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One of my all-time favourite British films, this was my 9th viewing and I still think it's marvellous. Frenchman Rene Clair's prints are all over it, a 1930's British film with so much subtlety, wistfulness and originality was ... unique!

Hard up castle owner sells it to American who de-bricks it off to Florida - along with owners' ghostly ancestor. Eugene Palette who only bettered this performance with My Man Godfrey was outstanding throughout, Jean Parker's character as his daughter was a wee bit wishy-washy but she was lovely to look at, and Robert Donat was, as usual, nearly perfect. At this point I have been ordered by my 25 year old daughter to say how gorgeously beautiful he looked - he was a handsome devil to be sure, and you get two for the price of one in GGW. I wonder what kind of films he'd be making nowadays - surely there'd be no character role nice enough! He was so nice in this I even forgive him his Scottish accent lapsing occasionally. There are a few non-laboured sociological points in it too: The generalised commercialism of America, whether crass or not is repeatedly displayed, my favourite bit being Palette's announcement at dinner of the band marching down the stairs playing "traditional Scottish music"!

Not that it matters of course but does anyone know the answer to What's the difference between a thistle in the heather and a kiss in the dark?!

It would be a poorer film without the lush and swelling background music to accompany Murdoch/Donald and Peggy smooching away up on the castle ramparts at night. The atmosphere created in these scenes by the orchestra's romantic strings plus the gleaming and haunting nitrate photography plus the clever and mysterious lighting is literally Out Of This World, and always leaves a deep impression on me. This is one of the few films where watching and therefore listening to the end credits is essential, for the romantically melancholy fade out. If your TV station has butchered those last 5 seconds, complain!

Genius director Rene clair, he of the early surrealist movement in film who loved to specialize in comedy does one for Arthur Rank in the thirties. Robert Donat is gifted with the dual roles of the ghost and his descendant. The ghost punishment is to haunt the castle of his family until his honor is restored for he died dishonorably, a no-no in the family tradition. Donat also inherits the castle and manges to get an American family to buy the castle without learning of the ghost. The family decides to ship it to America and on its way the ghost appears to the family and its guests starting a tabloid frenzy. There is love to be settled, money to be made and honor to be righted in this smart romantic comedy. There is very little if any of the Rene Clair trademark in this movie and his direction comes across as very British. But no one can ever say a Rene Clair picture has not aged well and the same can be said for this picture where sets, lighting and photography seem very modern. The Ghost goes West was the biggest grossing movie in the UK in 1936 and was successful for UA in the Us as well. Very soon, Rene Clair himself would be off to Hollywood too.

"The Ghost Goes West" is a cute movie which is an interesting hybrid. It's directed by the famous French director René Clair, stars the British actor Robert Donat and many of the actors are Americans! It sounds odd...but it all works very well.

The film begins two hundred years ago. Murdock Glourie (Donat) is the son of a noble Scottish lord but he ends up embarrassing himself and losing the family honor when he's supposed to be out acting manly and fighting a war. He ends up getting killed by mistake and his father curses him to roam the family castle until he regains their honor.

Years pass. The family fortune is gone and the castle is a wreck. Donald Glourie (also played by Donat) has a mountain of debts and he and his creditors see no escaping it...until some goofy Americans with more money than common sense see the place and decide to buy it! Oddly, while Donald tries to keep the family out of the castle after midnight (when the ghost appears each night), the daughter (Jean Parker) sees the ghost and thinks it's Donald...and she thinks this version of 'Donald' is pretty sexy! Regardless, the goofy father (Eugene Palette) decides to move the castle, stone by stone, to Florida....and he invites over a bunch of rich swells to see the castle AND the ghost. What's next? See the film.

This is a cute film with a nice comedic touch and a touch of romance. While it's all very slight, it's handled well by Clair and the film is a delightful outing. Well worth seeing.

"The Ghost Goes West" is Robert Donat's only and best romantic comedy. Mr. Donat only made nineteen movies - they were dramas or light dramas. This movie is hysterical. It helps to have Eugene Pallette play the father of the girl (Jean Parker) that Donat's character loves. Mr. Donat plays two roles - Murdock Glourie (the ghost) and Donald Glourie (the current proprietor of the Scottish castle).

This was Eugene Pallette's first great speaking role. The other great roles he played were in: "My Man Godfrey", "Robin Hood", "Zorro", "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington", "The Lady Eve", and "Heaven Can Wait."

It is fun to watch the unknown cast - most of them did not continue working in the 1940's and so on. Only Donat, Parker, and Pallette were lucky to continue working. Ms. Parker is still alive and living comfortably at the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, CA.

Scotsman Murdoch Glourie (Robert Donat) dies a coward in a battle with the rival MacLaggan clan. Murdoch is forced to haunt the family castle until he can get a MacLaggan to admit that one Glourie is worth fifty MacLaggans. Two hundred years later, his descendant Donald Glourie (also played by Donat) has to sell the castle to pay off debts. Pretty American Peggie Martin (Jean Parker) convinces her wealthy father to buy the castle and ship it, stone by stone, to the U.S.

Enjoyable British romantic comedy with a good cast and pleasant tone. Robert Donat shines in dual roles. Jean Parker is adorable and likable. Eugene Palette is always a treat. The rest of the cast is mostly made up of Brits and are fun to watch. While I do like it, I admit it drags some in the middle after a strong start. It finishes nicely though.

A couple of centuries ago, Robert Donat failed his father by not killing the head of the opposing clan during a battle with the English. In fact, he failed to show up at the battle at all. So his father cursed him to haunt the family castle until he humiliated the head of the enemy clan. Cut to nowadays -- if you're living in 1935 -- and he's still there. He's also playing the living, last member of the clan. He's broke, so he sells the castle to Eugene Pallette and is in charge of supervising the place's dismantling and...... remantling? .... in America. Oh, he and Pallette's daughter, Jean Parker, are in love, but neither will say anything.

Rene Clair's first English-language movie is a delight, with the director delighting in portrait shots of the Scottish members of the cast, and in slanging American commercial culture. Donat is excellent, Pallette is humorously pompous, and Miss Parker is cute as a button. It's a great popcorn film.

The ghost of an 18th century Scottish Glourie (Robert Donat) is cursed to walk within the walls of the castle following being shamed by a rival clan. In the 20th century an American food magnate (Eugene Pallette) decides to buy the castle when it comes on the market and transport and ship the castle brick by brick to Florida, USA, ghost and all.

An interesting satire from producer Alexander Korda as he and French director René Clair demonstrate the vulgarity of American consumerism. Written by Robert E. Sherwood and Geoffrey Kerr, the script is bang on the mark, although both Korda and Clair's visions sadly differed. Donat is superb in the dual role as 20th century Glourie and the tartan clad ghost in one of his best roles in one of his best years, but there is a sense that the film could have been so much better and a masterpiece which it just falls short of being. It also suffers from mostly being set bound with some dreadful modelling work.

French director René Clair's go at an English-language haunted castle comedy, "The Ghost Goes West," is a delight. I've reviewed several spooky house horror comedies recently, and it's nice to see a place that's actually occupied by a ghost for a change, instead of the whodunit murder mysteries of "The Bat" (1926), "The Cat and the Canary" (1927) and their ilk. The story is pure goofiness. The mockery of Scots as blustering clansmen and Americans as dim-witted robber barons might've been offensive had the satire been blistering, but everything is exaggerated to such absurdity that it's quite funny. Plus, some of the visual effects and style for depicting the ghost impress.

Occupants of the Scottish castle, the father and son of the Glourie clan die on the same day, leaving the younger in a state of limbo, cursed to haunt the castle as a ghost under the guidance of his father's voice until he can avenge the family honor he disgraced in life at the hands of a rival clan. 200-odd years later, the last of the Glourie line (Robert Donat, also as the ghost, in dual roles), to settle his debts, sells the castle to a rich American family, for whom, he also has affections for the daughter, of course. The castle, ghost included, is, then, transported across the Atlantic to Florida, where the spirit is exploited to advertise the Americans' business. Fortunately, frog-voiced Eugene Pallette, one of classic Hollywood's finest comic character actors, plays the American family's patriarch. One of the best gags is when Pallette claims an African-American jazz band playing jazz as real Scots music. Among the decent cast, Elsa Lanchester (whose husband Charles Laughton would appear in the similar "The Canterville Ghost" (1944)) has a minor amusing part as a psychic party guest, although had Clair been more dynamic in his cutting to closer views, I suspect her comedic talents would've been more apparent here.

Otherwise, the sound is creaky, but the soundtrack overall can't help but be effective with Pallette's voice in the forefront. There's also an amusingly-ridiculous scene of images of the United States Capitol and Westminster Palace where politicians debate phantoms. The ghostly trick effects of superimpositions and stop-substitutions had been introduced to cinema by the likes of Georges Méliès in the 19th century, but they remain charming here, and the multiple-exposure shots for Donat's dual appearances in two-shots are effective. The combination of scenes staged for the film and what appears to be documentary ticker-tape parade footage also works. Another nice trick has the apparition appearing in a mirror, and there's some good moving camerawork even when the spectre is unseen, but which simulates his presence effectively. Slight, but haunting hilarity.

I first saw this film as a child on TV in Australia round 1973 - at which time it was already a very old film and I was only 7 years old.

I guess the fact I'm now 38 and writing about it means it stuck in my mind rather strongly.

I wanted for years and years to see it again and finally did in around 2000 - 27 years later. The childhood magic was still there.

Donat is wonderful. The whole story - escapist, romantic, spooky, fun and historically rich in yes - we know a rather fantasised way.

This is a feel-good film. Films similar to this are being made now - often called 'chick flick's and suchlike, but basically, what is wrong with a movie that makes you feel good? Not really deep, not really cerebral, but magical, funny, heartfelt, and a true escapist experience from our current modern lives,

Absorbing, fun and lovely.

Watch and Enjoy!

Korda had long been in thrall to quintessentially British subjects and emboldened by the great success of this earlier piece of Scots fantasy (whose frequent use of models emphasised its whimsical nature), he later took a bath on 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'.

True to form most of the production personnel came from Hollywood and from the continent (notably Rene Clair in his first English language production), although in the small part of the fearsome McLaggan Hay Petrie actually gets to plays a bona ride Scotsman for a change.

Since the title role was originally written with Charles Laughton in mind that presumably accounts for a fleeting appearance by Elsa Lanchester.

This is one of those films which is better in your memory than in reality. I remember this being whimsical and fun but now it feels just too "nice." As a comedy it isn't funny, as a romance it's flat and as an eerie supernatural drama it lacks atmosphere - it's just "nice."

One wonders why French surrealist René Clair came to England to make something so ordinary, bland and commercial. The only reason I can think of is the huge paycheque he got from Mr Korda. He can't have derived much artistic fulfilment from this. It was however the blockbuster of 1936 so he clearly knew what he was doing. Our tastes must have been a lot less sophisticated then because this feels childishly naive today.

It's dull, it drags, the characters are unconvincing stereotypes and the production looks very shabby - especially for a Korda film. Nevertheless because of that irrepressible charm of Robert Donat, this dull nonsense is still annoyingly addictive.

When a haunted Scottish castle is dismantled and removed to Florida THE GHOST GOES WEST, too.

Made under the auspices of producer Sir Alexander Korda, acclaimed director René Clair & distinguished author Robert E. Sherwood, here is a fine little film--very popular in its day--for thoughtful intellects, about things which go bump in the night. Or, rather, one thing in particular: a kilted phantom doomed to stalk his ancestral castle until his family's honour is avenged--irregardless of the actual physical location of his old stones, or whatever romantic complications may ensue.

Handsome Robert Donat brings just the right amount of sophisticated humor to the dual roles of the ghost and his 20th century descendant. The lovely Jean Parker is splendid as an American rich girl very happy to take the Highlands real estate if Mr. Donat comes along with it. Playing her father, Eugene Palette exhibits both bluster & bemusement as the merchant grocer determined on buying old Glourie Castle, ghost and all.

Morton Selten & Hay Petrie have amusing short roles as clan lairds who are fierce antagonists. The marvelous Elsa Lanchester appears far too briefly at the film's conclusion as a paranormal enthusiast.

Acknowledgment should go to Vincent Korda for his atmospheric sets. And just what is the difference betwixt a thistle in the heather & a kiss in the dark?

When they move an entire, 600 year old castle to the united states, the old, cursed ghost (Robert Donat) that died still haunts the abode at the new location. Some silliness over a feud between two scottish families first! Co-stars the Martin family..daughter (Jean Parker), and dad (Eugene Pallette), who buy the castle. Pallette was very outspoken on certain things... if you take the time to read his story on wikipedia dot com. He was not nice. It's fun, and silly, and moves right along. Not too deep a story, but it keeps one occupied. Directed by frenchman rene clair. He also did Christie's And Then there were None. Ghost Goes West is based on the tale by Eric Keown. Donat died young at 53, from a brain tumor. Although he did win an oscar for Goodbye Mr. Chips.

The Ghost Goes West is occasionally amusing but never attempts to be frightening. The tale of a ghost in which few people believe features good actors and acceptable dialog, but the story eventually devolves into a commercial struggle between two wealthy American for ownership of the ghost. Eugene Pallette steals the screen as he usually did, and Elsa Lanchester is decidedly only a bit player.

In the midst of the "screwball comedy" fad in 30's Hollywood comes a British comedy of a different stripe. "The Ghost Goes West" is subtler than American audiences of the 30's were becoming used to and probably did not register with them as a result. It's a gentle comedy that grows on you, with hints of humor that warms rather than overpowers.

It stars one of the best, Robert Donat, who left us too soon. He was fresh off his success in "The Thirty-Nine Steps" and is seen here in a dual role as Donald Glourie, pennyless heir to Glourie Castle, and as his ancestor, Murdoch Glourie, a womanizer and not the warrior his father wanted. He is ably supported by lovely Jean Parker, and by Eugene Palette as her father and new owner of the castle.

It is well worth your time as an interesting and rewarding example of a different type of humor than we have become used to on this side of the Atlantic.

This was a film that I learned about when compiling my list of horror films from 1935. What is funny here is that Letterboxd doesn't consider this horror. It is listed that way on the Internet Movie Database page. I was able to find this streaming on YouTube, so I decided to watch it for my Voyage through the FiVes as a featured review for Journey with a Cinephile.

Synopsis: a haunted Scottish castle is dismantled and transported to Florida, bringing the family ghost along with it.

We started this in Scotland back in the 18th century. The highlanders are going to battle with the English. The head of the McLaggen (Hay Petrie) family comes to scold the head of the Glourie (Morton Selten) clan. The latter are the local royalty. The McLaggens are there to state how the son of the Glouries will miss the battle. He gets upset and demands his son come before him. This would be Murdoch (Robert Donat). He is a smooth talker and a womanizer. He is with a group of women when he's called to his father. He's told to go to the battlefield, confront the McLaggens and then fight the English. There is a tragic accident and he fails.

Murdoch is barred from heaven though, until he stands up to the McLaggens. He is cursed to haunt the castle. In the modern day, Donald (Donat) is now the owner of the estate. They're deep in debt. They're trying to sell the castle to recoup their losses. This is when Peggy Martin (Jean Parker) enters. She is interested in buying the castle. This becomes a tightrope to keep her interested, helping influence the decision, but they don't want the ghost to scare her away. Her father would be the one to pay the money, so he is invited to dinner along with his wife.

Things then go well. Joe Martin (Eugene Pallette) comes with his wife, Gladys (Everley Gregg) and they are joined by Peggy. They ask their questions about the place. He is inquiring about the pricing and the history. Gladys about the supernatural. The clock strikes midnight and they don't see Murdoch, who is doomed to walks the halls each night. After the guests leave, the maid reveals that she turned the clocks ahead an hour, hoping that it wouldn't affect the sale. Peggy does come back though and decides to stay.

She has an encounter with Murdoch. She believes it is Donald messing with her. The ghost asks her a riddle, stating if she cannot answer then she owes him a kiss. The next morning, she kisses Donald but is annoyed when he won't give the answer.

Joe comes back, agreeing to buy the castle. The price is within his range. Donald gets upset though when he learns what the plan is. They're going to take the castle apart, brick by brick and then assemble it in Florida. Donald has fallen in love with Peggy though, so he backs down from fighting with Joe. He comes to America, on the cruise ship. Since the castle pieces are aboard, Murdoch haunts the ship. There is a fancy party and he is the talk of it when he shows up. Peggy again thinks at first this is Donald, messing with her. Ed L. Bigelow (Ralph Bunker), a chain grocery store owner, sees an opportunity here. Joe is ready to sell, until he sees an opportunity for publicity. Ed then wants to sabotage his rival, trying to disprove that there's a ghost. Murdoch still is trying to find a McLaggen to break his curse, which seems even more difficult moving his castle to America. An interesting opportunity arises though.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is whether this is a horror film or not. I personally tend to agree more with Letterboxd. This is definitely more of a quirky comedy with romance. I can see it being considered in genre just due to the era, since we have a ghost that is haunting this castle. There are interesting ideas that get explored there. We don't truly get anything that truly goes into the genre, outside of the climax playing with elements. The haunting aspects are played more in the comedy, with misidentifying, and then romance as Peggy falls for Murdoch, thinking he's Donald at first.

