The Ghost and the Guest

Ghost and the Guest, The (1943)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

William Nigh directed "old dark house" flick about a newlywed couple who buys a farm house only to discover someone was recently murdered there and now the body has disappeared. I wasn't expecting too much out of this thing but got a lot less than I was hoping for. At 55-minutes you'd think this thing would at least fly by but it's pretty dry and slow. The horror elements are incredibly weak as is the mystery behind the body. The humor is even worse with some racial jokes about a local hangman who keeps threatening the black servant with hanging jokes. James Dunn takes the lead and is more annoying than anything else.

About the only unusual and interesting thing about "The Ghost and the Guest" is that it was written by the comedian Morey Amsterdam. Apart from that, it's all a very standard film--with the usual cliches and a typical performance by James Dunn. In other words, it has B-movie written all over it...albeit a pleasant enough one to watch.

A couple (James Dunn and Florence Rice) just got married and arrived at a house they inherited. Unfortunately, it comes with a problem...a body. However, when the police arrive, the body has disappeared! They know who the dead man probably was...he was a man who recently was executed. But where is the body and why would it move?!

The film is very typical of the era, when many B haunted house and mystery movies were being made. Nothing offensive or awful here...just a typical higher quality PRC production.

As is the way with many Poverty Row films from the time, the title for this one is very misleading. There really isn't any spooky goings on here. However, this film does contain a very specific staple from the time in that it is essentially about an old dark house with a villain hiding in it. I have no idea why these types of films were so popular at the time but there does seem to be a plethora of them. Normally it seemed to be a man in an ape suit hiding in the house but in this case it's an escaped convict. Otherwise, the film features the usual array of nonsense such as a large group of characters in a house, a cowardly comic-relief black character and secret passageways.

To be honest, it's not very good. Despite a short running time it doesn't really move very fast and the humour is only funny on occasion. There is an ongoing thread of 'humour' where a hangman neighbour keeps saying to the black character that he has a good neck for hanging. Yeah, that's right lynching was all a good laugh! I suppose it shows elements of some attitudes of the time. Other than this there are no outrageous moments. It's the usual succession of lame moments. There's no tension or thrills in case you were wondering. It's really a comedy first and foremost. And not a very good one.

"A newlywed couple decides to spend their honeymoon at their new home, an old country cottage. The couple, along with their chauffeur, find themselves in the middle of a mystery when they are beset upon by a series of guests. A former executioner, a coffin, a gang of jewel thieves, and the police make for an interesting honeymoon for our newlyweds," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Long before he worked on "The Alan Brady Show" (as documented on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") comedy writer Morey Amsterdam aka "Buddy Sorrell" scripted a few comedy movies. "The Ghost and the Guest" is a good example, albeit done dirt cheap. The tired "spooky old house" formula provides a sampling of the writer's one-liners, which sounded better elsewhere. Watch out for colliding actors.

*** The Ghost and the Guest (4/19/43) William Nigh ~ James Dunn, Florence Rice, Sam McDaniel

James Dunn, Florence Rice, Sam McDaniel - a solid cast of pros; Morey Amsterdam as one of the writers and the ever popular old dark house setting - all of this is a pretty good formula for success, but in this case, it somewhat misses the mark. James Dunn is always so likable on the screen and this film is no exception and Florence Rice is one of those "coulda been a star" if she had gotten a couple of breaks (and, of course, a couple of less bland roles). Sam McDaniel is once again a servant but at least in this movie he gets all the best lines. While there are some funny or witty lines, there are just not enough. And the whole bit with the retired hangman is just not funny. While as memorable as most t.v. episodes airing today, it's not that good an example of the old dark house comedy/mystery genre.