Charles W. Goddard Movies

Scared Stiff is the 1953 remake of the 1940 Bob Hope-Paulette Goddard vehicle The Ghost Breakers, reupholstered for the talents of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. While Martin handles the straight plot scenes, just as Hope did in the earlier film, the Hope-like wisecracks are fairly evenly divided between Martin and Lewis. Lewis is for the most part relegated to the secondary role played by black comedian Willie Best in Ghost Breakers, with a few opportunities for his manic specialties: his personal highlight is an imitation of Carmen Miranda (who also appears in the flesh). The plot is the same as before: an American heiress (Lizabeth Scott) is warned to stay away from the forbidding Cuban mansion that she's inherited. Disregarding these threats, the girl heads to Cuba, along with Martin and Lewis, who are on the lam from various antagonists (Dean has been falsely accused of murder, while Lewis has run afoul of gangsters). Once they've reached Scott's mansion, Martin and Lewis are confronted by all manner of terrors: a ghost, a zombie, a mysterious assailant (who turns out to be the least likely suspect). It turns out that the mansion is built over a huge cache of hidden gold, which is why the bad guy is so anxious to make Scott and the boys skedaddle. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby make gag appearances toward the end of Scared Stiff; returning the favor, Martin and Lewis would show up unbilled in the Hope-Crosby opus Road to Bali (1953). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Claudette Colbert plays a dizzy socialite who wants to become an actress. She buys her way into an audition for the part of a seductive vamp in an upcoming film. To prove she's worthy of the role, Colbert comes on strong to unsuspecting bachelor Edmund Lowe. He falls like a ton of bricks, but Colbert drops him when she's cast in the film. Lowe is not so easily disposed of; he abducts Colbert from the studio and spirits her away. She eventually realizes that she's loved him all along, while the modern-day feminists in the audience grind their teeth and pull their hair. Misleading Lady was based on a play by Charles W. Goddard and Paul Dickey. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This was Miriam Cooper's last film, and in her autobiography, Dark Lady of the Silents, she claimed "It was not only the worst movie I'd ever been in, it was the worst movie I'd ever seen." She was probably exaggerating a bit, because reviews of the day indicate that it was somewhat better than mediocre. Philip Marvin (Kenneth Harlan) is flying cross-country in hopes of setting a new record, but his plane goes down during a storm, and crashes through the roof of a ranch on the Mexican border. Inez Villera (Cooper), the foster daughter of the owner, has been praying for a husband and she believes that Marvin's sudden appearance is a message from God. Marvin, meanwhile, has lost his memory, but he likes Inez, who eagerly cares for him. But a certain Captain Santos (Walter Long) wants Inez for himself, and he causes trouble by asking Marvin's relatives for a huge ransom. The secret service foils the plan, and when Marvin's memory returns, he and Inez wed. This comedy-drama based on the play by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Stoddard was filmed again in 1932, with Lupe Velez and Melvyn Douglas starring. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

A typical blood-and-thunder melodrama, this independently produced serial by Kosmik Films starred actor/stunt man Harry Carter as master thief Sidney Atherton, a man of many disguises. Blonde Grace Darmond played the imperiled heroine and other roles were taken by George Chesebro, Boris Karloff (as a henchman named Dakor), Carmen Phillips, and 1923 WAMPAS Baby Star Ethel Shannon. Produced by Poverty Row's George Kleine, the serial was written by veterans Charles Goddard and John B. Clymer. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Although not as remembered as The Perils of Pauline (also 1914), The Exploits of Elaine was by all accounts the superior serial, grossing over $1 million dollars and further establishing its athletic leading lady Pearl White as the serial queen to beat. White played Elaine Dodge, whose father (William Riley Hatch) is murdered for some papers that may reveal the secret hideaway of a notorious and ruthless master criminal known only as The Clutching Hand (Sheldon Lewis). Helping Elaine track down the villain is noted detective Craig Kennedy (Arnold Daly), who is himself aided by newspaperman Walter Jameson (Creighton Hale in the first three chapters then Raymond Owens in chapters 4-14). Among the Clutching Hand's minions and henchmen are a South American Indian who uses darts dipped in curare as his weapon of choice, an insane scientist who invents an apocalyptic killing machine, and a gang of crooks known as "The Brotherhood of the Falsers." Along the way, Elaine is framed in a blackmail scheme by Wu Fang (Edwin Arden), a devil-worshipping Asian, and is almost sacrificed to the devil herself. Our heroine is rescued again and again by the stalwart Mr. Kennedy, who uses a scientific gadget or two to battle the forces of evil. Produced by the Wharton Brothers in and around Ithaca, New York, The Exploits of Elaine was co-directed by George B. Seitz, an early serial expert who is today perhaps better known for helming M-G-M's pleasantly nostalgic "Andy Hardy" series 1937-1944. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi