****SPOILERS**** With the criminally insane John Channing, Milton Parson, escaping from the state mental asylum he makes it to his sister Lorinda's,Cecil Cunningham,family mansion where she's, who in fact planned John's escape, awaiting him. It's there that John is given the job of the family butler as Lorinda's mostly greedy and unscrupulous relatives are to arrive there to be read by family lawyer Peter Thorne, Craig Stevens,her last will & testament. Unknown to everyone involved -except Lorinda-she's got a number of surprises for them that in the end will give them exactly what's coming to them and it isn't her money as well as her stock and bond certificates. She leaves a number of clues for them to find her hidden fortune to trick them instead in doing doing themselves in.
By tricking her family members into thinking that she suddenly died of heart failure Lorinda gets to know their true motives in being there and has them off themselves in their greed to screw each other out of their inheritance. Even the greedy and sleazy former Japanese butler, until John took his place, Mallo played by Chinese Kam Tong who ends up getting it up the creek, as a going away present, when he tried to jump the gun in getting the clue where Lorinda's hidden cash was located. In fact the only one who Lorinda planned to leave her fortune to was her good friend Mary Winfield, Elisabeth Fraser, actually didn't want a penny of it but was targeted by the rest of the family members to be murdered so that they instead could end up getting it.
***SPOILERS**** As it turned out the sleaziest of the bunch was the one Lorinda entrusted to bring her back to life after her fake fatal heart attack Dr. Lawrence Channing, Frank Wilcox. It was Dr. Channing who let her die, or so he thought, by not administrating the antidote to bring Lorinda back to life. He ended up getting it the worst of all by having to face justice instead getting a quick exit like most of the other members of the cast or Channing family. As for Lorinda her plan soon backfired in trying to keep Mary from dropping down through the trap door she set for everyone else and instead unknowingly ended up taking her place. P.S Check out the hilariously funny Willie Best as the family chauffeur Eustace who unlike most of those in the film had something to hang on to when the trap door was sprung on him!
By tricking her family members into thinking that she suddenly died of heart failure Lorinda gets to know their true motives in being there and has them off themselves in their greed to screw each other out of their inheritance. Even the greedy and sleazy former Japanese butler, until John took his place, Mallo played by Chinese Kam Tong who ends up getting it up the creek, as a going away present, when he tried to jump the gun in getting the clue where Lorinda's hidden cash was located. In fact the only one who Lorinda planned to leave her fortune to was her good friend Mary Winfield, Elisabeth Fraser, actually didn't want a penny of it but was targeted by the rest of the family members to be murdered so that they instead could end up getting it.
***SPOILERS**** As it turned out the sleaziest of the bunch was the one Lorinda entrusted to bring her back to life after her fake fatal heart attack Dr. Lawrence Channing, Frank Wilcox. It was Dr. Channing who let her die, or so he thought, by not administrating the antidote to bring Lorinda back to life. He ended up getting it the worst of all by having to face justice instead getting a quick exit like most of the other members of the cast or Channing family. As for Lorinda her plan soon backfired in trying to keep Mary from dropping down through the trap door she set for everyone else and instead unknowingly ended up taking her place. P.S Check out the hilariously funny Willie Best as the family chauffeur Eustace who unlike most of those in the film had something to hang on to when the trap door was sprung on him!