Now that I've set that up, let's delve more into what we're getting. I do like that we started this in the past. That sets the stage to explain why Murdoch is haunting the castle. He's accused of being a coward. His father wants him to prove that he's not. Murdoch is more of a lover than a fighter and by running away, he's killed in a tragic accident of friendly fire. His father then prevents him from entering heaven until he can prove himself. This causes him to haunt the castle for 200 years. I do love that despite all that time, he's still enamored with Peggy when he meets her, wanting to steal a kiss when she can't answer his riddle. Like the women of his era, she does fall for his charm. It's also a good touch that Donat plays both roles, since that is why Peggy believes they're the same person. It adds to the comedy.

Let's then look at the Donald character. Over the years, he's overextended and his family fortune is gone. He is torn between selling his family's castle to the Martins to clear them and be free from it. There is still that legacy though hanging over him. It's interesting though that I feel like the Donald character isn't as fleshed out. We see him trying to charm Peggy, but it is Murdoch who does that. There is another male suitor. That doesn't get as fleshed out. He just kind of lucks out, with Joe wanting him to help out with the publicity stunt he's planned for the opening of the castle in Florida.

That is where I'll then go. There is the subtle theme here of capitalism and the over indulgence that comes from it. The Martins seem to be in the United Kingdom to find a castle to purchase to ship back to the United States. That is just a wild concept and it makes me wonder how long it would take to disassemble and put back together. This feels a bit tone deaf. We're still in the Great Depression and they're spending all this money to move an authentic castle to the US. I get the idea that this is a comedy and an outrageous idea is for entertainment, but if I was struggling to make ends meet, seeing this on the screen would make me irate with successful people. Now this is a British production, so I'm starting to wonder if this is poking fun at America. There is also this old world concept moving to the more modern in the US.

All that is left then for the story would be the romance angle. I think I'll look at this through the acting performances. I've already said that I thought Donat was solid as both Murdoch and Donald. The latter is underdeveloped from my perspective. The cowardly aspect that comes from his roles was good though. I do like Parker as Peggy as she falls for the charms of this ghost, thinking it is Donald. She does feel underdeveloped though. Pallette was interesting as well since it feels like an early version of characters we will see later in this era and beyond. He is reactive about decisions he's already made, regretting them until more information comes up. I didn't even notice that Elsa Lanchester was in this. Bunker works as our 'villain', along with Petrie. I'd say that Gregg, Selten and the rest of the cast are fine for what was needed.

Then let's finish out with discussing filmmaking. We're still early into the history of cinema so the cinematography was fine. It is static, but I come to expect that. I did like the exterior of the castle. I'm not sure if that is a miniature. I do know that the cruise ship and there's a city that we see from afar are. There's charm there. Inside the castle is a good setting, especially seeing it in Scotland and the updated take when it's in Florida. We're limited to what they do with the effects, but they're in camera. I enjoyed that. Other than that, the soundtrack fits what was needed.

In conclusion, this film is more of an early romantic comedy. It could be considered in the horror genre only due to the time period it was made. That doesn't mean it is a bad film though. I enjoyed my time here. It has intriguing elements of family honor and maybe even throwing shade at the excesses of capitalism. I'd say that it was made well enough with the miniature work and the in camera effects bringing charm. The acting from Donat is solid with taking on two roles. Parker, Pallette and Bunker round out the better performances. If you're interested in comedies from this time period, I'd recommend this one. Avoid this though unless you're doing a deeper dive into the era of filmmaking.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

In 18th century Scotland, womanizing Murdoch Glourie (Robert Donat) is ordered by his family patriarch father to go fight the McLaggan clan. They have to delay the battle against the English to take care of this matter of honor. A cannonball ends Murdoch's life and he becomes the ghost in his family castle. In modern day, American Peggy Martin (Jean Parker) convinces her father (Eugene Pallette) to buy the Scottish castle and ship it back to Florida stone by stone.

This is a quirky fun premise. Robert Donat is great at this type of character. It would be more fun if the comedy is a bit broader. I actually didn't expect the movie going to some places. This is a weird movie. I can imagine it being remade with a few changes. I would definitely make Peggy a bigger character with an it girl actress.

Have to say I'm mightily surprised to see some users here state this film is purely escapist entertainment, nothing more, nothing less. Since it ignites its comedy heart with a satirical flame, I do feel that the jovial nature of the beast has meant that the tongue in cheek nature of René Clair's first English speaking picture has been missed by some.

