film where nothing at all happens. I don't mean action; I mean nothing at all. At times there is a fade to black and we hear sounds and voices, and then nothing. A few close-ups would have helped. Sometimes in the drear of the black and white, it takes a few seconds to realize who is in the scene, especially during the frantic running around that takes place the second half.There is also the silliness of the conditions of the will which is to give the opposite share to everyone if the deceased were buried in the ground. Since we don't know what the specifics of the will are, it makes it hard to figure out who the potential murderer is. I agree with a previous reviewer. When Bela Lugosi is on the screen, I can't take my eyes off him. The business with the rat poison and the coffee is quite funny. He is so put off when people refuse to have a cup of coffee. His best line, "There are too many rats in this house."I love these old movies and relish the atmosphere. Maybe a better print or better sound would have helped, but this got pretty stale so I couldn't recommend it.
