User reviews

One Body Too Many is a production from Pine-Thomas Paramount B picture unit and after seeing it I'm convinced it was a script and story that was meant for Bob Hope. But old ski nose either rejected this one or was out entertaining the troops during the second World War. So Paramount gave the project to its B unit and got Jack Haley to play the lead.

Pine-Thomas assembled a nice cast in a project that was unusual for them, normally they did economical action/adventure stories. This is a comedy involving a late millionaire who was a firm believer in astrology, so much so that he requested to be buried in a glass covered mausoleum like Lenin at the Kremlin so that he would be always under the stars at night. After that the living relatives of whom he didn't have too good an opinion of would split up the estate. Until then they had to live at his house until the burial was done.

Poor Haley plays the Bob Hope like schnook who is an insurance salesman and keeps an appointment that he made with the old guy before he passed away. Haley arrives just in time for the reading of the will and the lawyer for the estate thinks he's a bodyguard he hired. Never mind Jack takes the job and the fun starts. If you think a couple of murders that follow is fun.

Also in the cast are Bela Lugosi and Blanche Yurka who are the butler and maid. I wish the film had a lot more of them. They look and act so sinister with some lovely eye twinkles. Lugosi had a nice gift for comedy that was too rarely seen on film.

The lovely cast of relatives of whom one is a murderer include Lyle Talbot, Jean Parker, Maxine Fife, Lucien Littlefield, Douglas Fowley and Dorothy Granger. Now who do you think is our killer in the cast?

One Body Too Many has some funny moments, but a lot of it is a rehash of material from better films.

So do you think Hope was busy with the USO or did he pass on this one?

I've always liked those 1940s comedies where a bunch of people are stuck in a house on a stormy night. I don't consider this an especially good example of this sub-genre. Part of that is just personal preferences; I prefer the snappy wise guy to the jittery nebbish, the role played by Haley. Part of it is probably that I've seen so many of this that I'm pickier than I used to be. But mainly I just don't find this movie that funny. There is a cute running joke involving coffee, but outside of that this struggles just to be mildly amusing.

The film is also just poorly filmed. It may in part be a bad print, but much of it is so dark that you can't really tell what's going on. The movie also has the most convoluted premise of any of these movies, although that didn't really affect my enjoyment of it.

Jack Haley (Wizard of Oz's Tin Man) and Bela Lugosi star in this horror-suspense-comedy. Although calling it horror is like calling Pauly Shore comedy.

A man dies and leaves a very strange will: if his body is buried underground, the order of the inheritances will be reversed so the person with the smallest share receives the largest and so on. Jack Haley shows up as an insurance salesman, but ends up becoming a detective to see who is trying to steal the body and bury it prematurely. Since no one knows what inheritance they're getting, it could be anyone.

Highlight of the movie is by far Bela Lugosi as the butler. He tries numerous times to serve the guests coffee which may or may not be laced with rat poison. (The ambiguity is seemingly cleared up at the end of the film, though I cannot say even I know for sure.) Other commentators have said the film was shot in poor lighting. They're right, but I didn't really have a problem with it. I never was confused about what was happening or where anyone was on the screen. And filming this movie in color probably (though who can say for sure?) would have detracted from its character.

A problem I did have - not related to the lighting - was trying to figure out who everyone was. Maybe I was not paying attention or maybe the plot is weak, but many characters don't have memorable names or associations with each other. This left me confused about who was who at certain key moments. I'm still not clear on who the actual villain is (although a second viewing would probably clear this up).

I laughed, I was suspended, and I laughed some more. Really great film by the standards of the time and worth watching today.

