The Ghost Goes West

"The Ghost Goes West" is a cute movie which is an interesting hybrid. It's directed by the famous French director René Clair, stars the British actor Robert Donat and many of the actors are Americans! It sounds odd...but it all works very well.

The film begins two hundred years ago. Murdock Glourie (Donat) is the son of a noble Scottish lord but he ends up embarrassing himself and losing the family honor when he's supposed to be out acting manly and fighting a war. He ends up getting killed by mistake and his father curses him to roam the family castle until he regains their honor.

Years pass. The family fortune is gone and the castle is a wreck. Donald Glourie (also played by Donat) has a mountain of debts and he and his creditors see no escaping it...until some goofy Americans with more money than common sense see the place and decide to buy it! Oddly, while Donald tries to keep the family out of the castle after midnight (when the ghost appears each night), the daughter (Jean Parker) sees the ghost and thinks it's Donald...and she thinks this version of 'Donald' is pretty sexy! Regardless, the goofy father (Eugene Palette) decides to move the castle, stone by stone, to Florida....and he invites over a bunch of rich swells to see the castle AND the ghost. What's next? See the film.

This is a cute film with a nice comedic touch and a touch of romance. While it's all very slight, it's handled well by Clair and the film is a delightful outing. Well worth seeing.

"The Ghost Goes West" is Robert Donat's only and best romantic comedy. Mr. Donat only made nineteen movies - they were dramas or light dramas. This movie is hysterical. It helps to have Eugene Pallette play the father of the girl (Jean Parker) that Donat's character loves. Mr. Donat plays two roles - Murdock Glourie (the ghost) and Donald Glourie (the current proprietor of the Scottish castle).

This was Eugene Pallette's first great speaking role. The other great roles he played were in: "My Man Godfrey", "Robin Hood", "Zorro", "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington", "The Lady Eve", and "Heaven Can Wait."

It is fun to watch the unknown cast - most of them did not continue working in the 1940's and so on. Only Donat, Parker, and Pallette were lucky to continue working. Ms. Parker is still alive and living comfortably at the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, CA.

In the midst of the "screwball comedy" fad in 30's Hollywood comes a British comedy of a different stripe. "The Ghost Goes West" is subtler than American audiences of the 30's were becoming used to and probably did not register with them as a result. It's a gentle comedy that grows on you, with hints of humor that warms rather than overpowers.

It stars one of the best, Robert Donat, who left us too soon. He was fresh off his success in "The Thirty-Nine Steps" and is seen here in a dual role as Donald Glourie, pennyless heir to Glourie Castle, and as his ancestor, Murdoch Glourie, a womanizer and not the warrior his father wanted. He is ably supported by lovely Jean Parker, and by Eugene Palette as her father and new owner of the castle.

It is well worth your time as an interesting and rewarding example of a different type of humor than we have become used to on this side of the Atlantic.

When a haunted Scottish castle is dismantled and removed to Florida THE GHOST GOES WEST, too.

Made under the auspices of producer Sir Alexander Korda, acclaimed director René Clair & distinguished author Robert E. Sherwood, here is a fine little film--very popular in its day--for thoughtful intellects, about things which go bump in the night. Or, rather, one thing in particular: a kilted phantom doomed to stalk his ancestral castle until his family's honour is avenged--irregardless of the actual physical location of his old stones, or whatever romantic complications may ensue.

Handsome Robert Donat brings just the right amount of sophisticated humor to the dual roles of the ghost and his 20th century descendant. The lovely Jean Parker is splendid as an American rich girl very happy to take the Highlands real estate if Mr. Donat comes along with it. Playing her father, Eugene Palette exhibits both bluster & bemusement as the merchant grocer determined on buying old Glourie Castle, ghost and all.

Morton Selten & Hay Petrie have amusing short roles as clan lairds who are fierce antagonists. The marvelous Elsa Lanchester appears far too briefly at the film's conclusion as a paranormal enthusiast.

Acknowledgment should go to Vincent Korda for his atmospheric sets. And just what is the difference betwixt a thistle in the heather & a kiss in the dark?

Scotsman Murdoch Glourie (Robert Donat) dies a coward in a battle with the rival MacLaggan clan. Murdoch is forced to haunt the family castle until he can get a MacLaggan to admit that one Glourie is worth fifty MacLaggans. Two hundred years later, his descendant Donald Glourie (also played by Donat) has to sell the castle to pay off debts. Pretty American Peggie Martin (Jean Parker) convinces her wealthy father to buy the castle and ship it, stone by stone, to the U.S.

Enjoyable British romantic comedy with a good cast and pleasant tone. Robert Donat shines in dual roles. Jean Parker is adorable and likable. Eugene Palette is always a treat. The rest of the cast is mostly made up of Brits and are fun to watch. While I do like it, I admit it drags some in the middle after a strong start. It finishes nicely though.