"One Body Too Many" is the sort of by-the-numbers horror-mystery-comedy that was once cranked out by Hollywood's B-units to fill the ravenous appetite for second features in the '30s and '40s. This particular flick featured the rather engaging, rather bland Jack Haley, best known for his "Wizard of Oz" Tin Man. One of the similar movie "Jacks" in this period (other Jacks in the pack being Jack Carson and Jack Oakie), Haley was a minor comedic talent who was able to hit the mark, ham it up a bit, bug his eyes and do a laborious double-take without displaying any distinctive personality. Like the other Jacks, he would soon be replaced by younger, hungrier, more talented actors returning from military service. The director, Frank McDonald, otherwise known for directing about a zillion Westerns, didn't try to do much with the script he was handed, which involved the usual "Cat and the Canary" story of odd bequests, strange mansion, a dark and stormy night and secret passages. His mostly experienced, middle-aged, over-dressed cast moved sluggishly through the proceedings and in general comported themselves with the somewhat distracted and dyspeptic air of guests at a party that's lasted too long. Alexander Lazlo's discordant avant-garde film score can be annoying. It telegraphs the action and its jangling sounds just don't add to the fun.. As though they were preparing themselves for the era of sitcoms that was soon to overtake Hollywood second feature comedies and kill them off forever, the writers did come up with one or two laugh-out-loud quips that still manage to echo well through the almost three-quarters-of-a- century between this movie's debut and its DVD reincarnation: "There are two classes of coffee... the percolated and there's the drip. Sorry, I'm a drip." The one surprise – a pleasant, though poignant one -- in "One Body Too Many" is the adroit comedy talent of Bela Lugosi. His diction clearer than usual, his personal demons conquered for the while and displaying a distinctly Continental charm, he was a delightful surprise. He was obviously having fun with his part. While not exactly Maurice Chevalier, his timing was immaculate and one could easily see him cast in a Lubitsch comedy; it was a loss for film that this side of him was never exploited. Though there are times when "One Body Too Many" remembers that it's supposed to be a horror movie, it's never really scary. Its silliness, though somewhat fusty, and its conspicuous confusion makes it an ideal family movie for mature children and childish adults.