The Ghost Breakers
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Movie Reviews of The Ghost Breakers
Movie Review: Who Ya Gonna Call? Hope-buster!
Summary: 4 Stars
Easy to see why many viewers consider this horror-comedy to be a prototype for the 1980's mega-hit "Ghostbusters". Beautiful Paulette Goddard inherits an old haunted mansion in Cuba, and soon she's sailing for Havana accompanied by protective funnyman Bob Hope and his servant Willie Best. The trio is followed by an odd assortment of characters (Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn, Richard Carlson) who may or may not be friends of our heroine! Once at the estate, the trio is besieged by bats, zombies, ghosts, and murderers who navigate the gloomy mansion's secret passages and panels to keep Hope & Company from discovering the real treasure hidden on Paulette's property. Hope has some funny lines; he and Goddard make a great romantic team; and the art direction and set decorations are impressive. The film's biggest fault is its inherent racist attitude toward people of color, and Willie Best's character in particular ... true, this was typical of the era, but it wasn't funny then and it definitely is hard to stomach now, especially when the script makes explicit references to "coloreds", etc. Hope and Best seem to have such a genuine rapport - and play off one another so well - that it's a shame they were cast as man and servant, rather than as equals.The extra features offered on the DVD are worth the price of the disc all by themselves. There's a truly touching tribute to Hope's long service of entertaining American troops abroad which includes some funny bits of business and some rare Technicolor footage of Hope and Frances Langford. Seldom-seen "Command Performance" footage shows Hope hosting a radio broadcast with guest stars Betty Hutton, Lana Turner, and Judy Garland. Best of all is the short film, "Hollywood Victory Caravan", which offers cameos by Hope, Barbara Stanwyck, Alan Ladd, William Demarest, and Franklin Pangborn; musical numbers by Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton; and a plug for War Bonds from a quintessentially cool and earnest Humphrey Bogart. Add in the Original Theatrical Trailer (in which Hope plugs his "Ghost Breakers" business from a tatty office), plus a Stills and Poster Gallery, and you've got hours of entertainment and Hollywood history at your fingertips!
Movie Review: The Ghost Breakers
Summary: 4 Stars
Not long after the success The Cat & the Canary Bob Hope & Paulette Goddard were reunited to do The Ghost Breakers. There are a lot of similarities between the two films but The Ghost Breakers is even better. It's typical Bob Hope, ever the coward & wannabe ladies' man, full of one liners & puns. Paulette Goddard is beautiful & effervescent.
Lawrence Lawrence, mostly known as Larry (Bob Hope), is a radio personality who has a barely tenuous connection to underworld types. In the further pursuit of more dirty laundry to air Lawrence is accused of murder though he didn't do it. He's on the run & ends up in the room of Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard). This is all fortuitous for Lawrence because Mary is headed to Cuba to claim a castle (Castillo Maldito) she has inherited. Lawrence hides in one of her trunks, thus he's transported to Cuba also.
Tagging along is Lawrence's "man", Alex (Willie Best). Alex has nearly as many funny moments as Larry including some good zingers of his own. Anthony Quinn is in the cast playing twins; Ramon, who's the one murdered early in the film that Lawrence is accused of, & Francisco, who's alive & well in Havana.
The Ghost Breakers has some honest scary moments for its day, it's almost as scary as it is funny. There are zombies & ghosts, secret passages & a treasure. It's a very good, entertaining , old-fashioned movie.
Bonus features are numerous. They include "Entertaining the Troops" which is on at least one other Hope Disc, "Command Performance 1944" which is a filmed radio broadcast that has Hope, Betty Hutton, Judy Garland & Lana Turner. "Hollywood Victory Caravan" which is a WWII War Bond short film that has Hope, Hutton, Bing Crosby, William Demarest, Barbara Stanwyck & Humphrey Bogart. There's a Photo Gallery, trailer, production notes & a short listing of acting and/or directing credits.
Movie Review: Nice light entertainment, with a few iffy moments
Summary: 4 Stars
Bob Hope leads this charming horror comedy, with the foxy Paulette Goddard as his romantic interest... (Yes, that's right... back then Hope was considered cute enough to get the girl!) The story is simple enough: Goddard inherits a haunted castle in Cuba, the love-smitten, wise-cracking Hope tags along to display his reluctant heroism. Some of the horror sequences are actually pretty cool, and several of Hopes one-liners are pretty funny. On the downside, it's unfortunate yet instructive to see the many "Bamboozled"-isms that surround Hope's African-American sidekick/valet, Alex (played by Willie Best, who specialized in this type of eye-rolling cariacature). It is really shocking to see that kind of blatant racism in a film, but also tells you a lot about the culture of the time. (On the other hand, if you're attuned to it, you can also pick up on an undercurrent of strength and practicality in the Alex character, such as when he casually hands Hope a gun for protection when on his way to meet with a gangster...) At any rate, you have to be able to suspend your sense of outrage and overlook the racist schtick, otherwise you'll just hate this movie. But if you do forgive the social sins of the time, this is an otherwise entertaining oldie. (Also check out the young Anthony Quinn in one of his early "ethnic" roles, this time as a pair of mysterious Cuban twins...)Movie Review: A spooky comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
A very smart mixture of comedy and mystery thriller with a good cast ( Hope, Paulette Godard, Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn ) and an astounding atmospherical photography by Charles Lang: the opening scenes with a New York in a stormy night completely in the dark due to an enigmatic general blackout or the disturbing look of the castle at night are powerful images that find his perfect opposite in the funny chemistry between the male protagonist couple ( thought the most part of the fun during the first hour of the show comes from Hope 's script lines, he shares out the role of Augustus with Willy Best, here in the role of the unselfish servant following the Hollywood stereotypes of the period ). Lewis and Martin tried twelve years later a remake with same director, George Marshall, without the same excellent result.
Gangsters, vodoo, a haunted castle, distinguished ghosts, an ancient curse, a gold mine intrigue, chills and laughs in this warm, very consistent cocktail of genres, one of Hope's finest movies.
A very recommendable entertainment. Excellent print.
Movie Review: One of 'my favourite Bob's' !!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is defiintely one of my favourite Bob Hope movies of all time.It has everything from mystery,murders,thrills,chills and that ever present quick banter and one liners from Bob that keeps everything rolling along and in proper perspective.
He was more than ably supported by his co star Paullette Goodard a wonderful actress with a fine camera presence.Also marvellous Willie Best as Bob's "man"is there too to add beautifully to every scene he's in.I never tried of Willies' work over the years and the great supporting work he did in them.
The only fault I can find here is in the film itself.There is more than one area that shows marked deterioration and I thought it could have been cleaned up much better than it was in its' transfer to DVD.
In concluding,besides the noted technical flaws,this is a wonderful movie with high production values and special effects and a great cast.Its also worth mentioning that this disc contains alot of bonus material on Bob and his work for the troops during WW2.
A delight to own and watch.