The Ghost Comes Home

The Ghost Comes Home is mainly of interest for the presence of those Wizard Of Oz cast members Frank Morgan and Billie Burke. Morgan plays his usual henpecked milquetoast character who usually can't get a word in edgewise at home.

Morgan signed an MGM contract in 1935 and did the vast majority of films for that studio from then on in. They divide into two parts, those for whom he's in support of some of their top stars and B films like this one where he's the lead.

Morgan is his usual befuddled self with wife and kids and a pair of sponging brothers-in-law operating a pet store that barely makes ends meet. meet. One day he receives a trans-Pacific call from Australia and it's from a school days friend Richard Carle who struck it rich in the land down under. Come on down says Carle, he's making out his will and wants some advice on who in his old home town should benefit.

So it's off to New York where he manages to walk into a nightclub brawl and does 60 days of municipal hospitality. He misses the boat and it gets sunk with all on board lost. His family thinks him dead and they cashed in on a $10,000.00 insurance policy. Think of that in today's dollars and they came into quite a windfall.

Knowing that if he's seen the whole family is in trouble, those who've walked all over him all these years. Especially those two sponges Nat Pendleton and Frank Albertson. The worm does turn.

Of course there's been fraud committed, unintentional but still fraud. How it all gets resolved is for you to watch the film. But it has a lot to do with traveling bandleader John Shelton who came through Morgan's small town and got involved with daughter Ann Rutherford.

Also in this cast are again a lot of familiar character players like Donald Meek, Hobart Cavanaugh, and a slew of others that make watching films of this era such a joy.

A nice product from MGM's B picture unit.

This fairly standard piece of situation comedy would be most appealing to fans of Frank Morgan, who is charming in his role. There is a curious appeal in seeing The Wizard of Oz married to Glinda the Good Witch, but unfortunately Billie Burke is in only a few scenes.

The script has some funny lines, and I'd be intrigued to find out how much of the dialogue was contributed by screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who wrote a lot of the James Bond movies.

Geez, this comment sounds much more lukewarm than I actually feel about the movie. Morgan is delightful and I enjoyed the time I spent watching the film...to about the same degree that I'd enjoy three good TV sitcoms.

I started watching this because it features some of my favorite actors. Since it's an MGM movie, I figured it would be good for some pleasant comedy, and maybe even more.

Instead, it turned out to be a train wreck. The script, which is terrible, goes nowhere. There is no comedic timing in the movie, though it features some first-rate comedians, like Frank Morgan and Billie Burke.

How, I kept wondering, could MGM have produced this? How?

I have no idea.

Frank Morgan reunites with Billie Burke---not long after "The Wizard of Oz"---to play a married couple in this attempt at screwball comedy that falls short due to a script that lurches from scene to scene.

The story revolves around a misunderstanding. Everyone thinks Vern Adams (Morgan) died in a sea tragedy. His unexpected return launches a series of deceptions that create a hectic pace but few genuine laughs.

The colorful cast is worth seeing, however. Especially Ann Rutherford, between Andy Hardy films, who plays the Adams' daughter. Unfortunately, she is underused despite her strong contribution to the film's only romantic storyline.

I was getting ready to watch this film on my television when the house was plunged into darkness did to a failure at a junction box. So with the aid of a flashlight i found my portable dv d player and put on the disc. It was this or nothing. I just could not believe the witless farce that played out before me in the dark and cold. It only.kept.my interest because the delightful Billie Burke was fratured,and I had just purchased her biography. The script seemed at times.as if it note the fingerprints of at.least twelve uncredited writers. They had each contributed one idea to the plot that was retained. Frank !organ does his usual mugging to try and raise a laugh.