A Ghost for Sale

"A Ghost for Sale" is a curious little picture, economically made in re-using entire sequences from an earlier (1946) movie from the same director and studio, "The Curse of the Wraydons". When "Curse" was released, many critics described the film as "too long" (at 92 mins). Six years later, Victor M. Gover, the director, was making a series of featurettes describing the struggle between ex-Scotland Yard inspector John Morley (Patrick Barr) - assisted by his secretary Eileen Trotter (Tucker McGuire) - and arch-criminal Terence Reilly (Tod Slaughter), sometimes helped by his brother Patrick (Slaughter again). Although often considered as part of the series, "A Ghost for Sale" is in fact a totally different affair. Barr and McGuire play an American couple who want to buy a British manor - preferably haunted. A real estate agent (David Keir) gives them the adress of a castle. They are welcomed by a strange caretaker who narrates a story - here begins a series of long flashbacks, intercut with "current" scenes. The story if of course of Philip Wraydon, a maniacal inventor wanting take revenge on his family members. After some crimes he perishes in one of his own traps. The American couple is not too convinced by the story, and discuss about to buy the manor. Suddenly, they saw the caretaker disappear before their eyes... They realize he was Philip Wraydon himself, reincarnated to narrate his own story. Apart from Slaughter, Barr, McGuire, and Keir in a short scene, all the other actors are only from the "Curse of the Wraydons" segments. In a sense, one can consider this little film as a shorter version of "Curse of the Wraydons", with an ironic ending, and the answer by the director to the critics who described his 1946 movie (his only feature, incidentally) as "too long"...