The Ghost and the Guest

Ghost and the Guest, The (1943)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

William Nigh directed "old dark house" flick about a newlywed couple who buys a farm house only to discover someone was recently murdered there and now the body has disappeared. I wasn't expecting too much out of this thing but got a lot less than I was hoping for. At 55-minutes you'd think this thing would at least fly by but it's pretty dry and slow. The horror elements are incredibly weak as is the mystery behind the body. The humor is even worse with some racial jokes about a local hangman who keeps threatening the black servant with hanging jokes. James Dunn takes the lead and is more annoying than anything else.

Midway through this picture, there's a scene where the two leads (James Dunn and Florence Rice) find themselves momentarily alone in their room. It's their honeymoon, and they've had nary a second to themselves the whole movie, until now. But—before they even have a chance to breathe, people start pouring into their room, one at a time and in groups, until virtually all of the characters in the movie are right there in the same bedroom. –It ought to be funny, in a kind of Marx-Brothers-state-room sort of way….but somehow, it's just kind of flat. This whole picture is that way: full of scenes and gags that seems like they ought to be funny, but just aren't.

The plot: Dunn and Rice inherit a house and decide to move right in, sight unseen. They bring along Sam McDaniel, who is apparently Dunn's valet and chauffeur. Mysterious doings are soon afoot; it seems the house was somehow connected with a recently executed convict and there may be some money around the place.

Various characters turn up at the house to investigate, make trouble, or just hang around —a retired hangman, a police chief who writes detective thrillers, a dumb blonde and a sinister brunette, a couple of gangsters….the usual assortment.

McDaniel, as chauffeur Harmony Jones, is the stereotypical frightened servant but somehow comes across as less dopey than any of the other characters; his wisecracks are occasionally clever. (He also advises Dunn on how to deal with married life: "Now take my wife, for instance. This morning I bawled her out for being so extravagant." What happened? Pause. "I'm giving up cigars.")

Dunn and Rice as the newlyweds bicker and flirt and do their best to generate some energy but are largely defeated by dialog and plot that are woefully short on surprises.

Certainly not the madcap laugh riot that it apparently aims to be, this picture is nevertheless mildly amusing and generally harmless enough. Call it a B picture that never rises above its budget.

James Dunn, Florence Rice, Sam McDaniel - a solid cast of pros; Morey Amsterdam as one of the writers and the ever popular old dark house setting - all of this is a pretty good formula for success, but in this case, it somewhat misses the mark. James Dunn is always so likable on the screen and this film is no exception and Florence Rice is one of those "coulda been a star" if she had gotten a couple of breaks (and, of course, a couple of less bland roles). Sam McDaniel is once again a servant but at least in this movie he gets all the best lines. While there are some funny or witty lines, there are just not enough. And the whole bit with the retired hangman is just not funny. While as memorable as most t.v. episodes airing today, it's not that good an example of the old dark house comedy/mystery genre.

About the only unusual and interesting thing about "The Ghost and the Guest" is that it was written by the comedian Morey Amsterdam. Apart from that, it's all a very standard film--with the usual cliches and a typical performance by James Dunn. In other words, it has B-movie written all over it...albeit a pleasant enough one to watch.

A couple (James Dunn and Florence Rice) just got married and arrived at a house they inherited. Unfortunately, it comes with a problem...a body. However, when the police arrive, the body has disappeared! They know who the dead man probably was...he was a man who recently was executed. But where is the body and why would it move?!

The film is very typical of the era, when many B haunted house and mystery movies were being made. Nothing offensive or awful here...just a typical higher quality PRC production.

"A newlywed couple decides to spend their honeymoon at their new home, an old country cottage. The couple, along with their chauffeur, find themselves in the middle of a mystery when they are beset upon by a series of guests. A former executioner, a coffin, a gang of jewel thieves, and the police make for an interesting honeymoon for our newlyweds," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Long before he worked on "The Alan Brady Show" (as documented on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") comedy writer Morey Amsterdam aka "Buddy Sorrell" scripted a few comedy movies. "The Ghost and the Guest" is a good example, albeit done dirt cheap. The tired "spooky old house" formula provides a sampling of the writer's one-liners, which sounded better elsewhere. Watch out for colliding actors.

*** The Ghost and the Guest (4/19/43) William Nigh ~ James Dunn, Florence Rice, Sam McDaniel