The Living Ghost

The Living Ghost (1942)

If you want to be sure to see every early zombie movie (because you are obsessed, or a completist), you'll have to watch this one. Yes, this fairly low budget comedy with dramatic lighting and a murder, too. It's a common, lighthearted style from the 1930s and 40s, taking serious themes but putting a cheeky, clever lead in the middle of the situation to give it comic relief.

It's not a terrific formula without some great acting and writing, and this one is a strain. The detective (played by James Dunn) is called into lair of a rich family with some mysterious doings. He's a decent comic type, always in charge and casual and a bit goofy. He's looking for a real criminal or two, however, and so there is a backdrop nights in the garden and thunderstorms in strange houses. It's really rather fun and well done in many cinematic ways.

But it's too often silly and deflating, too. Lighthearted and lightheaded.

The zombie part? That's for real, and if this main zombie is so normal you'll get disappointed, he's still the real thing, and could be an archetype for a shadowy kind of zombie that infiltrates normal society. He's the opposite of the "World War Z" type of superman zombie, and it's a more interesting direction. As the movie progresses the detective (and the tag-along your woman who he's in love with) encounter another zombie, and it gets creepier even as the light comedy persists.

Anyway, watch if you just want a breezy fun time with lots of night and dark filming (which is rather nice overall). And a couple of zombies, more or less.

The Living Ghost has James Dunn as a private detective trying to find a missing millionaire who all of a sudden shows up after Dunn as started his investigation. The problem is that Gus Glassmire is in some kind of catatonic state, he's walking around but he can't speak at all. Enough so that he cannot manage his affairs.

Before he's hired Dunn is working some kind of swami act, but he was good in his day. Glassmire's secretary Joan Woodbury seeing him in his swami outfit just doesn't believe in his abilities. She provides just enough needle to keep him on his toes and she's even a bit of help. Dunn and Woodbury do have some decent chemistry.

Dunn hangs around the mansion and pretty soon there's a real murderer among a nice group of suspects, more than a studio like Monogram would normally provide for one of these mysteries. The editing also isn't too bad, another thing that Monogram was not good with.

In the end there are two suspects, one is rather obvious, the other would take a bit of figuring. The Living Ghost is not a bad B picture and for Monogram it's practically The Maltese Falcon.

James Dunn had been Fox's breezy leading man in the early 1930s but by the late 30s he was drinking heavily and could not find much work. This is one of the films he made before he showed people what a fine and sensitive actor he was in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945).

Directed by workhorse William Beaudine it is a "quickie" Monogram production that starts out dealing with psychics and zombies but fizzles out half way through. When a banker, Mr. Craig, turns up missing, the family decide to call in Nick Trane (James Dunn), an eccentric private detective who is earning a living as a psychic. He meets all the assorted relatives, including pretty Billie Hilton (Joan Woodbury) and wacky Aunt Delia (Minerva Urecal) who believes she has psychic powers.

Suddenly Mr. Craig turns up in a trance like state. Nick and Billie join forces to find the culprit. He organises to meet Mr. Phillips in the garden but then Phillips turns up dead. Mr. Craig then starts to walk around in a zombie like state - he has a knife and tries to kill Nick. There is also an odd butler, who suffers from insomnia, as well as hijinks at a haunted house. There is even a title, in my DVD that says - "Please wait one moment - while we change reels"!!!!

James Dunn shows the same likability that he had early in his career. Minerva Urecal found a home at "Mother's" in the Peter Gunn TV series of the 50s.

An ex-detective is called out of retirement to investigate a recent kidnapping. However, once on the job, one of the suspects becomes a zombie-like being and no one knows exactly how this occurred nor where the missing man is. And, to top it off, murder (or at least attempted murder) is in the air!

This is a modest little film produced by poverty row studio, Monogram. B-Detective films like this were a dime a dozen during the 30s and 40s, so there isn't much to distinguish this from the thousands of somewhat similar films. Since it was such an inexpensive film, the film was directed by William Beaudine (a man well known for NEVER shooting re-takes), the actors were all second-tier talent and it starred James Dunn. While not a household name, Dunn had bounced around for years and he did have a lovely role in the great film A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. Here he has a nice, witty personality and plenty of excellent one-liners. In fact, this was the best thing about the film--whereas the mystery itself was purely secondary...at best. Due exclusively to Dunn's easy-going personality, he makes this simple little film quite watchable.

"When a banker turns up missing, former detective Nick Trayne is brought in on the case to find him. When the banker turns up but appears to be in a trance, Trayne must now try to find out what happened to the banker. A household full of suspects makes for a tough case that our crack detective must solve and bring the culprit to justice," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

This variation of the "old dark house" plot is more tired than true.

"The Living Ghost" angle turns out to be a good idea, but zombie Gus Glassmire (as Walter Craig) doesn't get enough screen time to really frighten. Writers Howard Dimsdale and Joseph Hoffman do well, considering. Detective James Dunn (as Trayne) and adorable Joan Woodbury (as Billie Hilton) are a delightful couple of sleuths. The supporting roles are performed admirably - right down to Harry Depp (as Homer Hawkins). If only the production were kicked up a notch, or two…

**** The Living Ghost (11/27/42) William Beaudine ~ James Dunn, Joan Woodbury, Paul McVey