Murdoch Glourie {Robert Donat} is head of the Glourie clan, during a vociferous argument with the laird of the Maclaggen clan, he is so furious about the besmirching of his family name, he pegs out and dies before correcting the unjust smear on the family name. Switch to the modern day and his descendant Donald {Donat again} is frantically trying to keep the monolithic Glourie castle from collapsing under the weight of financial pressure. Hope springs in the form of love, and the beautiful Peggy Martin {Jean Parker}, but with her comes her ebullient father Joe {Eugene Palette}, and his intention to relocate the castle to Florida. Now this is something that Murdoch's ghost is particularly not happy about, and he promptly sets about haunting everyone in sight whilst the selling point fervour of a Ghost coming to America brings about mirth and intriguing problems.

Yes this film is a fantastical light hearted comedy, but its portrayal of American habits is satirical genius, covering materialistic urges and prodding the ribs of the press, The Ghost Goes West is a truly classic film in the Preston Sturges 1940s mould. What else can you think when you see a press headline stating "Kilted Scottish Phantom Fails To Show"? René Clair was annoyed by the interference from producer Alexander Korda, to the point he thought about taking his name off the credits, he didn't have to worry tho, because the film is still his, and crucially, American audiences took it firmly on the chin and embraced the picture for the delightful nudge nudge romp it is. 8/10

Having signed a contract with British-Hungarian producer Alexander Korda, French film-maker René Clair decamped to the UK in 1935 to make this inventive comedy-fantasy in which Robert Donat's Scottish 'laird', Donald Glourie, finds himself in debt and tempted to sell his ancestral castle home to be shipped (brick by brick!) to the US for reconstruction. It's a fanciful idea, of course, but something that Korda would likely be amenable to given that a few years after The Ghost Goes West the film producer would find himself drawn into the inventive world of writer-directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressgurger ('the Archers'). Indeed, splitting the history of the Glourie 'clan' into two periods (18th and 20th centuries) and then giving us a 'romantic fantasy' which features heaven, a ghost, culture clash (here, Scots vs. Americans) and a theme of 'capitalism vs. Tradition', there is a deal of crossover with Archers' films A Matter of Life and Death and (particularly) I Know Where I'm Going!

The romance here is provided courtesy of Jean Parker's starry-eyed daughter, Peggy Martin, to wealthy parents, of which Eugene Palette does a sterling job as the blustering curmudgeon father. The ambitious plan of reconstruction that Mr Martin has in mind, of course, brings to mind the fate of London Bridge at the turn of the 1970s. Throughout, Clair's film is amusing and quite original, as well as featuring rudimentary special effects for the ghost scenes, as well as some impressive crowd footage in the bustling New York City setting. I found that the film slightly lost steam in its final third, albeit there is a nice twist-denouement. Donat impresses throughout and the actor secured an even more impressive role (in the same year) in Hitchcock's The 39 Steps - indeed, at a stretch, it's not impossible to imagine Hitch being tempted by something like The Ghost Goes West, which constitutes a film well worth catching.

A Scottish nobleman in the 18th century gets accidentally killed after his family name had been insulted by another family clan.Until he can redeem his family's honor he must remain a ghost in his castle.Two centuries later his ancestor sells the castle to an American businessman,who moves it to the States stone by stone.The Ghost follows....

A very funny movie fantasy with a charming performance by Robert Donat in a dual role.Eugene Pallette as the american businessman turns in a hysterically funny performance.The contrast between Scots and Americans are used for maximum effect.

Rating:**** out of *****

The ghost goes west is a fun British comedy starring Robert Donat and Jean Parker in the lead roles, not forgetting Eugene Pallete, once again destined to play the role of a self-made millionaire, used to the limits of ridicule by his eccentric family.

The idea is amusing: a Scottish castle haunted by a ghost is bought by an American millionaire, dismantled, transported across the Atlantic and reassembled in the tropical climate of Florida, taking with it the cursed historical figure.

The truth is that, despite having all the prerequisites to be an entertaining farce, the film often oscillates between comedy and romance, between the young daughter of the millionaire, Jean Parker, and the bankrupt owner of the castle, the last of the noble Scottish line of the Glourie family, Robert Donat, whom she often confuses with his ancestor, now a ghost, but who continues to be a seducer of maidens, played by the same actor.

Directed by Frenchman René Clair, a veteran of the silent era and a true globetrotter of cinema, as he filmed classics in France, England and the United States, and was even named as one of the co-writers (uncredited) of the first Portuguese sound film, A Severa from 1931.

Good quality entertainment, although it is not a reference, neither for the time nor for the genre.