Scared Stiff (1945)

I just saw a horrible print of Paramount's "Treasure of Fear" or "Scared Stiff" from 1945 starring Jack Haley, Barton Maclane, Ann Savage, and Veta Ann Borg.This is a comedic murder mystery about a rotten reporter who normally covers chess, Larry (Jack Haley) who is supposed to go to Grape City and report on a beauty contest. Instead, he gets off at Grape Center and becomes involved in a murder -- since the person murdered was the man sitting next to him on the bus. Of course he's a suspect. He and some other bus passengers are staying at a tavern run by twin brothers who haven't spoken to one another for ten years. The two women who are there - one whom he knows from an antique store in his town - are there for a valuable chess set kept at the hotel by the twins. One has the white set and the other the black. Barton MacLane is an escaped convict the police are searching for. Like someone else whose review I read here, I couldn't believe Ann Savage's performance as a sweet, dulcet voiced, helpful woman. I mean she spit nails in Detour. WHAT an actress, and what a shame she retired early to move away with her husband. She came back much later, after his death, to receive raves all over again.And of course what's a B movie without Veda Ann Borg. She does her usual good job as an aggressive, man-hungry woman.As for Jack Haley, it seems no one liked him in this movie. I thought he was funny and played the dizzy character well. I wasn't annoyed by him at all.Not a great film, but if you're a fan of Ann Savage and haven't seen this incarnation of her, see this. A wonderful talent.

I got this movie in a cheap box set of 50 movies, and it is possibly the worst of the 50. That should tell you how bad it is. Very poorly executed by the writers, director and most of the actors it is neither suspenseful, funny nor charming (which is hard to do with the ultra-charming actor Jack Haley).You will be aware of how annoying it is as you watch it, and likely won't watch all the way through. I didn't watch it all the way, after all there were 49 better films in the box. Retain this hour of your life for more worthwhile experiences. Don't waste your time on "Scared Stiff".

Like all Jack Haley roles, he raises what would have otherwise been a very boring plot to an excellent screwball farce complete with prat falls and fast-paced action. Veda Borg is the only other cast member to come close to keeping up with Haley, although a few quirky characters do make appearances (including one rather annoying child). If they had utilized them more to play off Jack Haley's comedy, this would be a 10 star movie. The plot is still generally a weak one, but the star more than makes up for it. Overall, a good rainy Sunday afternoon movie if there ever was one. If you liked this movie, watch Haley's "One Body Too Many", also an excellent screwball comedy with spooky overtones.

The plot of this movie has a forgetful chess editor going off to cover a grape festival. His uncle, who runs the paper, hopes this will turn him into a normal reporter (When he covered the funeral of the mayor he failed to mention a woman's suicide over the grave, nor does he mention the riot that occurred at the chess match he was covering when he was called away for the grape festival assignment.) In typical fashion he takes the wrong bus to the wrong place and ends up mixed up in with a gang of wanted killers.This was the first time I had ever knowingly watched a Jack Haley movie other than the Wizard of Oz. While I thought his performance was good I absolutely hated his character. No one could be that stupid and so unaware of what was going on around him. He's the type of person that you could set on fire and he'd pay it no mind. Its completely unbelievable. It ruins what should otherwise be an excellent little film that has a good B cast, some chills and thrills.If you're curious you could try it, perhaps Haley's character won't run you the wrong way, as for me this goes into the no need to repeat pile.