This crazy camp horror comedy from Bing Crosby Productions stars Norman Stuart as wealthy Lord Arnold Dwellyn – who was a shady character in life and is an even shadier one now he’s dead.
Arnold has used his death to finally escape from his unloving and spiteful shrew of a wife, Jocelyn (Shani Wallis) and has arranged to posthumously “marry” his beautiful young flight attendant mistress Karen (Stella Stevens) to prevent the widowed Joclyn from getting the bulk of his millions.
A stipulation of Karen’s inheritance is that she keeps his embalmed body in the house with her and maintains it for the rest of her days.
Arnold has also left behind a series of cassettes on which he has recorded his last wishes and observations regarding his relatives – all of whom he hates (there’s a tape deck built into his coffin!). He especially despises his younger brother Robert (Roddy McDowell), an unemployed leech.
The only family member Arnold remotely appreciated is his eccentric but loving sister Hester (Elsa Lanchester), who cared for him while the others tried to steal from him. Hester is thrilled that Arnold is still around and loves helping Karen with his maintenance.
The fun begins as one relative after another shows their character flaw and pays for it in a hilariously deadly way: One is compacted in a garbage truck, another crushed to death from a suit, another interred for life in a vault, another beheaded, and a couple pressed together between two walls.
The local police constable (Bernard Fox) is an utter clot who jovially ascribes every bizarre murder to accidental causes.
Director Georg Fenady pulls out all the Gothic horror conventions – sliding bookcases, thunderstorms, portraits with human eyes peeking out of them, and even a raven croaking about the tombstones.
Karen
Stella Stevens Robert
Roddy McDowall Hester
Elsa Lanchester Lady Jocelyn Dwellyn
Shani Wallis Evan Lyons
Farley Granger Minister
Victor Buono Governor
John McGiver Constable Hooke
Bernard Fox Douglas Whitehead
Patric Knowles Dybbi
Jamie Farr Lord Arnold Dwellyn
Norman Stuart Jonesy
Ben Wright Flo
Wanda Bailey
Director
Georg Fenady
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Arnold has also left behind a series of cassettes on which he has recorded his last wishes and observations regarding his relatives – all of whom he hates (there’s a tape deck built into his coffin!). He especially despises his younger brother Robert (Roddy McDowell), an unemployed leech.
