El castillo maldito

The Ghost Breakers is a sort of sequel to Paramount's 1939 hit "The Cat and the Canary", also starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Directed by George Marshall (who would direct the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis 1958 remake, "Scared Stiff", as well) it's adapted by Walter DeLeon from the play "The Ghost Breaker" by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. The premise is simple, after mistakenly thinking he has shot a hoodlum type, Larry Lawrence (Hope) flees into another hotel room, that of Mary Carter (Goddard), who is packing for a trip to Cuba. Befriending her, it's not before long that Larry is on his way to Cuba as well, but Mary is under threat from shifty characters and to make matters worse, their destination castle is rumoured to be haunted and tales of zombies seem to carry some weight.

Hope and Goddard really do have a rich chemistry here and the results are excellent to say the least. They would work again for a third time a year later in "Nothing But the Truth". But really it's with the writing that most credit is due here. Hope of course was an excellent deliverer of a line, but first you have to have quality lines to work from, and here with DeLeon's screenplay we get some delightful stuff for Hope to work with. From Basil Rathbone to sly political leg pulling, the gags come quick and fast and compliment the visual fun as Hope, Goddard and Willie Best are all aboard the fun creeper express. Charles Lang is on photography duties and captures the eerie atmosphere of the island perfectly, while a nod of approval should go to Edith Head for her costumes.

Ultimately it's fun we want and fun we get, with a cowardly hero and a sexy leggy lady as our protagonists, one can only hope that the zombies don't get in the way too much. As either a stand alone movie or as a double bill with "The Cat And The Canary", "The Ghost Breakers" showcases a fine double act from a fine time in cinema history. Enjoy 7.5/10

When Bob Hope first signed with Paramount what they had in mind for him were some B picture comedies playing the bottom half of double bills. Mr. Hope proved he was considerably more than that and his two films with Paulette Goddard and the film Never Say Die with Martha Raye proved he was a box office attraction.

The Ghost Breakers is the second of two Hope did with Paulette Goddard, the first being The Cat and the Canary. In this one Hope is Lawrence Lawrence Lawrence from parents as he said with a lack of imagination. He's a Walter Winchell type radio broadcaster and columnists and he spills some gangster information as Winchell was wont to do many times. Of course Winchell had the best source of information going in J. Edgar Hoover whereas Hope has raspy voiced stoolie Tom Dugan as his source.

When a story gets a little too close to home, Hope gets a summons from one of the gangland lords for a conference. But in the same hotel is Paulette Goddard who has just been warned by Anthony Quinn not to close a deal on a castle in an island off Cuba. When Quinn gets murdered Hope thinks he did it and Goddard and he are soon involved in every which way possible.

On my VHS copy is the trailer for The Ghost Breakers in which it's advertised that this new Bob Hope film will feature his 'boy' Syracuse played by Willie Best. Of course this is a play on Jack Benny's valet Rochester. Would that Willie Best was as fast on the uptake in putting down Hope as Eddie Anderson was as Rochester. Instead Best had to endure the indignity of being referred to as 'boy' in the trailer. He played the part as servile as the norm. Funny thing was his name in the film was Alex, he was never referred to as Syracuse.

Still the film does have its funny moments, especially when Hope and Goddard arrive at the haunted mansion. It's obvious there is more than ghosts haunting this place and Director George Marshall has a nice group of suspects to throw at us with Anthony Quinn, Paul Lukas, Richard Carlson, and Lloyd Corrigan. Yes, I did say Anthony Quinn who plays his own twin brother.

At the end it's actually Willie Best who saves them all. But what a surprise ending it would have been if Best had been the real villain of the piece.

Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) has just inherited a large castle estate on Black Island, near Cuba. However, besides rumors that the place is haunted, a variety of characters seem intent on claiming possession of the place. When Mary travels down to take a look at the place, she's joined by radio personality Lawrence "Larry" Lawrence (Bob Hope) who thinks he's running from a murder rap, as well as Larry's nervous manservant Alex (Willie Best).

Made as a follow-up to '39's The Cat and the Canary, this was also based on a stage play that had already been filmed in the silent era. It's a lot of fun, too, with both stars at the top of their game. Willie Best also does his best with a stereotypical servant role. Quinn and Carlson both look very young, and Robert Ryan makes his movie debut in a blink-and-miss-it bit as an ambulance attendant. Noble Johnson looks genuinely creepy as a zombie, while Goddard looks stunning, especially in her black gown made to resemble an ancestor's portrait.

The old studio system had at least one advantage over the methods used for movies today. No matter how wacky the premise of the movie, they worked from a script. From the opening crash and thunder of the storm that is pummeling New York City to the closing credits, you can tell this story was carefully crafted from beginning to end. Paulette is a delight to watch as she brings her sparkling and happy personality to an environment which would scare the crap out of most people. Bob Hope always thinks he is bigger than he is, and we are terrified along with him as he jokes and pans his way through this classic and original haunted house film. His valet delivers a delightful performance which is now not considered to be politically correct, but in the context of comedy, which is the way it was meant to be, is right on target. A movie which knows where it is going, because of the well-written and well-directed script, will take you on a beautiful journey of light entertainment.

One of my long-term favourites. Horror-comedy with a mystery element. Bob Hope is in prime, breezy form here, and while the lines are good, his throwaway style of delivery and nervous energy puts the film over. The atmosphere of acceptance of the supernatural (in the zombie element of the movie)is reminiscent of "I Walked With a Zombie", which might sound like ridiculously high praise for a Bob Hope comedy, but it's probably best if you see the film and check it out.

There's an element of racial stereotyping which some might find bothersome now. That said, Willie Best in the potentially offending role, gives a hilarious performance as "the family detainer".

The comedy and horror elements complement rather than interfere with each other, the director and stars do a trememdous job, and this is one of the more enjoyable pure entertainment pictures you're likely to come across.