The Ghost Breakers
"Audiences Shriek with Laughter And Fright At The Same Time." -The New York Times
Ghosts and gags collide in this witches' brew of laughs, with Bob Hope as a Manhattan radio commentator who finds himself marooned on an island of the walking dead!
Larry Lawrence (Hope), sought in connection with a murder he did not commit, eludes New York police by hiding in a steamer trunk. Soon the trunk (and Larry) are aboard a ship bound for Cuba, where the trunk's owner, pretty Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard), is sailing to take possession of a recent inheritance: a "haunted" castle. Sensing that Mary is in danger, Larry and his valet Alex (Willie Best) precede her to the island, which is inhabited by a ghost, a zombie and perhaps even a flesh and blood fiend. There's a romance, comedy and chills a Hope and Goddard contend with earthly and un-earthly foes - and try to keep form ending up as ghosts themselves!
Member Reviews
Almost as good as the first. - Superdave
Bob Hope plays a radio personality - not much of a reach, admittedly - who finds himself in Cuba on the run from gangsters and ghosts in this follow-up to the hit movie The Cat and The Canary. Hope gets off a slew of his usual wisecracks - during a thunderstorm, he quips, "Basil Rathbone must be having a party." Paulette Goddard is back as his leading lady / straight man, and their chemistry is as sharp as before. Less welcome to the modern viewer is Willie Best's servant caricature who is "...terrible scared of spookses, Boss." Anyway, the production looks good, with the Burbank back lot standing in for the Caribbean but still looking effectively creepy voodoo-wise, with hanging vines, a dark and shadowy Castillo in the swamps (with no electric lights of course) and plenty of quite effective fright moments. The story moves along at a brisk pace and resolves itself satisfactorily in the end, while the hope keeps the viewer entertained with the same wisecracking coward / reluctant hero persona he introduced in The Cat and The Canary, and which was to become his on-screen trademark. Look fast for a very young Anthony Quinn in a supporting role.
Great fun and family friendly, although the kids may be put off by the somewhat grainy B&W DVD transfer. Extras include the original trailers and some featurettes about Hope entertaining the troops. Decent value in a rental.
Member Reviews
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Almost as good as the first. - Superdave
Bob Hope plays a radio personality - not much of a reach, admittedly - who finds himself in Cuba on the run from gangsters and ghosts in this follow-up to the hit movie The Cat and The Canary. Hope gets off a slew of his usual wisecracks - during a thunderstorm, ...