"Scarred Stiff" is a Paramount remake of it's 1940 hit movie, "The Ghost Breakers," that starred Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, and Willie Best. The original also had a superb supporting cast that included Paul Lukas and Anthony Quinn. The story is basically the same, but the screenplay for this one was altered for Jerry Lewis's character over that of Willie Best.
Although this film did very well at the box office - as did the original, it doesn't come close to the first one. In adding the over-the-top goofiness of Jerry Lewis's character, Myron Mertz, the film loses some of its original intent and value. That's most notably the fright factor and intrigue. The original had that slight air, even knowing it's a comedy, and Willie Best helped bring it out superbly. With Jerry Lewis here, there's no thought of anything really scary because he's a buffoon bouncing around and viewers know it's all goofiness for fun.
Nor does this film have such a big-name supporting cast. Most of the supporting roles here don't have the level of intrigue, suspense or interest that the characters provided in the first film. This is not one of the better films by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Well, Paramount made some money with this film also, but for a much better and entertaining film, watch "The Ghost Breakers" when able to do so. This one's forgettable, but "The Ghost Breakers" is good enough to keep in a film library.
Although this film did very well at the box office - as did the original, it doesn't come close to the first one. In adding the over-the-top goofiness of Jerry Lewis's character, Myron Mertz, the film loses some of its original intent and value. That's most notably the fright factor and intrigue. The original had that slight air, even knowing it's a comedy, and Willie Best helped bring it out superbly. With Jerry Lewis here, there's no thought of anything really scary because he's a buffoon bouncing around and viewers know it's all goofiness for fun.
Nor does this film have such a big-name supporting cast. Most of the supporting roles here don't have the level of intrigue, suspense or interest that the characters provided in the first film. This is not one of the better films by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Well, Paramount made some money with this film also, but for a much better and entertaining film, watch "The Ghost Breakers" when able to do so. This one's forgettable, but "The Ghost Breakers" is good enough to keep in a film library.