Moose On First
Hold That Ghost
Directed by Arthur Lubin
USA 1941
Universal Pictures
Shout Factory Blu Ray Zone A
Well this one is going to be one of the shorter reviews in this series (I hope) because, while I’m sure I probably loved it as a kid, I really didn’t think much of the Abbott and Costello vehicle Hold That Ghost this time around, it has to be said.
The plot is an old one... by accidentally being in close proximity to gangster Moose when he is shot by police, Chuck (Bud Abbott) and Ferdi (Lou Costello) inherit all his wealth, which amounts to an old, spooky mansion in the middle of nowhere... being as Moose always told people he kept the location of his fortune ‘in his head’. However, his old gangster friends want the fortune for themselves (if they can find it) and so, for reasons involving various machinations, the boys find themselves stranded with three other main protagonists... played by Richard Carlson (who you may remember from such Universal monster movies as Creature From The Black Lagoon... reviewed here... and It Came From Outer Space), Evelyn Ankers (who you may remember from such Universal monster movies as The Wolf Man... reviewed here... and Ghost of Frankenstein, reviewed here) and Joan Davis (who wasn’t in any Universal monster movies but who turns out to be a pretty good, physical comedy actress)... in their spooky new mansion. Here, the bunch of crooks try to frighten them off or kill them as the night goes on (and after they accidentally stumble across the money).
That’s the set up and... it’s not without it’s charms I guess but I can’t say I found it all that funny. Maybe one of the reasons was that there was more slapstick and less of the clever dialogue (although there was certainly some in there). The film was mostly shot before their prior film but, after the huge success of Buck Privates (reviewed here), the studio decided they needed to follow it with another ‘service picture’ and so In The Navy (reviewed here) was shot and released before reshoots on this one. The reshoots added an opening scene at a nightclub, to shoehorn the wonderful Andrews Sisters into the movie (singing a surprisingly dire song, I would say) and an ending scene where the boys have opened their own nightclub, also featuring the Andrews Sisters (with a slightly better song).
As I said it’s not their best but it’s the first time their ‘moving candle’ routine was incorporated into one of their movies (and not for the last time, if memory serves) and a really wonderfully constructed ‘dance goes wrong’ scene Costello and Davis do as a duo which, is impressive if not necessarily all that funny.
Other things I may point out is the inclusion, briefly, of The Three Stooges front man Shemp Howard, once again, as a guy behind the counter in a diner (why is he always playing a food service related character in these early Bud and Lou pictures?) and also a scene where Lou goes flying and plants his head through a brick wall which, honestly, reminded me of the scene in Blade Runner (reviewed here) where Rutger Hauer’s character deliberately plants his head through a wall. Oh, well... one head through a wall scene looks the same as any other, I guess.
The only other notable thing I can think to say is that a few of the music cues will be recognisable to fans of the Universal horror movies from around that time (such as the ones I mentioned above starring Evelyn Ankers) as being tracked in from stuff by, presumably, composers Hans J. Salter and Frank Skinner.
And that’s me done with Hold That Ghost. I’m definitely more of a fan of the two headliners’ clever word play more than the knockabout stuff featured in this one, it has to be said. Still, there’s over 20 more of these to watch in Shout Factory’s restored boxed edition so, yeah, I’ll let you know.
