The Ghost Breakers (1940)

THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940)

 By Ralph Santini - ***

There are some films that might be described as both equally funny and eerie and I think that the finest example of a film that can fit such description is the 1940 comedy horror picture “The Ghost Breakers” which starred funnyman Bob Hope and beautiful Paulette Goddard. Goddard plays young heiress Mary Carter, whose prize is a haunted castle in Cuba. In a dark and stormy night Mary must pack up so she can leave New York for Cuba. But her story is actually half of the film, the other half goes to Hope who plays radio broadcaster Larry Lawrence, who mistakenly thinks he's killed a strange person played by Anthony Quinn (who happens to have a dual role in the film). When Goddard, Hope and his butler, Willie Best, head for Cuba and they find the castle full of ghosts, zombies, and buried treasures.

Goddard is terrific as the heiress because she happens to portray a damsel in distress in a witty, intelligent way and at the same time romantic female leading foil. She and Hope have brilliant chemistry together with the latter giving a good comedic effort when the comedy is toned down because his character is among his wittier roles in his long film comedy career. Here he doesn’t use his routine one-liners that seem to put him out of focus in other comedies he has done. Willie Best is also amazing as the cowardly black butler but unfortunately, because of his race he is not even third billed as the otherwise hilarious sidekick. The supporting cast besides Quinn and Best, is also provided by Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas and Tom Dugan.

At 85 min, the film’s time-run is surprisingly brilliant. The atmospheric cinematography by Charles Lang in Black and White during the horror sequences is delightfully chilling. That’s right, the horror sequences seem surprisingly dark and that’s very unique for a comedy horror picture, especially for 1940 standards. George Marshall seemed to know how to handle such a rare gem like this with a good blend of light comedy and edgy horror.