THE GHOST BREAKERS: Blu-ray (Paramount, 1940) Kino Lorber
If The Cat and the Canary established Hope and
Goddard as an on-screen couple, then director, George Marshall’s The Ghost
Breakers (1940) positively cemented this romantic appeal in a caper
superior to their previous effort in virtually every way. The picture is based
on Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard’s (no relation to Paulette) 1909 play – The
Ghost Breaker – made into a picture twice during the silent era, first in
1914 by no less an impresario than Cecil B. DeMille; then again, in 1922 by
Alfred E. Green. Presumably, neither version has survived the ravages of time. And,
if screenwriter, Walter DeLeon had the play’s longevity on his side, he also
proved the ‘third time’ out for this creaky little chestnut was also its charm.
Once again, thanks to Hans Dreier and
Robert Usher’s production design, The Ghost Breakers emerged as a
thoroughly eerie ‘spook show’ with Hope, and costar, Willie Best occasionally
lightening the mood with some shameless mugging for the camera.
Willie Best today is a sadly forgotten funnyman from
Hollywood’s golden era; a Mississippi-native who came to Hollywood as a
chauffeur for a vacationing couple, but went on to adorn more than a hundred
movies throughout the 1930’s and 40’s, usually relegated as the dim-witted
domestic. After the scandal from a drug arrest effectively ended his movie
career, Best turned to TV to supplement his income, dying prematurely from
cancer on Feb. 27, 1962 – age, 45. While regarded in high esteem from some of
Hollywood’s heaviest hitters, the criticism frequently heaped upon the actor’s legacy
by critics today is that he chronically played into the ‘white-centric’ stereotype
of the simple-minded darky – thus, perpetuating a racist attitude, since to
negatively color his performances. There
is, to be sure, some truth to this, and yet, some devastatingly calculated
charm to his work as well; Best, applying his formidable skills to create a ‘persona’
– of the perpetually befuddled and bug-eyed commentator, often more aware of
the underlying ramifications of the actions of the hero, long before they come about
on the screen.
The Ghost Breakers opens with an impossibly wicked
electrical storm in Manhattan. In her fashionable high-rise apartment, Mary
Carter (Paulette Goddard) is preparing to depart for her recently inherited
castle on a remote island near Cuba. She is politely encouraged to reconsider
her journey abroad by Mr. Parada (Paul Lukas), a suave, yet dimly menacing Cuban
solicitor. Parada forewarns the estate is not only in a terrible state of
disrepair – thus rendering it uninhabitable and of no interest – but also
haunted by evil spirits. At the same time, Mary is listening to a radio
broadcast by crime reporter, Lawrence Lawrence (Bob Hope). Lawrence – Larry, to
both his friends and enemies – has just dropped a bombshell that incurs the
displeasure of gangster, Frenchy Duval (Paul Fix), who decides to ‘give it straight’
to Larry once and for all. The plot thickens as Mary, intrigued rather than
dissuaded by Parada, impulsively decides to sail for Cuba immediately. Near the
end of Parada's visit, Mary also receives an ominous call from Ramon Mederos
(Anthony Quinn), who is even more cryptic about resisting Parada’s interests in
the estate. Reluctantly, Mary agrees to meet Mederos. Meanwhile, Larry arrives
at the same apartment building, toting a gun for protection in his own meeting
with Frenchy. Mederos also turns up, confronts Parada and is shot dead by him.
Panicked, as his own gun has misfired, Larry believes he has accidentally
killed one of Frenchy’s henchmen.
Fearing reprisals from the investigating police, Larry
takes refuge in Mary’s suite. And although they have just met – at the point of
a gun, no less – Mary is empathetic to Larry’s plight. As the police close in
on their investigation, Mary attempts to conceal Larry. But even she cannot
believe he would hide himself in her steamer trunk, taken to the docks right
under the noses of the investigating officers. Eventually realizing what has
become of Larry, Mary informs his valet, Alex (Willie Best). Alas, Alex is too
late to prevent the trunk from being loaded onto the ship, instead, making his
way aboard too and eventually freeing Larry in Mary’s stateroom. Larry learns
from Alex the bullet that killed Mederos was fired from another gun, thus
clearing him of all charges in the murder. Nevertheless, Larry elects to remain
with Mary, acting as her bodyguard – also, to put as much distance between him
and Frenchy Duval as possible. Seemingly unplanned, Mary runs into an old
acquaintance, Geoff Montgomery (Richard Carlson), a bookish academic who
regales her and Larry with the local superstitions - voodoo, ghosts and zombies.
