Scared to Death (1947)
“She tells the tale — from the morgue table.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
Notable as Bela Lugosi's only color starring role, Scared to Death is a curious Cinecolor mystery told in flashback by its own murder victim. Lugosi prowls an old-house plot thick with hypnotism, masks, and menace. It pairs him with George Zucco for double the horror-villain value.
Cast
About the Director
Christy Cabanne — Christy Cabanne shot the film in early two-strip Cinecolor and built its gimmick around narration by a corpse recalling her own demise. He stuffed the brief running time with hypnotism, masks, and old-dark-house atmosphere.
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Scared to Death is in the US public domain — a Golden Gate Pictures release that fell out of copyright; the Internet Archive copy carries a public-domain mark and it has been verified as a US-PD full feature.
Behind the Scenes
Filmed in Cinecolor, it is the only color film in which Bela Lugosi received star billing. It is a low-budget Golden Gate Pictures production typical of Lugosi's late-career poverty-row work.
Did You Know?
- This is the only color film in which Bela Lugosi starred.
- The entire story is narrated by a woman lying dead on a mortuary slab.
- George Zucco, a frequent horror heavy, plays opposite Lugosi here.
Reception & Legacy
Critics generally regard it as a muddled, low-budget oddity, "campy, nonsensical" but oddly watchable. Its enduring appeal rests on Lugosi-in-color novelty and its bizarre corpse-narrator framing.
Tormented
The Monster Walks
The Gorilla
The Thirteenth Guest