One Body Too Many is just quirky enough to be humourous and something a little different than the typical monster/mystery movie fare of the 1940s. Great? No way, but surprisingly very pleasant. Jack Haley plays an insurance man named Tuttle who comes upon a household seething with greed for the remains of the recently deceased Uncle Cyrus. What follows is the standard Haunted House genre stuff: creaky doors, numerous red herrings, endless secret passages, and a heroine in love with the newcomer. Okay, we saw this in The Cat and the Canary and The Bat and a whole slew of like films. One Body Too Many has some very clever moments though that make it enjoyable. Jack Haley is a funny man. He is just too off-key as a comedian to be very funny without seeming desperate for laughs. The scene with him in the coffin submerged in the pool was just one of his very clever efforts(as well as a nicely filmed sequence). Most people even attempting to see this film - myself included - will do so because Bela Lugosi is in it. The Lugosi completist will watch it, and I think appreciate it far more than some other Bela efforts(Scared to Death comes to mind rather quickly!). Lugosi doesn't have a large part, but he is in the picture throughout and has some very subtle comedic moments. He plays a butler along with maid Blanche Yurka(who could forget her Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities?)who are always trying to get the sequestered suspects some coffee...maybe it is poisoned, maybe not. Some other inventive sequences include the finale with a telescope and Jack Haley with a hamper. A nice film done in a way that unfortunately is long gone.

You might not think so from the looks of it, but "One Body Too Many" actually is a hilarious spoof / comedy instead of an eerie horror film! Sure, it involves a creepy old mansion and Bela Lugosi as a suspicious butler, which both are elements that featured in nearly every typical horror movie made in the 1940's, but the screenplay is very comical and actually a lot better than all those poverty row horror movies that tried to be genuinely horrific...but failed. This totally unexpected surprise in tone feels very original and really forced me to love this little movie! The story opens with one of the greatest cliché in the genre, when a family of greedy bastards gathers in the old mansion to hear the will of deceased uncle Cyrus. The rich but eccentric uncle insisted on peculiar burial accommodations and, before they can be completed, the heirs & heiresses reluctantly have to spend a couple of days together. In case anyone leaves, or in case uncle Cyres doesn't get buried like he wanted to, the will is altered. Insurance agent Albert Tuttle is mistaken for a private detective but, at the request of lovely niece Carol, he stays to watch over the corpse. This film is FUNNY! The Albert Tuttle character is FUNNY! He's the perfect anti-hero; cowardly and always the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has some of the most hilarious lines and his facial expressions more than once evoke spontaneous chuckles. "One Body Too Many" makes great use of the typical haunted-house setting with the endless network of secret passages and dark towers. The actual search for the mysterious saboteur is also quite interesting and full of neat twists and red herrings. Horror veteran Bela Lugosi is downright marvelous in his supporting role of butler. He constantly walks around the house offering people cups of coffee which, I think, is a homage/spoof toward the butler-character Boris Karloff played in "The Old Dark House" (always supplying the guests with more potatoes). I had very low expectations on this film but I really ended up loving it! Highly recommended!

Insurance man Jack Haley keeps an evening appointment at a rich client's mansion to make a sales pitch—and is instantly mistaken for a detective. The client is lately deceased, all of his relatives are there for the reading of the will, and funny business has already commenced.

Bela Lugosi is tops as the butler: "Perhaps you would all like some coffee," he suggests early on, and then spends the entire rest of the picture trying to persuade the guests to accept a cup of his coffee, which may or may not be poisoned.

Jean Parker is fine as the appealing young relative who may be in line to inherit via the will, once it's finally read; she and Haley work nicely together, naturally falling into a romantic subplot that is cute and lively if predictable.

The other plot elements are the standard items no dark house can be without—a phone that's mysteriously disconnected, switched bodies in the closet, secret passages all over the place, a thunderstorm.

Favorite scene: Haley, having thrown himself into the role of amateur detective, tries to catch Lugosi off guard regarding the mud on his shoes. Lugosi replies that he opened the door for the cat and there was mud from the rain. Haley springs: "What rain?" To which Bela Lu responds with a sort of quiet incredulity, "What rain?"—walks to the door and opens it, displaying thunder and lightning and pouring rain—"The rain that's falling down, sir."

