"Scared To Death" has a promising genre cast, but this is not a shining moment for any of the persons involved. Bela Lugosi and George Zucco do what they usually do, and they do it well, but not much of it, and not anything more. There is also a load of ineffectual comic relief by Nat Pendleton, Joyce Compton and Gladys Blake. The use of color helps the film camouflage its lack of budget (almost all of it takes place in one house) a little, but it is still relentlessly talky, pointless, and boring. And could this perhaps be the most spoiler-y movie title in the history of movie titles? There is a laughable epilogue where the truth is finally revealed: "She was....scared to death!" You don't say!!! * out of 4.

Ed Wood had Zero Money and Experience but Unbridled Enthusiasm and an Infectious Desire to Make Movies and Entertain People.What's this Guy's Excuse? The Movie is Shot in Color and Features George Zucco, Bela Lugosi, Nat Pendleton, and a Budget of all of Ed Wood's Movies Combined Times Ten. He had been in Films since, Believe it or Not, at the Beginning of the Silent Era with Over 160 Movies to His "Credit".But "Scared to Death" Seems so Clunky, Inept, and Just Plain Bad, that One Wonders if there was Any Direction At All for the "Product". The Cast Stands Around Most of the Time as the Camera Seems Nailed to the Floor. The Incomprehensible Script is Ridiculously Recited as the Lines are Delivered Out of Sync with the Other Actors and Out of Character Half the Time.The Story is Hard to Follow, the Costuming is Clumsy, the SFX Static and Reused Often. The Gimmick of a Dead Woman Narrating this Mystery Movie is the Only Thing that is Fresh, but the way it is Handled doesn't Work, not even a Little Bit.Overall, Recommended for Lugosi Cultists, Bad B-Movie Trashers, and the Novelty of Color for this Type of Thing but the Thing is a Thudding Dud.

Throughout his long career as a director of feature films, (William) Christy Cabanne racked up a whopping 166 pictures to his credit. Out of that 166, Scared To Death would be Cabanne's 161st production.And, you'd honestly think that at this point in his particular line of work this dude would've acquired some real skills and expertise as a proficient director. But, no, this doesn't seem to be the case with Cabanne.After having to endure this total garbage film's 67 plodding minutes, I rank Cabanne, without question, as being one of the absolute lousiest Hollywood directors of all-time, bar none.This picture is nothing but pure junk, produced by a truly incompetent amateur. I honestly can't see how the hell this guy's career as a director lasted, as it did, for more than 30 years.Yes. Indeed. Scared To Death is absolute bottom of the barrel entertainment that's about on par with a typical "Ed Wood" schlock production. The attempts at humour in the story were some of the lamest I've ever seen.P.S. - Director Christy Cabanne died in 1950 at the age of 62.

This film doesn't know whether to take itself seriously as a low low budget skid row mystery or as a Three Stooges film short. The comedy is low brow, slow paced and gets old rather quickly. Be prepared to give more than the usual "willing suspension of disbelief" to get thru the Holland tunnel sized holes in the plot. The largest hole is the pivotal role of Rene. If you have a DVD reacquaint yourself with the "woman" who appears early on in the film in a mock attempt to "blackmail" George Zucco-then compare "her" to Rene when exposed at the end of the film. Are we really to believe that this actor was in drag in the earlier appearance? Heck no. And that is only one of the staggering bits of ineptness rampant in this film. The annoying reporter and his dimwit girlfriend only add more frustration to this mess. Notice how everybody talks about it but nobody ever calls the police-excepting when the reporter says, "In the morning when the police get here..." Don't know why the police don't come out at night-maybe they have banker's hours? A real turkey. Not even so-bad-it's good! Skip it.