ONE BODY TOO MANY

US, 1944, 75 minutes, Black and white.
Jack Haley, Jean Parker, Bela Lugosi, Blanche Yurka, Lyle Talbot, Douglas Fowler, Fay Helm.
Directed by Frank Mc Donald.

Jack Haley, who rose to prominence as the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, appeared in a number of small budget supporting features in the 1940s, touch of murder mystery, a touch of comedy.

This is a variation on The Old Dark House, characters being invited to a sinister place for the reading of a will. While this is the ingredient that brings all the characters together, the financial details are not spelt out but conditions given, especially for the deceased not to be buried underground but in a dome under the stars.

Jack Haley portrays an insurance salesman, full of confidence, getting an interview with the millionaire and hoping to get a big policy. When he arrives millionaire is dead and the salesman is put in the room with his coffin; he is mistaken for a detective who is to protect the body from anyone wanting to bury it so that the terms of the will are changed. After several slapstick situations, the relatives all discover that he is not the detective. However, he is attracted to the niece of the deceased, Jean Parker, who is not really after the money. Some of the relatives get up to all kinds of hijinks in removing the body which also disappears unexpectedly. And the insurance man, pretending to be the body, finds himself in the pool, almost drowning.

Then the real detective is discovered tied up.

The claimants to the money are the usual bunch, arrogant, difficulties in marriage, scheming to get the money. There is also a Professor, somewhat in the absent-minded vein, who is in charge of the observatory. There is also a sinister butler, played by Bela Lugosi, and a housekeeper, played by Blanche Yurka. They also have their schemes – with a recurring joke of the butler offering everybody a cup of coffee all throughout the film and receiving such a variety of reasons for their not accepting the coffee which also has rat poison in it.

Eventually, the villain is unmasked – not particularly startling.

The film is directed by Frank Mc Donald who made a number of similar films at this time, with Jack Haley in Treasure of Fear/ Scared Stiff, and a number with Chester Morris.