The Ghost of St. Michael's

Just a couple of points: the school is moved to Skye in the Hebrides, Scotland, NOT the Channel Islands.

Also, I would not say it is a take on The Ghost Train: that would be Oh Mr Porter, surely.

But certainly one of the most watchable of Will Hay's films.

It is amazing to see people like John Laurie, who went on to play Private Frazer in Dad's Army on TV, and, of course, Charles Hawtrey.

Did any of the other schoolboys go on to feature or star in other films?

Anybody know?

If you do, let us know

Will Hay is back as a hapless teacher, this time he is William Lamb, who is hired to teach on the remote Scottish Isle of Skye. Whilst there, Lamb is informed that the school is haunted by a legendary ghost and that with each sighting, and the sound of the eerie bagpipes, comes death to a member of staff.

This was Will Hay's second film for Ealing Studios and the significant leap in production quality from his Gainsborough Pictures works is very noticeable. Once again Marcel Varnel gives his tight and steady directing to a Hay picture, but the once golden team of Hay, Moffatt and Marriott had become no more. Feeling that as a trio they had gone as far as they could, Hay split the scene, leaving Moffatt and Marriott working at Gainsborough with the likes of Arthur Askey.

So in this first comedy for Ealing, Hay was effectively breaking in new comedy sidekick in the form of Claude Hulbert {Hulbert would make one other film with Hay, the darkly humorous My Learned Friend}, while Charles Hawtrey was making his third appearance of the four films he made with the erstwhile Hay. Tho the absence of Marriott and Moffatt is sorely felt, The Ghost Of St. Michael's stands up on its own two feet as a comedy of note. The writing from John Dighton and Angus MacPhail is lean and resplendent with comedic moments, whilst Ealing have really managed to capture that creepy comedy setting with John Croydon's production team on tip top form. Full of secret rooms and mysterious goings on, and even offering up a nice who done it finale, it's a film for all the family to enjoy. 8/10

Will Hay was too old to serve in the armed forces during World War II, but he did his part to ease the tension in England with some comedy films until he retired in 1943. "The Ghost of St. Michael's" isn't his funniest movie, but it is a fair comedy mystery that just incidentally has to do with the war.

Again, the comical Hay takes to the classroom where he is a teacher of questionable credentials (and abilities). He plays Will Lamb. This was all shot in the Ealing Studios near London, but the setting is of a castle somewhere on the coast of Scotland. It has been converted to a school for boys (high school age) whose school has been closed during the bombing of London.

The funniest part of the film is the scene of a court being conducted in a barn. Animals keep coming and going to the consternation of the presiding judge. Ducks, pigs, a goat, a chicken and a cow all have cameo appearances. The best lines are from this scene. Here are my favorite lines.

Procurator Fiscal (played by Hay Petrie), "I put it to you, Mr. Lamb. Either you are grossly incompetent to teach chemistry, or you're making a puerile attempt to avoid an accusation of having caused the death of Mr. Humphries."

Procurator Fiscal, 'You couldn't possibly have known that I would say what I've just said." Will Lamb, "Listen, if you're trying to say that I wouldn't have said what I said I'd say, if you said what you said you would've said, well all I can say is fiddle sticks."

Dithering teacher Will Hay gets a job at a Scottish castle where pupils have been evacuated to. The castle is said to be haunted and indeed teachers start to be bumped off.

Usual silly Hay and co nonsense which tends to grow on you as the film progresses and turns into a fairly fun comedy thriller. Hawtrey is annoying for the most part but the film gains some dignity from the presence of Huntley and Aylmer.

In his Hay-Day Will Hay seldom put a foot - or a tonsil – wrong, the Ghost Of St. Michael's was no exception, proving to be yet another classic. Set in a haunted castle on the Isle Of **** (in case Jerry wanted to know the direction to Skye) I've seen this so many times now that I find it sometimes hard to remember they were all really in Ealing's studios even though it was cheaply and simply made. Such is the power of auto-suggestion!

Because of the War an English boarding school is evacuated en masse to a castle in Scotland, of which the wild eyed porter John Laurie informs the scoffing new science master Hay and forward pupil Charles Hawtrey that it is haunted with the ghost of a phantom piper. Hay strikes up a friendship with fellow silly master Claude Hulbert, but doesn't impress the weird Head Felix Aylmer and incurs the derision of nasty senior master Raymond Huntley – which doesn't matter as these two don't last very long. So many favourite bits: the lesson in the draughty classroom on What Goes Up Must Come Down – with a disinterested Gerald Campion (the future TV Billy Bunter) sat behind Hawtrey – where Hay is taught a lesson; the dormitory feast where Hay gets tight on some jolly good lemonade to the delight of the boys; displaying his deep knowledge of gases to the boys in the science lesson; the denouement which could so easily have ended flat; but especially the delicious inquest in the barn, of which you must already know I'm going to say all I can say is Fiddlesticks!

In the decades before it got out onto DVD it was my most borrowed or copied tape by friends, which is why it's surprising to me that there have been so few commenters here so far. It's always been one of my favourites, a totally un-nasty un-cynical non-violent harmless old fashioned piece of fluff and a, no, the classic of its kind.