It's a lot of fun if not exactly a workout for the brain.

On the night of the reading of a will an insurance salesman arrives to sell a policy to the dead man. Confused for a detective he's hired to watch the body of his "client"...and then the gathered family members begin to die...

An okay comedy thriller that rises up a couple of notches by the use of occasional witty dialog, some good twists, and Bela Lugosi being wonderfully funny as a sinister butler and heir.(He should have done many more comedies)

The real problem with this film is the pacing which slackens about half way in. The problem is that in order to make the required running time bits, the wandering through the secret passages goes on way too long. Its a serious wound to what was a nicely paced movie. Its not fatal but it does diminish he enjoyment.

That said its worth a look. A good rainy night film for a double feature with a stronger movie.

Relatives and loyal servants are gathered to hear the reading of Mr. Cyrus Wentworth'S last wishes. As the lawyer reads the wishes Cyrus snubs everyone there. Then the sort of tontine plot is delivered. Some will be rich others may get $1.50. It all hinges on whether the deceased gets his wish and is laid to rest above ground so he can see the stars. Or wither some unscrupulous person(s) will bury him underground thus reversing the will.

Not trusting each other and wanting to get some sleep they hire a guard. Instead, an insurance salesman Albert Tuttle (Jack Haley) appears and is mistaken for the guard.

The fun begins.

All the standard clichés and scenarios are played out appropriately. The only exceptional part is waiting to see who will drink the coffee and Bela Lugosi's facial expressions.

The other reviewers here weren't too impressed by this, but I must admit to laughing practically all the way through. This film is very much a second-rate retread of the classic Cat & The Canary, with Jack Haley doing the Bob Hope schtick, yet it is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. Haley is a very entertaining & likable 'hero' and is well served by the witty script, which is brimming with snappy one-liners. Lugosi, whose performance will undoubtedly be the biggest draw for modern audiences, proves surprisingly adept at comedy; as the suspicious butler, he has a lot of fun sending up his image. I particularly liked the running joke involving the coffee that may or may not be laced with rat poison; by the end of the film, Lugosi's catchphrase line 'Anybody Want A Cup Of Coffee?' has become hilarious through repetition, especially since the dubious-looking coffee is always refused by everyone. I particularly enjoyed the following exchange (my wording) :

LUGOSI: "Would you like a cup of coffee?" HALEY: "Depends. There are two types of coffee, percolated or drip. What type have you got?" LUGOSI: "It is the percolated kind." HALEY: "No thanks, I'm a drip."

OK, maybe you had to be there.

Although the mystery & the comedy elements are not up to the standard of the 1939 Cat & The Canary, this is still a superior spooky-house thriller. The ne'er do well relatives waiting for their piece of the estate are a splendidly hateful bunch; the sequence in which Lyle Talbot's lawyer reads out the late millionaires' comments about each of his relatives sets up their characters beautifully. Talbot, of course, stops short of reading out the old man's comments about him ("I would trust him as far as I could throw...an elephant").

In short, I would recommend this to fans of old-fashioned spooky house thrillers & fans of Lugosi who'd like to see him trying his hand at playing for (intentional) laughs. It's streets ahead of most of his poverty row 1940s output, which is for the most part utterly dire, and I was surprised at how often I laughed out loud. I'm going to be very generous with this, as it made me laugh more than any other film I've seen recently, including a lot of modern comedies.

8/10

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.

Story: 1.25/2 - Direction & Pace: 1.25 & 1.00/4 - Performances 1.25/2 - Entertainment 1.25/2

Total - 6.00/10.

In a cinematic era saturated with gumshoes, femme fatales, and enough trench coats to rival a department store's winter collection, "One Body Too Many" emerges as a gem, albeit one polished with the finesse of a vaudevillian's punchline. Set against the backdrop of a will reading - the epitome of glamour, intrigue, and the occasional dust bunny - this 1944 comedy thriller is a delightful escapade into the art of inheritances and hilariously morbid misunderstandings.

