the audience applauded

From my favorite movies..

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

"One Body Too Many" is the sort of by-the-numbers horror-mystery-comedy that was once cranked out by Hollywood's B-units to fill the ravenous appetite for second features in the '30s and '40s. This particular flick featured the rather engaging, rather bland Jack Haley, best known for his "Wizard of Oz" Tin Man. One of the similar movie "Jacks" in this period (other Jacks in the pack being Jack Carson and Jack Oakie), Haley was a minor comedic talent who was able to hit the mark, ham it up a bit, bug his eyes and do a laborious double-take without displaying any distinctive personality. Like the other Jacks, he would soon be replaced by younger, hungrier, more talented actors returning from military service. The director, Frank McDonald, otherwise known for directing about a zillion Westerns, didn't try to do much with the script he was handed, which involved the usual "Cat and the Canary" story of odd bequests, strange mansion, a dark and stormy night and secret passages. His mostly experienced, middle-aged, over-dressed cast moved sluggishly through the proceedings and in general comported themselves with the somewhat distracted and dyspeptic air of guests at a party that's lasted too long. Alexander Lazlo's discordant avant-garde film score can be annoying. It telegraphs the action and its jangling sounds just don't add to the fun.. As though they were preparing themselves for the era of sitcoms that was soon to overtake Hollywood second feature comedies and kill them off forever, the writers did come up with one or two laugh-out-loud quips that still manage to echo well through the almost three-quarters-of-a- century between this movie's debut and its DVD reincarnation: "There are two classes of coffee... the percolated and there's the drip. Sorry, I'm a drip." The one surprise – a pleasant, though poignant one -- in "One Body Too Many" is the adroit comedy talent of Bela Lugosi. His diction clearer than usual, his personal demons conquered for the while and displaying a distinctly Continental charm, he was a delightful surprise. He was obviously having fun with his part. While not exactly Maurice Chevalier, his timing was immaculate and one could easily see him cast in a Lubitsch comedy; it was a loss for film that this side of him was never exploited. Though there are times when "One Body Too Many" remembers that it's supposed to be a horror movie, it's never really scary. Its silliness, though somewhat fusty, and its conspicuous confusion makes it an ideal family movie for mature children and childish adults.

"Leave this house at once if you value your life."Insurance agent, Tuttle, is to sit with the body of a wealthy millionaire while his greedy ancestors await their inheritance from his will. The relatives must stay three days in their wealthy benefactor's mansion or else be disinherited. The contents of the will are not to be read until after the three days are concluded. If the corpse of Cyrus Rutherford is moved, put away successfully, the will be reversed and those who were to get much will get little and vice versa. Rutherford was big on astrology, the stars, and his casket was open-faced with glass so "the stars could shine upon him". Bela Lugosi gets top billing, but he's basically a butler always trying to get the guests of the mansion to drink his coffee(the question is whether or not his coffee is poisoned as he too stands to inherit an allowance for his services to his recently deceased employer). It's actually Jack Haley's movie, as he's a comic foil, bumbling around the mansion, getting himself in trouble unintentionally. The mansion has dead bodies turning up(such as Cyrus' lawyer), secret passageways(Tuttle, in a towel as he was about to bathe, gets lost in the house after walking into one of them located in his closet), and trap doors(the killer uses one to send pursuers after him into the kitchen). Jean Parker is Carol Dunlap, one who stands to inherit if she can stay alive, also Haley's love interest. Played entirely as a comedy with Haley the center of activity, although his Tuttle just wanted to sell Cyrus some insurance.

I'm working my way through the Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection and ONE BODY TOO MANY is the 7th movie in the set. I am watching them with my soon-to-be seven-year old daughter, which makes these movies a laugh riot.Luckily for ONE BODY TOO MANY, it is a comedy with horror serving only as the background. It is quirky and humorous.An insurance man named Tuttle (Jack Haley) has an appointment with astrology-fanatic Cyrus Wentworth. Turns out Cyrus has died (you can't sell life insurance to a dead man); and, the greedy heirs have gathered for the late-night reading of the will. A quirk in the will requires Cyrus to be interred under a glass enclosure, so he can gaze at the stars for eternity, or the heirs receiving the highest share of his estate will instead receive the least; and, those receiving the least will instead receive the most.Comedy ensues, with creaky doors, false leads, mistaken identities, secret passages, and the heroine, Carol Dunlap (played by Jean Parker) in love with the insurance salesman. The cast is huge; and, it's hard to keep all the characters straight. As such, we just focused on the antics of Tuttle and Dunlap.Bela Lugosi gets top billing; but, really plays just a small part, mostly trying to get the heirs to drink some coffee –is it poisoned – the ending makes that clear.Say what you will; but ONE BODY TOO MANY is enjoyable; and, plays like a farce in parts.

*** One Body Too Many (1944) Frank McDonald ~ Jack Haley, Jean Parker, Bela Lugosi "A timid insurance salesman decides to place a call upon an eccentric recluse at his mansion only to find that he has just passed away. What he also finds is a home full of relatives who are, according to the will, all bound to remain in the mansion until the authorities arrive to claim the body. Seeing that the man's niece may be in harm's way, the salesman decides to remain at the mansion to protect her from harm while they discover who killed their uncle," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.A thinly disguised re-make of the relatively recent re-make of silent spoof "The Cat and the Canary". Possibly, the very successful Bob Hope version of 1939 had been removed from circulation; and, movie producers felt the story had more traction. Otherwise, it's difficult to explain this inferior treatment. Star Jack Haley (as Albert Tuttle) is curiously ill-suited in the leading role. Still, it's enjoyable to see Mr. Haley without his "Tin Man" silver. And, leading lady Jean Parker (as Carol Dunlap) is an attractive old dark house inhabitant.The most entertaining of the cast are spooky servants Bela Lugosi (as Murkil) and Blanche Yurka (as Matthews). Dependable Lucien Littlefield (as Kenneth Hopkins) was also in the 1927 version. Writers Winston Miller and Maxwell Shane do add some witty new lines and situations to the formula; but, the resulting product compares very unfavorably with earlier versions.