 |
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
|
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
 |
|
Misanthropic millionair Cyrus Rutherford has died, and he has left his
relatives one of these wills where they have to spend a certain time in
his mansion together to properly get at each others throats. There's
another catch inthe will though: His body mustn't be buried but entombed
in the mansion's own observatory, otherwise the will will be reversed
(meaning those who were to get the smallest share would get the largest
share and vice versa) - so the family lawyer Gellman (Bernard Nedell)
calls a detective to watch over the body, but the detective never arrives.
Instead, insurance agant Albert Tuttle (Jack Haley) shows up and is at
first mistaken for the detective, and later talked into substituting for
the detective after he saved pretty Carol's (Jean Parker) life. However,
Tuttle is not too good at playing the detective as he is soon knocked out
and the body is indeed stolen (but doesn't get far). Now Gellman decides
on a different approach and persuades Tuttle to pretend to be leaving only
to wait inside the coffin for whoever will steal the body ... and as a
result of that, Gellman is murdered, and Tuttle, inside the coffin, is
thrown into the pool by some greedy relatives and only saved in the nick
of time by Carol. Cyrus' body meanwhile is stolen once more.
Rather by accident, Tuttle discovers a system of secret passageways,
sliding doors and secret panels that leads all through the mansion and
would allow the killer to show up anywhere - but as a result of that, he
is only suspected to be the killer and locked up in the observatory -
where he and Carol find Cyrus' body inside the telescope. Eventually, the
real villain of the piece is revealed to be Henry (Douglas Fowley), one of
the relatives who desperately tried to optimize his share any way
possible, be it by reversing the will or bumping off all other relatives -
but Tuttle chases him up the mansion's roof, where he is knocked off by
the observatory's revolving telescope ...
And in the end, Tuttle gets Carol.
Bela Lugosi has an amusing supporting role as a butler who as a running
gag continues to offer coffee to everyone in the least appropriate moments
- and it is suggested at one point that the coffee is actually poisoned.
A nice and pulpy horror/murder mystery of the old dark house variety
with all the key elements in place, from the stormy night to trap doors,
secret passageways, sliding doors, hidden panels, creepy butlers and
disappearing bodies. However, this film plays more like a comedy, and Jack
Haley handles this aspect of the film rather well without exaggerating too
much while Bela Lugosi, playing it straight, proves to be a wonderful
running gag.
Quite entertaining and enjoyable, actually.
|
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
