The Ghosts of Berkeley Square

Having just watched this marvellous film of wit & charm I felt compelled to comment. A witty movie full of wonderful characters.

A gem of it's kind recommended for anyone who believes black & white means a bad movie but is prepared to be convinced.

However, I do not see why it is classified as horror/comedy as there is no trace of horror in the whole film.

The cream of British comic acting talent could not disguise the somewhat thin script, that was clearly intended as a wartime morale booster, but somehow appeared past its sell-by date, in 1947. Its true length should have been half an hour but they didn't have TV then.

Nevertheless it has some fascination as a period piece, and we are kept in dull suspense wondering why they are waiting for the visit of a monarch, an interesting twist, which gives it its patriotic wartime message.

The best cameo is undoubtedly Yvonne Arnaud as the scatty Bordello keeper (who - for the benefit of those below a certain age or not French or British - continued to have great success on BBC comedy radio throughout the 1950s till her death aged 66.)

Robert Morley too, as usual, never fails to entertain.

I saw this film on TV in the late 1980's. Fortunately I recorded it on to VHS tape and have kept it. However I cannot play it now so have to comment by memory. I feel that this is film although rather lightweight in comparison to Will Hay's 'Oh Mr Porter!' it is still good clean comedy. I hope that it will be released on to DVD one day (along with other lesser known English comedy films).

A very cute ghost comedy concerning 2 gentlemen officers of the 18th century. The men were trying hard to stop a war from starting when they accidentally killed themselves. At least the 2 men were good friends because they are now doomed to live in the Berkeley Square mansion until a reigning monarch visits, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon. It takes 200 years before they are released from their spiritual earth-bound state to move onward in the "afterlife".

It's a lighthearted comedy that would be fun to watch around the winter holidays - there is a quick Christmas scene. It's also a family friendly movie that makes it nice to view around the holidays.

7/10

Pathe Pictures presents a British National Films LTD production {filmed at Elstree} of The Ghosts of Berkeley Square. Directed by Vernon Sewell, adapted from the novel "No Nightingales" co-written by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simons and starring Robert Morley & Felix Aylmer as the erstwhile ghosts.

We start in the afterlife during what appears to be a council held by the upper-crust spooks. Here we meet Col. Kelsoe and Gen. Burlap {Morley & Aylmer} who begin to tell us the strange tale of how they came to be condemned for eternity to haunt a mansion in the Mayfair district of London. During the reign of Queen Ann they had planned to capture a war commander in their home in an effort to avert a crisis; but in the process of testing their own cunning contraption they killed themselves! So the sentence is given for them to stay in ghostly purgatory until a reigning monarch visits the house; thus only then will the sentence be deemed to have been served.

The story then sees the decades roll by as the ghosts "live" in hope of the monarchy actually turning up. Not going to be easy because the house falls to a number of quirky inhabitants and is used for a number of interesting things. Be it a place for French dandies to drink and gamble, a Harem, or the Tex Barnum Theatre-with each new occasion causing incredulity to them and fun for us as the ghosts set about either haunting or joining in with the current owners. Morley & Aylmer are a great double act, at times grumpy with each other {they don't speak to each other for 60 odd years!}, at others cunningly effective as they embrace the almost hopeless situation they find themselves in. A number of fine British character actors pop in and out to spice up the story {Thesiger, Hyde-White et al}, and the production is a very good one {note the costumes as each different time period fills out the story}. Full of delightful whimsy from start to finish, this is highly recommended viewing for fans of British comedy. Hey,! when you got a cuckoo clock that tells the year instead of the time......well you know you are on to a winner. 7/10