The Ghost Breakers

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.

The basic plot: Bob Hope gets mixed up in a plot to get Paulette Goddards fortune.

The praise: Its a funny movie, with Bob Hope doing plenty of good gags and wisecracks . It also has a diverting , intriguing plot, suspense, and an eerie, funny old house part towards the end . The old house one is a fine set, and you won't have a clue who done it till the end. Paulette Goddard looks fetching, and the film is dated only by black stereotyping. The zombie scene works both seriously and as a spoof. Enjoy!

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.

One of my favorite films because it has a perfect balance of comedy, a strong sense of place, and it takes its ghost seriously. Beautiful production design and photography! The old dark house is beautifully set up. I highly recommend this. A sequel to "Cat and the Canary" with Bob Hope. Ghost Breakers resides alongside the more serious "Uninvited" and "The Innocents" as a perfect ghost story.

Like others, I first saw this as a kid and was so scared I didn't realize it was supposed to be a comedy. I watched it again last night and was still impressed by how effective the horror scenes are. Noble Johnson in his subtle but terrific zombie make-up is as chilling as anything in a "straight" horror film of the period. The sets are great and the cinematography wonderfully atmospheric. George Marshall was a very underrated director and his pictorial sense is frequently stunning (note the two shot of Paulette Goddard in her period costume and the painting of her ancestor on the wall). Goddard is strikingly pretty and charming, Bob Hope seems fresh and energetic (and very effective in some of his straight moments) and Willy Best gets to shed his "scared darky" persona and play a funny and reasonably straight role. Those who've commented on the humiliating racial stereotype Best seems to be playing here are understandably confused. THE GHOST BREAKERS is years ahead of its time in its treatment of Best's character. This is a guy who began his career under the stage name "Sleep'n'Eat", yet here he plays a rational and reasonably intelligent character named Alex, a comic sidekick but one that might easily have been played by Edward Everett Horton or any number of white actors. He's the one who figures out that Hope couldn't be a murderer because he was carrying the wrong caliber gun, and while he's as scared of a zombie as anybody would be he also pitches into the fight when the monster has to be subdued. If Best didn't consider this one of the best (sorry about that) roles of his career I'd be very surprised.