The Living Ghost

James Dunn stars as Nick Trayne in "The Living Ghost" from 1942. Dunn's fortunes were on the downward swing and doing B pictures after being a major star at 20th Century Fox. His performance in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" a few years after this won him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Nevertheless, his movie career continued to decline. It was on the stage and television that he found steady work.

The film also stars a Queen of the Bs, Joan Woodbury, and Paul McVey. It was directed by William "One Take" Beaudine for Monogram.

Dunn plays a smart-alecky former detective, Nick Trayne, who is called in by a friend when a wealthy man disappears. Was he kidnapped? What happened?

Craig shows up, but his brain is atrophied, something to do with the cerebral cortex cells. It's up to Trayne and Billie (Woodbury) to find out whodunit. Unfortunately for them, the whole group is crazy.

Nothing special, but I liked Dunn - he was fast talking and brought a lot of humor to the role.

This is a very interesting, off-beat mystery, concerning a man who disappears from his home, and is found later with a paralyzed brain. But....is he a killer?

This film is notable because it is probably Joan Woobury's biggest role. Despite what L. Matlin says, "Nick Trayne" is QUITE amusing, and adds a lot of "zest" to the film.

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.

Nick Tryane is hired by a family to locate the missing patriarch, a rich banker. The banker suddenly turns up but seemingly in a fog with a "paralyzed brain". With the missing man returned the question becomes who did this and whether he's responsible for the murder that happens in the garden.

Enjoyment of this film will depend on whether you like the star James Dunn or not. Dunn who plays Trayne our hero made a lot of B-movies in the in the 30's and 40's. As a second banana or in a supporting role Dunn was always very good. The problem for me was that in a lead role he never amounted to very much. I'm not sure if it was because he wasn't a good lead or because he was working for the Poverty Row studios and so didn't have good enough material.Here he always seems to be waiting for someone to step in and carry on with what ever he's doing. It makes the film less then what it could have been.

The script is interesting and it has some nice twists to it. It has witty exchanges and only really falters when in the second half it becomes a series of interviews between Dunn and the suspects.

Over all its not bad, but its not all that great either. Worth a look if you have a second film on tap for the evening, or if you come across this at 2am on some TV station that still runs old movie all night long.

Living Ghost, The (1942)

** (out of 4)

A detective is hired to find out who killed a man but once he's on the scene another victim falls into some sort of zombie-like state. Here's another "old dark house" film that has a rather boring mystery plot and lifeless direction from the usually reliable William Beaudine.

Ghost Walks, The (1934)

** (out of 4)

A screenwriter invites his producer's to an old dark house. He's paid a bunch of actors to act out his play so that the producer will put up the money but soon a real killer starts to stalk them. The premise is rather interesting but like most of these types of films of the era it really never gets too interesting due to the lackluster direction. Perhaps I've just seen way too many of these films but they all appear the same. Just a different cast.