Scared Stiff

First of all, if you're considering watching a Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis picture, you must be aware of the fact that it is mainly slapstick comedy. If you can't laugh at a drunk guy slapping Jerry Lewis in the face, then this movie isn't for you.

With that being said, this movie has an interesting story line. Lewis and Martin are friends and when Martin gets in trouble with Shorty, a mob-type guy, Lewis goes to defend him. This leads to an accidental shooting that Martin gets blamed for and when he goes to hide, he meets Mary, who inherited a haunted island from her father. Martin and Lewis end up going with Mary and figure out the mystery of Lost Island.

Although the plot jumps around a lot, watching Martin and Lewis is always enjoyable and there are many funny situations in this movie. If you're a fan of slapstick, this movie is for you.

Larry Todd (Dean Martin), and Myron Mertz (Jerry Lewis) run a foul of gangster "Shorty" and are forced to flee the hotel when suspicion of murder falls on Larry. Hooking up with heiress Mary Carroll (Lizabeth Scott) who is sailing for Cuba, the guys find that Cuba is one mysterious place, full of weird goings on and Zombies!

Scared Stiff was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis' ninth picture, a remake of Paramount's 1940 comedy spooker, The Ghost Breakers that starred Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, it's also directed by the same man, George Marshall. Though both Lewis and Martin are on record as saying they didn't want to remake The Ghost Breakers since the Hope movie was fine the way it is. The guys were bound to do it by their Paramount contract, and thus producer Hal B. Wallis, rightly assuming that it was viable material for the duo, got the film made.

In the pantheon of Martin/Lewis films, Scared Stiff ranks as one of the better efforts that the guys did. Larks and songs and a Carmen Miranda cameo make up the main body of Scared Stiff. Standard slap-stick to none fans of the intrepid duo, but essential viewing for those that have a kink for such shenanigans. From a ventriloquist dummy skit to Lewis' delightful take on Miranda, and containing an hilarious sequence with Jerry stuck in a trunk, there's enough guffaws to keep the grin on ones face. Fans of the singing side of Deano are however short changed here, and there is no getting away from the fact that Scared Stiff is ultimately a rushed cash in job. So with that in mind newcomers to the pair are advised to possibly give the film a miss and head for the likes of Artists And Models and Hollywood or Bust instead. 7/10

As someone who loves Dean Martin's voice, and always have done, and who finds Jerry Lewis entertaining 'Scared Stiff' intrigued. It was enough for me to see with just one of them, but it's even more so with them together.

'Scared Stiff' has garnered comparisons to 'The Ghost Breakers', the general consensus being that it's inferior to that film. It is agreed that 'The Ghost Breakers' is the better film, funnier, scarier and combines those two elements together a little more strongly. This said, 'Scared Stiff' in no way disgraces it and works well on its own two feet too.

The story does jump around a little, with the shift to the darker and scarier elements slightly abrupt (emphasis on the slightly) and creaks in some parts. As alluring as Lizabeth Scott is, she is also a rather bland presence, not looking entirely comfortable in comedy or romance. The production values, apart from some very atmospheric sets, do betray a rushed production and that it was made in haste.

Conversely, 'Scared Stiff' has many positive elements. Regarding the songs, while not classics or ones that will necessarily stand the test of time, they are still pleasant enough and suit Martin's wonderful singing talents and Carmen Miranda's unique stage presence and such well.

George Marshall's direction is nifty and he and the nicely crafted script neatly combine genuinely funny comedy and suitably eerie and suspenseful chills. Miranda, in her final film, lives up to her nickname as "The Brazilian Bombshell", even if she has been much better before with material that adds more to the story than 'Scared Stiff' does.

Martin and Lewis are a very well matched double act, their talents well-utilised and contrast with each other deftly. Martin effectively plays it straight against Lewis' very kinetic energy (Lewis' impersonation of Miranda is not particularly good but still pretty hilarious, and his scene with Frank Fontaine is a scream).

In conclusion, a fun film that has made be interested in more of Martin/Lewis collaborations. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Paramount once again rehashes another of their old hits for Martin and Lewis in Scared Stiff. In one respect Scared Stiff is an improvement over The Ghostbreakers that starred Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard back in the day. At least in this one Willie Best is not playing a horrible racial stereotype.

Other than that and to accommodate Best's role for Jerry Lewis and Hope's role for Dean Martin, it's not too much different from The Ghostbreakers. I have no doubt that producer Hal Wallis dug some of the old Paramount sets for the original out of mothballs for this one. The castle where the last twenty minutes are played looks way too much like the first film to be a duplicate.

Dino got shortchanged in the vocal department, the original songs by Mack David and Jerry Livingston yielded no hits for him. Jerry does a homage to Carmen Miranda who was around on the set to see it. This film marked her farewell screen appearance and I give her credit in that she doesn't let Martin and Lewis upstage her one bit.

Dorothy Malone had a small role as a chorus cutie and favorite of gangster Leonard Strong who was the reason why Dean and Jerry were fleeing to Cuba and got mixed up in Lizabeth Scott's troubles. Malone mentioned that she had recently lost a brother and that Dean personally asked she be cast in the part and helped her through the film. She always remembered his kindness. She also said that Dean and Jerry seemed to be quite cool to each other and the eventual breakup was no surprise to her.

The boys were lucky to have George Marshall who had directed The Ghostbreakers back in the day to also direct this one. If you liked the Bob Hope film, you'll probably like this one.

It even has an unbilled appearance of Bob Hope with another guy who sang a few songs for Paramount back in the day.

A decade and a half earlier, Bob Hope made "Ghostbreakers"--an amiable little comedy. Now with "Scared Stiff" Martin & Lewis take their stab at remaking the film. As usual, Dean plays a lounge singer, Larry, though his character isn't the usual selfish guy he often played in their films. Jerry plays Myron, a clumsy (what else?) waiter. The pair end up running away from the nightclub where they work for two big reasons--Rosie (Dorothy Malone) keeps making eyes at Larry and her boyfriend is the VERY jealous and dangerous sort AND Larry thinks that he's killed a man! While on the run, they meet up with nice girl Mary (Lizabeth Scott) and they accompany her to an island she just inherited--Lost Island which is off the Cuban coast. Naturally, the place is supposedly haunted and zombies muck about the place.

This one works better than most Martin & Lewis films because horror is a very good theme for comedians of the day. In addition to Hope's "Ghostbreakers", Abbott & Costello had their best film with "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein"....and their other horror outings were better than average. An amiable film worth your time and a decent match to the team's talents.