Gildersleeve's Ghost

Looks like the comedic setup here is more suited to an Abbott and Costello romp than to the gentler humor of Gildersleeve. The material is pretty familiar to old movie fans—a fake gorilla, a real gorilla (sort of), and invisible people who come and go. Of course, there's a ready-made bonanza of cheap laughs in schtick like this, so I suspect this series entry was working on a shorter production schedule than the preceding three that required more difficult scripts.

Anyway, familiar material or not, there's still the surreal premise that guarantees obvious laughs as director Douglas keeps things moving expertly. And get a load of blonde bombshell Marion Martin who wiggles in and out as the Marilyn Monroe of the '40's. Still, I was expecting the subtler humor of small town eccentrics that the series was so good at. Unfortunately, this distinctive brand of humor gets lost in the hectic hijinks of the surreal, making this the weakest of the four series entries, maybe not in the number of laughs, but in overall Andy Griffith-type satisfaction.

Normally, if I were going to watch a picture from a series, I'd start at the beginning. But the fourth or four Great Gildersleeve films called to me when I read the summary on IMDB. I sounds so weird, so ill-conceived and so nutty that I had to see it!

Throckmorton Gildersleeve is running for police commissioner. Two of his dead relatives (all played by Harold Peary) visit him and decide to help him in the election. Unfortunately, things get really foul things up and Throckmorton becomes involved with a mad scientist, an invisible (and quite frisky) woman and a sometimes invisible gorilla. I kid you not!!! Can it get any stranger than this????

The best thing going for this film is that thankfully it doesn't take itself seriously...which separates it from films like those of, for instance, Ed Wood Jr.. It's meant to be hokey and silly...and it does certainly succeeds at this!

So is it worth your time? Well, a lot of it depends on you. For many, I am sure it's so silly that you would hate it. But for others, its ridiculous story elements (and it's chock full of 'em) make it a must-see! For me, I enjoyed its dopiness. It's not good...but it IS entertaining! And, it certainly won't be mistaken for an Oscar nominee or addition to the Criterion Collection!

By the way, while he acts much like Willie Best and looks a lot like him, that's Nick Stewart playing Chauncy. You might remember his as Lightnin' in the old "Amos 'n Andy" TV series. While some might dislike his scared black guy shtick in this film and find it's not politically correct, it's very similar to Lou Costello in "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein"...in fact it's nearly identical.

"The Great Gildersleeve" is my favorite old time radio show, but I can't necessarily say this is this big-screen version is the best example of what made the show work so well.

Running for police commissioner, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve is caught up in a whirlwind affair involving an escaped gorilla, an invisible woman and a mad scientist lurking in a mysterious mansion near Summerfield. The chain of events is set in motion by two ghosts from the Gildersleeve family tree (played by Harold Perry, in addition to his work as our favorite Uncle Mort). Of course, only Gildy sees the gorilla, the ghost girl and other mysterious goings- on, leading everyone to believe he's probably going a bit mad.

Lots of the humor comes from misunderstanding or conveniently placed trap doors and invisible girls vanishing at just the right moment. Plot threads are brought up and then dropped just as quickly (once the ghosts vanish in the first reel, they're not heard from again, despite claims they want to help our hero).

As a fan of the radio program, it's fun to see various cast members from the show on screen, playing their familiar roles. Marjorie and Leroy are played by different actors (a necessity since both roles were played by older actors than the characters they played) however. Mr. Peavey and Judge Hooker are on hand, with Mr. Peavey playing the foil to Gildy throughout the film. (You may become weary of his famous line, "Well now, I wouldn't say that" before the final reel).

At just over an hour, the movie doesn't overstay its welcome, but it's not necessarily anything to write home about either. If you're a big fan of the radio show, give it a try. If you've not heard of Gildersleeve, find some of the radio programs first to get a better feel of why the show was so popular.

Two Gildersleeve ghosts discover experiments being conducted by mad scientist Dr. John Wells which include an invisible woman and an escaped gorilla. Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve is running for police commissioner against the incumbent Haley. His niece and nephew want to campaign for him in costumes, Leroy in a gorilla costume. This leads a mistaken identity and a hunt for a real gorilla although Haley believes that it's a PR stunt.

It's a minor comedy. The outlandish premise has some screwball potential. I don't know much about the comedic stylings of Harold Peary. It feels like that he's one half of a comedic duo and he struggling to fill both roles. With his tone, he should be a fraidy cat running from ghosts and other monsters. Chauncey dealing with the invisible woman is probably the funniest bits but one has to ignore the bad stereotype. He has a good amount of fraidy cat tone but he can go overboard. This would work better with more slapstick and physical humor. It's all a little less funny than the wacky premise should be able to deliver.

The final Great Gildersleeve picture from RKO is a weird one but entertaining. The plot this time is that Gildersleeve (Harold Peary) is running for police commissioner. The ghosts of two of his ancestors (both also played by Peary) decide to help him but only get him involved with a mad scientist, an invisible woman, and a gorilla! They are Gildersleeves, after all.

This one's fun. I've enjoyed all of the Gildersleeve movies but this one appeals to me especially as I'm a big fan of old horror/sci-fi movies. Harold Peary is great in this one playing three separate roles. Frank Reicher is appropriately sinister as the mad scientist. Beauties Marion Martin and Amelita Ward pretty things up as the invisible woman and French maid respectively. Martin is also very funny. Love her scenes with Gildersleeve. Richard LeGrand, Emory Parnell, Lillian Randolph, Margie Stewart, and Freddie Mercer all offer good support. Marie Blake is the lady in love with Gildersleeve. Every movie in the series had to have one. Nick Stewart is hilarious as a cowardly chauffeur. It's a stereotypical role but he does a lot with it. The 'old dark house' touches are very nice. The guy in the gorilla suit may not be convincing but that's part of the charm of it. Every scene with the gorilla is great. The scene where Gildersleeve threatens to spank the gorilla, believing it to be his nephew Leroy in a costume, is priceless. I can understand it not appealing to everyone but if you enjoy old-school horror comedies with a little atmosphere and a lot of laughs, you'll probably like this.