Scared Stiff

VHS, 108 minutes, PARAMOUNT

Bob Hope had done it before in 1940's "The Ghost Breakers". But in 1953, it was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis' turn to make a spooktacle of themselves. They were scared silly in Scared Stiff, the sixth screen version of a Broadway hit originally penned by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. Of course, what mattered most to audiences was not the time-honored storyline but the all-new spin it was given by the stars' special blend of songs and comic mayhem. Laugh-happy moviegoers made Scared Stiff one of the year's top box-office hits. Film noir queen Lizabeth Scott costars, portraying the heiress who leads the lads to her Caribbean castle. And, in her last film, Carmen Miranda joins the fun for several musical numbers.