''Scared Stiff'' is a 1953 American

supernatural fiction Supernatural fiction or supernaturalist fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction that is centered on supernatural themes, often contradicting Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist assumptions of the real world. Description In its broadest def ...

-themed

comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

semi-musical film, directed by

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

and starring

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

and

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

. One of the 17 films made by the

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1944 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin ...

team, it was released on April 27, 1953 by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. It is the fourth screen adaptation of the 1909 play '' The Ghost Breaker'' by

Paul Dickey Paul Dickey (May 12, 1883 – January 8, 1933) was an American actor, director, playwright, screenwriter, and an early aviator. A star athlete in high school, he ran track and played football for the University of Michigan. A serious bout of t ...

and Charles W. Goddard, previously filmed under that title in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

and

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and as ''

The Ghost Breakers ''The Ghost Breakers'' is a 1940 American mystery/ horror comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. It was adapted by screenwriter Walter DeLeon as the third film version of the 1909 play '' The Ghost Br ...

'' in 1940, also directed by George Marshall and starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

. ''Scared Stiff'' was

Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature ...

's final film appearance, as she died two years later in August 1955.

Plot

Mary Carroll inherits her family's ancestral home, located on a small

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island off

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Despite warnings and death threats, she decides to sail to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

, find the key to the castle's treasure.

Cast

as Larry Todd *

as Myron Mertz * Lizabeth Scott as Mary Carroll *

as Carmelita Castinha *

George Dolenz George Dolenz (born Jure Dolenc; akas: Giorgio Dolenz and George Dolentz; January 5, 1908 February 8, 1963) was an American film actor born in Trieste (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Italy), in the city's Slovene community. Biography Un ...

as Mr. Cortega *

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting rol ...

as Rosie * William Ching as Tony Warren * Paul Marion as Ramon Cariso / Francisco Cariso * Jack Lambert as Zombie * Tony Barr as Trigger * Leonard Strong as Shorty * Henry Brandon as Pierre *

Frank Fontaine Frank Fontaine (April 19, 1920 – August 4, 1978) was an American stage, radio, film and television comedian, singer, and actor. Early years and personal life Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fontaine came from a family of entertain ...

as The drunk on the pier *

Lyle Latell Lyle Latell (born Lyle Zeiem; April 9, 1904 – October 24, 1967) was an American character actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Pat Patton in the ''Dick Tracy'' film series. Biography Latell was born Lyle Zeiem in April 1904 in ...

as Ship Captain

Production

The team's ninth picture, ''Scared Stiff'' is a remake of Paramount's previous effort, ''

'', a 1940 "scare comedy" starring

and

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood ...

, also directed by George Marshall.Neibaur, James L. and Okuda, Ted: Jerry Lewis Films, The: an analytical filmography of the innovative comic, pp. 62–72. McFarland & Company, Inc, 1995. The property had proven successful for Paramount in decades past including two versions in the silent era: '' The Ghost Breaker'' (1914) directed by

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

and it's remake '' The Ghost Breaker'' (1922) directed by Alf Green and starring

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Lou ...

had a cameo in Hope and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

's ''

Road to Bali ''Road to Bali'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Released by Paramount Pictures on November 19, 1952, the film is the sixth of the seven ''Road to ...'' movies. It wa ...

'' the previous year as part of a "comedy trade" between the two teams. In turn, Hope and Crosby appear for a cameo in ''Scared Stiff''. Both shared a common producer, Cy Howard, who produced Martin and Lewis' first two ''My Friend Irma'' pictures and '' That's My Boy''. A few years later, Martin and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

appeared in the final scene of the final Hope and Crosby road picture, '' Road to Hong Kong''. According to Lewis, both he and Martin were against making the picture, as they found the original to be satisfactory. However, because the film was a Paramount property that producer

Hal B. Wallis Harold B. Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wit ...

felt was one that could be successful in the comedy team's hands, he held the two to their contract for the film. ''Scared Stiff'' was filmed from June 2 through July 17, 1952. It was the first of the team's films available in 3-track,

stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

. Some reviews at the time commented on the soundtrack's use of stereo to enhance gag sequences. The stereo tracks for this film are now considered lost. As with most films of the team's work, it garnered a re-release in 1958 on a double bill with another

picture, '' Jumping Jacks''.

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

was credited with "additional dialogue". It was his first writing credit on a Hollywood film. ''Scared Stiff'' turned out to be the last film for

who died two years later, shortly after completing an episode of '' The Jimmy Durante Show'' on TV. In the film, Jerry Lewis impersonates Miranda and lip syncs one of her signature numbers, "Mamãe Eu Quero".

Home media

Paramount released ''Scared Stiff'' on

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

in November 1992. The film was included on an eight-film DVD set, the ''Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Collection: Volume One'', released on October 31, 2006.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "The nonsense herein contrived is not an inspired presentation of the comic qualities of the two boys." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that Martin and Lewis "provide a free-wheeling round of slapstick hilarity". Writing in ''The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia'', academic

Peter Dendle Peter Dendle is a professor of English at Penn State Mont Alto, teaching classes on folklore, 20th and 21st century representations of the Middle Ages, Old and Middle English (language and literature), and the monstrous (in film, folklore, and ...

called the film an annoying remake that "mostly sticks to the original except for the addition of several bad song and dance numbers and even worse comedy routines". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film holds a rating of 71% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 5.83/10.

References

External links

* * * * {{The Ghost Breaker 1953 films 1953 comedy horror films 1950s comedy mystery films 1953 musical comedy films 1950s ghost films 1950s supernatural horror films American black-and-white films American comedy horror films American comedy mystery films Remakes of American films American films based on plays American haunted house films American musical comedy films American zombie comedy films 1950s English-language films Films directed by George Marshall Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Leith Stevens Films set in castles Films set in Cuba Paramount Pictures films 1950s American films Musical horror films The Ghost Breaker (play) Films about inheritances English-language comedy horror films English-language musical comedy films English-language comedy mystery films