Lucky Ghost

Fantastic comedy featuring black actors made in 1942, during the WWII war years. Mantan Moreland is a genius comedian movie actor.

someday Mantan will receive his just due. his comedy could never be duplicated. his films as Birmingham Brown opposite Charlie Chan are classics and should be hailed as so.His other features are well above comedy of today. That chubby little man made my sides ache with his antics."Feet don't fail me now"

Miller and Moreland were a good comedy team, and i agree with others that their brand of comedy is superb. This film has a lot of wonderful moments in it, and is a high quality example of the "all colored cast" genre, but what hooked me most was the spectacular rapping by Moreland as a craps player who cannot lose, talking to and blowing on his dice. Other films (and a few 78 rpm records) have given us documentation on the rhymes and raps of early 20th century crap-shooters, but folks seeking a slice-of-life glimpse of African American gambling culture of the 1930s will enjoy Moreland's routine most of all, as he is exceptionally fluent in his speech and movements, and the scenes in which he shoots craps are long and uncut compared to those in other, similar movies.

Today, this would be an easy film to criticize. After all, the budget and production values were very low for black-produced movies of the 1930s and 40s. And, on top of that, the main characters in this film, Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller, are rather negative black stereotypes. But, if you look at this in context, it's actually a pretty good film. First, at that time black audiences were generally not even allowed in theaters due to segregation. And, since the Hollywood products featured only white leads, some black entrepreneurs decided to make films with all-black casts--but the funding never even came close to the major studios and was even often lower than the so-called poverty row studios like Monogram and even PRC. So, what can you expect--Shakespeare?! Second, while folks today might blanch and the sort of people portrayed by Moreland and Miller, it was only intended to be seen by blacks--and whites would not have seen these types of characters. So, you incredibly politically correct types out there, do NOT judge this film too quickly or too harshly--it represents one of the better films of its type.

Moreland and Miller are hobos and spend the initial portion of the film trying to find food. However, they happen upon some rich black guys and 'play a friendly game of dice'--after which the pair leave with the car, clothes AND chauffeur. Suddenly, Moreland and Miller look rich and sophisticated--and they are looking for excitement. Now this is pretty weird, but they find a sanitarium that is really a gambling joint--complete with sexy ladies and booze. Although the place is a clip-joint, Moreland has amazing luck--and eventually owns the place as he breaks the bank! How does this happen? Yup--it turns out the place is haunted and the spirits are out to teach everyone a lesson! As you can tell from the description of the film, it is NOT a sophisticated film. And, as I said before, politically correct folks will probably have heart attacks when they see black people gambling, trying to steal chickens and talking like characters from an episode of TV's "Amos 'n Andy"--but it is fun. My suggestion is watch it--learn about a seldom talked about piece of black history as well as enjoy the silly plot, as Moreland was a funny guy and the script writers actually did a pretty good job.

Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller promote a pair of dice into a good car and cash, and thence into a casino. The old,owners are about to do something dire, but the ghosts in the cemetery out back don't like that.

True enough, some very stereotyped situation, but you've got two fine performers in the lead. Moreland was one of the leading cross-over Black comedians of the era, and if his comedy became old fashioned in the post-war era, his comedy timing is on display here. As for Miller, he started one of the first Black legitimate theater companies in the Country during the Mauve Decade, and was one of the writers and performers of the landmark Black Broadway show, 1921's SHUFFLE ALONG, with songs by Eunice Blake and Noble Sissle.

This cheap movie was intended for the all-black theaters, one of many "race films" of the era. It's directed by William Beaudine, a director who could handle anything from sentiment, Mary Pickford, on down to the Bowery Boys. This one is nearer the bottom of that list than the top, but the leads are fine comic actors.