One Body Too Many (1944)

Pretty Good

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The acting in this movie is really good.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Jack Haley... a couple years AFTER Wizard of Oz. Quite a step down from that. Here, he's Al Tuttle, insurance guy, who thinks he's going to sell insurance to a (dead) rich guy, but gets caught up in the family squabbles. The deceased has put a lot of wacky conditions in his will, which will undoubtedly pit the family members against each other. The always scary Bela Lugosi is "Merkil", the butler. Tuttle arrives, and rather than just leave, sticks around for some reason.... presumably because he likes "Carol" (Jean Parker). This one is just okay. We're halfway through, and so far, there is no mystery to be solved... it's just a bunch of people staying in a house. The script needed a patch-job. It's trying SO hard to be a murder noir, or a comedy, according to imdb, but it's not really either, and we're already 30 minutes in. Finally, someone has stolen or moved the dead body, and everyone wants to know who did it. Although with the crazy conditions of the will, no-one really knows who would benefit if the conditions aren't met. I guess that's part of the story... the people who THINK they will benefit may be doing things that are NOT in their own best interest. And so much screaming. Was she paid by the scream?? Directed by Frank McDonald, who made TONS of films in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s. Nothing too special. Moved into TV series later in the sixties... Get Smart, Flipper. Meh. This one shows on Epix channel. I wonder if Neil Simon had seen this... so many references to this film in "Murder by Death".. a MUCH better, funnier film.

"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.

The biggest reason I watched this film is because it co-stars Bela Lugosi. Sure, he made a lot of totally wretched films during his long career (there are too many to list, but would include BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and BRIDE OF THE MONSTER). However, even his bad films are usually fun to watch--sometimes because they are so bad!! However, I was greatly disappointed to see that Lugosi's part was so small and undeveloped. He played a butler and had NOTHING to do other than to keep offering people coffee! That's really it!! Despite this, the film is pretty good because it doesn't take itself seriously and there are many deliberately funny moments. Now this isn't the most sophisticated humor (as evidenced by its star being Jack Haley), but it has a certain charm that help it to transcend the genre and make it more than just another murder mystery or scary old house film. Not great, but still it's an agreeable time-passer.

You know, this had some potential. There were some great character actors, including Bela Lugosi and Jack Haley (the Tin Man). He mugs for the camera and plays the star struck cowardly insurance salesman. The sad thing is that they set up all these relatively interesting characters and then didn't know what to do with them. The pacing is terrible. There are actually pauses in the film where nothing at all happens. I don't mean action; I mean nothing at all. At times there is a fade to black and we hear sounds and voices, and then nothing. A few close-ups would have helped. Sometimes in the drear of the black and white, it takes a few seconds to realize who is in the scene, especially during the frantic running around that takes place the second half.There is also the silliness of the conditions of the will which is to give the opposite share to everyone if the deceased were buried in the ground. Since we don't know what the specifics of the will are, it makes it hard to figure out who the potential murderer is. I agree with a previous reviewer. When Bela Lugosi is on the screen, I can't take my eyes off him. The business with the rat poison and the coffee is quite funny. He is so put off when people refuse to have a cup of coffee. His best line, "There are too many rats in this house."I love these old movies and relish the atmosphere. Maybe a better print or better sound would have helped, but this got pretty stale so I couldn't recommend it.