The plot, while comfortably nestled in the bosom of the stereotypical, unfolds with a comedic finesse that rivals a masterful chef whipping up a soufflé. An unexpected guest waltzes in just as the potential heirs are gearing up to outdo each other in a financial grab-fest. The mystery is kept as mysterious as a magician's secrets, and you're not overly concerned that this film is less than Hitchcock because it's more about the ha-ha.

The comedy, my dear reader, is the pièce de résistance. Sharp and witty like a well-honed blade, it outshines the diluted humour of today's offerings. There's no crass language here, just good old-fashioned wordplay, slapstick, and visual gags that make you snicker without resorting to the comedic equivalent of a sledgehammer. It's a delicious breath of fresh air in a modern world where humour often seems synonymous with vulgarity.

The direction, a relic from when movie cameras weighed more than your grandma's antique wardrobe, exudes class. The setup scenes are a visual feast, smooth pans efficiently create a dance of effortless elegance, and the lighting is practically a supporting character. Sadly, the film stumbles slightly with its single tempo - a varied rhythm might have elevated the comedic beats and intensified the suspenseful moments.

The cast, a motley crew of characters, delivers a top-notch performance. Jack Haley, trading in his Tin Man gear for the role of a bumbling yet witty insurance salesman, is a delight: An honourable mention to Professor Hilton, portrayed with impeccable charm by William Edmunds. Even the ever-enigmatic Bela Lugosi manages to steal scenes as the charismatic butler despite being a secondary role.

For those craving a generous dose of good-natured hilarity, "One Body Too Many" is the prescription. It's the kind of film that makes you chuckle over your leisurely breakfast, setting the tone for a pleasant weekend of fun. A classic that amply proves, sometimes, the best humour doesn't need an expletive-laden punchline - it merely requires a decent plot, a dash of wry wit, and perhaps one body too many.

William Pine and William Thomas were two Paramount executives who joined together to produce some cheap little pictures with Paramount backing and distribution. They became known as the "dollar Bills" for churning out inexpensive pictures that always made money. At first, they specialized in aviation pictures (their first three films were POWER DIVE, FORCED LANDING, and FLYING BLIND, all released in 1941), but when the war began they broadened their screens to include military adventures, mysteries, and even musicals. Like many B outfits they had a stock company of directors (Frank McDonald, William Berke) and players (Richard Arlen, Chester Morris, Roger Pryor and others).

Late in the war, Pine-Thomas signed Jack Haley to star in musical-comedies, but the first one, TAKE IT BIG (with Ozzie and Harriet) was a disappointment, so they cast Haley in a mystery-comedy called ONE BODY TOO MANY.

Cyrus Wentworth, a crazy multi-millionaire, has died, leaving a will that insults his heirs and promises that half of them will get a lot of money and the other half will get piddle, unless the exact terms of his will aren't carried out, in which case the piddlers will become the piddlees and vice versa. And the terms of his will? He was an astrology nut (who built an observatory atop his decrepit old mansion) and he wants to be entombed with a skylight so he can look up at the stars. Also, everybody named as an heir has to stay in the house for three days until he's safely in his moon-roofed vault. Okay, so you can guess what happens: somebody has read the will, knows he (or she) is a piddlee, and decides to steal the old man's corpse so he can't be entombed, thereby making himself a piddler. Got that? And if anybody gets in his (or her) way, well, then, said anybody is gonna end up vault-shopping with Uncle Cyrus.

Okay, you'd think that would be enough plot, but NO! An eager insurance salesman named Tuttle (Jack Haley) shows up; it seems that he had an appointment with the recently deceased to sell him some life insurance (a little late, there, Tuttle). Haley immediately falls in love with one of the old boy's relatives, the delicious Jean Parker, and decides to stay and protect her. The problem is, he spends the rest of the film cowering, running, hiding, and in general doing everything he can to not impress her. Bob Hope he ain't. Funny he ain't, either. Neither?

