Scared Stiff (1945)

The jumpy chess editor at a newspaper accidentally gets involved in some murders at a sleazy tavern run by a pair of bizarre brothers.

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writers:

Daniel Mainwaring (screenplay), Maxwell Shane (screenplay)

Stars:

Jack Haley, Ann Savage, Barton MacLane

Cast

Cast overview:
Jack Haley	...	Larry Elliot
Ann Savage	...	Sally Warren
Barton MacLane	...	George 'Deacon' Markham
Veda Ann Borg	...	Flo Rosson
Roger Pryor	...	Richardson
George E. Stone	...	Mink
Robert Emmett Keane	...	Prof. Wisner
Lucien Littlefield	...	Charles Waldeck / Preston Waldeck
Paul Hurst	...	Sheriff
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Emerson Cooke
Eily Malyon	...	Mrs. Cooke
Buddy Swan	...	Oliver Waldeck

Storyline

The jumpy chess editor at a newspaper accidentally gets involved in some murders at a sleazy tavern run by a pair of bizarre brothers.

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper | tavern | chess | murder

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Taglines:

Laughs...Chills...Howls...Thrills! (print ad for "Treasure of Fear")

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Genres:

Mystery | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Treasure of Fear

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pine-Thomas Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the few films in which Jack Haley received top billing. In most of his films he was usually billed third or even lower. (In his most famous film, The Wizard of Oz, in which he played the Tin Man, he was billed fifth.)

User Reviews

Haley is no comet in this one!

Alas, a combination of weak direction and impossibly labored acting from the lead, Jack Haley, has firmly put the skids under a very promising script. True, despite Haley's strenuous efforts to undermine credibility, a number of sequences do succeed, particularly the action spots (such as the revolving wall and the slippery vat) in which director Frank McDonald suddenly comes to life. Otherwise he seems helpless to stem Haley's inveterate mugging. The support players are likewise overawed or outdistanced by the "star". Only Walter Baldwin, Lucien Littlefield, George E. Stone, Eily Malyon and Dick Curtis (in that order) manage to create believable yet interesting characters. Even the normally raucous Veda Ann Borg is incredibly subdued.

By the humble standards of the Two Dollar Bills (the industry nickname for producers Bill Pine and Bill Thomas, who almost always worked in tandem), production values seem reasonably high. Not that it matters.