Scared to Death

Released Dec 18, 1946

1h 5m

Horror

List

63%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

17%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Dr. Josef Van Ee (George Zucco) runs a private mental institution where he and his son, Ward (Roland Varno), are keeping his daughter-in-law, Laura (Molly Lamont), against her will. Laura is convinced her husband is trying to scare her away from their marriage, while Ward assures her she needs the help he's offering. Things go from bad to worse when Van Ee's brother, the magician professor Leonide (Bela Lugosi), shows up with his dwarf partner, Indigo (Angelo Rossitto).

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TV Guide

Claustrophobic, eccentric, and at times downright incoherent, this film is oddly compelling in a warped sort of way.

Rated: 1.5/5

Oct 19, 2016

Full Review

Miles Fielder

The List

Keeping fang firmly in cheek, there's much to be savoured in this old dark house style mystery.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 19, 2016

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

It's practically outsider art, made by an unusually incompetent outsider.

Rated: 2/10

Jun 20, 2015

Full Review

Phil Hall

Film Threat

A pale affair, made tolerable by Bela Lugosi's droll one-liners.

Rated: 2.5/5

Nov 11, 2011

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Turns out to be more comic than gothic.

Rated: B-

Jan 2, 2008

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Sep 26, 2005

Full Review

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christopher c. m

Instead of murder mystery with intense drama and clues, this is more goofy hijinks. Unfunny goofy hijinks. I don't think this was suppose to be a comedy. Plus how is she telling this story? She's dead? Is she telling Saint Peter? It's not like she comes back to life or was in a coma, she was dead. This fails as a mystery, a thriller or comedy. Plus what is with the Lugosi's Mini-Me? Did Brando see this movie and that's why he demanded one of his own for "Island of Doctor Moreau"?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Editing choppy and bad! Not scary, more funny. Not too funny, either. Still better than The Lighthouse -- which saw yesterday and still recovering from.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fun to watch. Small attempts of humor. Kept my interest. Would watch again if a better copy found.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

martin a

A fantastic vintage horror with an outstanding cast, a dead woman on a morgue slab tells a story of how she died. Wonderful.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Bela Lugosi in color! Lugosi's only color film is a terrible film, but ever since Martin Landau's touching performance as Lugosi in "Ed Wood," I can't help but read into these terrible Lugosi film a kind of tragic subtext. Here's a great actor hobbled by addiction having to waste his talents in embarrassingly bad low budget horror films that capitalize on his early career successes. The story here follows a young woman who's been murdered and who then recounts the events leading up to her demise, which involve a creepy hypnotist, Lugosi, and his loyal dwarf man-servant, Angelo Rossitto of "Freaks" fame who himself was a talented actor hobbled by typecasting. Besides Lugosi and Rossitto, there's also Nat Pendleton, who's not a famous actor, but who's face and voice any classic film fan will recognize. Overall, this film isn't as bad an an Edward D. Wood Jr. production, but it doesn't seem that far off.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

1 star for the fact Bela is in it, where he is reduced to his familiar typecast-ed villain character in a cape.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

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Christy Cabanne

Director

Bela Lugosi

Prof. Leonide

Douglas V. Fowley

Terry Lee

Joyce Compton

Jane Cornell

George Zucco

Dr. Joseph Van Ee

Nat Pendleton

Bill Raymond

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Synopsis

Dr. Josef Van Ee (George Zucco) runs a private mental institution where he and his son, Ward (Roland Varno), are keeping his daughter-in-law, Laura (Molly Lamont), against her will. Laura is convinced her husband is trying to scare her away from their marriage, while Ward assures her she needs the help he's offering. Things go from bad to worse when Van Ee's brother, the magician professor Leonide (Bela Lugosi), shows up with his dwarf partner, Indigo (Angelo Rossitto).

Director: Christy Cabanne
Producer: William B. David
Screenwriter: W.J. Abbott
Production Co: Golden Gate Pictures
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 18, 1946, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 5m

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