Okay, lastly I will mention that there is a creepy butler and housekeeper (naturally), the former of whom is Bela Lugosi in a throw-away part. We see him getting a bottle of rat poison off the shelf ("Dere are too many rats in dis houssssse… dey should be done avay vith!") and then spending the rest of the film offering coffee to the assembled, with a look of chagrin when they all refuse (or what passes for chagrin on Lugosi's mug; it could've also been anger, humor, annoyance, horniness, or impatience that his giant bats hadn't arrived yet).

ONE BODY TOO MANY is one Jack Haley scare comedy too many.

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.

I must admit, the only reason I watched this movie was for the casting of Jack Haley and Bela Lugosi together in a movie, boy was I disappointed. Lugosi, who receives top billing on the cover of the tape is on screen less than five minutes, and isn't given any material to work with. Jack Haley is okay as the nervous salesman mistaken for a private eye in a spooky mansion, but I think it would have been funnier if Bert Lahr had been cast for the role.

...and for very good reason. Everybody has a crummy movie they are fond of for reasons that are hard to explain, and this is one of mine. Suspensers about spooky old houses, midnight readings of the will, sinister phantoms, secret panels and unexplained murders went out a long time ago. The multiply-remade Cat and the Canary is the prototype, and this 1944 product of Paramount's Pine-Thomas B-unit is a good alternative. Supposedly the writers were stationed in Alaska during the service and threw this potboiler together while looking out for suspicious Eskimos. Lugosi, top-billed, is the butler with a 'rat problem". Jack Haley, the Wizard of Oz's tin woodsman is the hero, comic fraidy cat insurance agent Albert Tuttle. Jean Parker, a solid leading lady who started at MGM and slid into poverty row stuff in the 40's, is the love interest and one of the heirs. An accomplished group of supporting players keep you guessing. (There's even a goldfish with a great swim-on part.) The writing is fairly snappy: the circumstances do stretch belief: the bodies pile up like laundry, but there's an inner logic of sorts to the whole thing if you can stick with it. The suspects often show up as hgroup when a new murder is committed and follow Haley around like he was leading a tour, but things move right along under Frank MacDonald's efficient direction.

Silly, old-fashioned (even for 1944), but somehow quaintly entertaining. It is nice to see Lugosi playing it fairly straight for a change.

The film detective sersion is probably best but given what is being restored for blu-ray, this should be in the queue. Anyway, check it out, even if just a reminder of what folks used to look at before television showed up.

Another winner here from Bela Lugosi, although to be fair he's more of a supporting character here. The film's main protagonist is the who plays hapless life insurance salesman Albert Tuttle, unwittingly drawn into a game of intrigue involving loads of benefactors awaiting the outcome of the will of some rich guy.

This rich guy was well into astronomy, and wants to be buried in a glass casket so the stars can shine on him. However, it's stated in his will somewhere that if he gets buried underground, then his will is reversed, and those due very little will get the most. Tuttle doesn't even know the guy is dead, and at first is mistaken for a private detective hired to guard the body (and both the detective and the corpse have gone walkies).

Tuttle teams up with the innocent granddaughter of the dead guy to find out who keeps moving the body, and killing off the benefactors. So you've got this Tuttle guy being bopped on the head, buried in a coffin, finding secret passageways, and being harassed for coffee by Bela, who plays the mysterious butler.

It's a good laugh all the way as this Tuttle guy gets put through the grinder at every opportunity, having to run around naked to avoid the benefactors, being stalked by someone with a poker, and various other farces. Yep, this film is mainly a comedy with a killer, and who doesn't love a film set in a house with secret passageways. Bela doesn't have too much to do here, but between himself and the guy who played Tuttle (Jack Avery?) One Body Too Many is a good laugh with very few slow spots.

"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.