SCARED TO DEATH (1947) ** Not just another comedy murder with a dwarf, this one even has comedic corpses replete with musical intros. Much has been made, on the occasions when it was discussed, of the allegedly horrid direction, but as usual the infernal vulgarians of the tabloids got it wrong. Christy Cabanne doesn't run Bela Lugosi in every scene (ok, that was a mistake), but he loads him so down with lines that Bela can hardly talk. Plus it's the only film where Bela, King of the Undead, performs in living colour. It should also be noted that even though the clues start coming hard and fast somewhere near the middle, the mystery is maintained through the end. Ok, so maybe the given clues weren't enough in some regard, but the mystery is maintained right through to the end. In fact, perhaps even past the conclusion if this review reflects anything of the perplexity of the common viewer in the wake of the proceedings. The dialogue is hokey, true, but that's better than shooting for Shakespearean and missing badly. And Nat Pendleton has excellent timing on the best lines. Even if you think the victim is sympathetic, somehow, you might finish with the sense that she got the best deal available. A further mystery is how Cabanne, who began directing features in 1911, injected this one with a feel a full twenty years ahead of its time.
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