In this combination murder-mystery/estate sale comedy, it's unclear that the cast agreed on what kind of movie they were making. Some, like Alan Ladd and Basil Rathbone played it straight. Meanwhile, Hugh Herbert as the "comedy relief" played everything as broadly as possible (it was a very stupid, annoying role).
The best bet seems to have been to split the difference. Broderick Crawford was reasonably successful in a light but not especially funny performance. And Gale Sondergaard was the MVP, playing her part with an overwrought version of her Rebecca character that just shaded into parody.
The script is weak, the performances are mixed, the cinematography is excellent, there's one memorable in-joke, and it's all quite missable.
The best bet seems to have been to split the difference. Broderick Crawford was reasonably successful in a light but not especially funny performance. And Gale Sondergaard was the MVP, playing her part with an overwrought version of her Rebecca character that just shaded into parody.
The script is weak, the performances are mixed, the cinematography is excellent, there's one memorable in-joke, and it's all quite missable.
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