After a brief respite in Havana, Mary, Larry and Alex take a speed boat to the foreboding
castle on an adjacent island. En route they encounter a pair of zombies – a sort
of gypsy-esque matriarch (Virginia Brissac) and her catatonic oaf of a son
(Noble Johnson). Upon their arrival to the castle, Mary finds the moodily disheveled
and cobweb-ridden main hall dominated by an ancestral portrait bearing a
striking resemblance to herself.
Not long thereafter, Larry and Mary are haunted by an
apparition; also, the reemergence of the zombie who gives every indication he
means them harm. Mary dresses in vintage garb, mimicking the portrait and momentarily
to stave off the danger by convincing the zombie she has been reincarnated.
Meanwhile, Mederos’ twin, Francisco arrives, presumably to avenge his brother’s
killer. From here, the plot of The Ghost Breakers begins to fall apart
as director, George Marshall desperately tries to tie up all the loose ends,
beginning with the real reason everyone is so interested in scaring Mary off
the estate. Mary and Larry are separated from Alex as they search for clues
within the cavernous halls. They encounter Parada, stabbed and dying in the
family crypt. Parada tries to explain the castle is situated atop a great
fortune. But he is unable to reveal the identity of his killer. As Mary and
Larry make their way to a hidden door down in the catacombs, they unearth the murderer
for themselves; none other than Montgomery, who exposes to all that the castle
is situated atop a lucrative silver mine. Montgomery holds the couple at gunpoint.
However, at the most opportune moment, Alex releases a lever that causes a
heavy weight to dislodge from the ceiling, sending Montgomery to his death. Mary
and Larry breathe a sigh of relief and, at dawn’s first light, depart the island
in bright spirits.
The Ghost Breakers gets a lot of mileage from its spooky
atmospherics, and the proverbial ‘fish out of water’ plot to place these common
city folks in imminent peril on their sinister sojourn. Walter DeLeon’s
screenplay is a deft mixture of quirky comedy and chipper chills – the plug-n’-play
structure effectively masked by the winning repartee between Hope and Goddard,
and the constantly – and occasionally confusing – involvement of the supporting
cast, who sift in and out of the central plot, turning up to effortlessly
connect the dots for the audience just as things begin to jumble together.
There are some good solid laughs here, supplied by Hope and Best. And Goddard,
while remaining mostly ‘above it all’ is a winsome heroine. But Paul Lukas and Tony
Quinn are rather wasted on this outing, while Richard Carlson is a fairly
awkward ‘heavy’ – his forte in pictures, usually as the male ingenue. The fusion
of farce and fear is palpably achieved, with nods again to Dreier and Usher;
also, cinematographer, Charles Lang, who lights virtually every moment of this ‘whodunit’
with cleverly cast shadows that help ante up the danger. Time and progress have
withered the joyfully obtuse badinage between Hope and Best – especially the ‘fried
chicken’ jokes – but otherwise, there remains much to admire here.
Were that we could claim the same regarding this
Blu-ray transfer. The Ghost Breakers is soft – period. Kino Lorber’s
hi-def release is cribbing from digital files that have not been given any consideration
from its current rights holder, Universal Home Video in some time. A shame,
because the image here is thick and grainy and occasionally suffers from poor
contrast. As The Ghost Breakers is considered one of the ‘crown jewels’
in Bob Hope’s cinematic legacy, we would have hoped for something better here.
Alas, no. While highly watchable, the quality here waffles in a sort of
mid-range purgatory where fine details are frequently obfuscated by a cloudy
patina that clots and confuses the foreground action with background detail,
especially during the more darkly lit sequences. This could have – and should
have – been better. For shame! The 1.0 DTS audio is adequate; though just.
The only extras are a thorough and comprehensive audio commentary from historian,
Lee Gambin, and a ‘Trailers from Hell’ featurette with Larry Karaszewski. Bottom line: The Ghost Breakers is a
fun – if disposable – comedy. The Blu-ray is barely average, and in today’s world
of digital wizardry, well below par for the high standards of Blu-ray
authoring. Judge and buy accordingly.
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
3.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
2.5
EXTRAS
1
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