User reviews

Like others, I first saw this as a kid and was so scared I didn't realize it was supposed to be a comedy. I watched it again last night and was still impressed by how effective the horror scenes are. Noble Johnson in his subtle but terrific zombie make-up is as chilling as anything in a "straight" horror film of the period. The sets are great and the cinematography wonderfully atmospheric. George Marshall was a very underrated director and his pictorial sense is frequently stunning (note the two shot of Paulette Goddard in her period costume and the painting of her ancestor on the wall). Goddard is strikingly pretty and charming, Bob Hope seems fresh and energetic (and very effective in some of his straight moments) and Willy Best gets to shed his "scared darky" persona and play a funny and reasonably straight role. Those who've commented on the humiliating racial stereotype Best seems to be playing here are understandably confused. THE GHOST BREAKERS is years ahead of its time in its treatment of Best's character. This is a guy who began his career under the stage name "Sleep'n'Eat", yet here he plays a rational and reasonably intelligent character named Alex, a comic sidekick but one that might easily have been played by Edward Everett Horton or any number of white actors. He's the one who figures out that Hope couldn't be a murderer because he was carrying the wrong caliber gun, and while he's as scared of a zombie as anybody would be he also pitches into the fight when the monster has to be subdued. If Best didn't consider this one of the best (sorry about that) roles of his career I'd be very surprised.

Bob Hope made some wonderful, fun movies in the '40s, and "The Ghost Breakers" costarring Paulette Goddard, Paul Lukas, Willie Best, and Richard Carlson is a prime example. Anthony Quinn has two small double roles in an early appearance for him.

Hope is a radio gossip who talks about the mob and sometimes upsets them; Goddard is a woman who has just inherited a castle in Cuba. The two intersect at a hotel after a shooting which Hope thinks he committed. He ends up in her trunk and therefore, in Cuba with her, along with Lukas, Best, and Carlson, an old friend of Goddard's. The castle is supposedly haunted, and some mighty strange things occur while Hope and Best investigate.

This is a great haunted house mystery with Hope letting the zingers fly at a rapid pace. There was something about the younger Hope that is terribly appealing. He brings a boyishness and an energy to these '40s roles that was lost later on. Goddard is beautiful and lively, Lukas excellent as the mysterious Parada. Though there is some political incorrectness, Willie Best and Hope spar as equals. The film keeps a strong atmosphere, with the scenes of thunder and lightning in the beginning especially effective. And that haunted castle - yikes. Call a ghost breaker!

The Ghost Breakers is a sort of sequel to Paramount's 1939 hit "The Cat and the Canary", also starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Directed by George Marshall (who would direct the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis 1958 remake, "Scared Stiff", as well) it's adapted by Walter DeLeon from the play "The Ghost Breaker" by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. The premise is simple, after mistakenly thinking he has shot a hoodlum type, Larry Lawrence (Hope) flees into another hotel room, that of Mary Carter (Goddard), who is packing for a trip to Cuba. Befriending her, it's not before long that Larry is on his way to Cuba as well, but Mary is under threat from shifty characters and to make matters worse, their destination castle is rumoured to be haunted and tales of zombies seem to carry some weight.

Hope and Goddard really do have a rich chemistry here and the results are excellent to say the least. They would work again for a third time a year later in "Nothing But the Truth". But really it's with the writing that most credit is due here. Hope of course was an excellent deliverer of a line, but first you have to have quality lines to work from, and here with DeLeon's screenplay we get some delightful stuff for Hope to work with. From Basil Rathbone to sly political leg pulling, the gags come quick and fast and compliment the visual fun as Hope, Goddard and Willie Best are all aboard the fun creeper express. Charles Lang is on photography duties and captures the eerie atmosphere of the island perfectly, while a nod of approval should go to Edith Head for her costumes.

Ultimately it's fun we want and fun we get, with a cowardly hero and a sexy leggy lady as our protagonists, one can only hope that the zombies don't get in the way too much. As either a stand alone movie or as a double bill with "The Cat And The Canary", "The Ghost Breakers" showcases a fine double act from a fine time in cinema history. Enjoy 7.5/10

One of my long-term favourites. Horror-comedy with a mystery element. Bob Hope is in prime, breezy form here, and while the lines are good, his throwaway style of delivery and nervous energy puts the film over. The atmosphere of acceptance of the supernatural (in the zombie element of the movie)is reminiscent of "I Walked With a Zombie", which might sound like ridiculously high praise for a Bob Hope comedy, but it's probably best if you see the film and check it out.

There's an element of racial stereotyping which some might find bothersome now. That said, Willie Best in the potentially offending role, gives a hilarious performance as "the family detainer".

The comedy and horror elements complement rather than interfere with each other, the director and stars do a trememdous job, and this is one of the more enjoyable pure entertainment pictures you're likely to come across.

When Bob Hope first signed with Paramount what they had in mind for him were some B picture comedies playing the bottom half of double bills. Mr. Hope proved he was considerably more than that and his two films with Paulette Goddard and the film Never Say Die with Martha Raye proved he was a box office attraction.

The Ghost Breakers is the second of two Hope did with Paulette Goddard, the first being The Cat and the Canary. In this one Hope is Lawrence Lawrence Lawrence from parents as he said with a lack of imagination. He's a Walter Winchell type radio broadcaster and columnists and he spills some gangster information as Winchell was wont to do many times. Of course Winchell had the best source of information going in J. Edgar Hoover whereas Hope has raspy voiced stoolie Tom Dugan as his source.

When a story gets a little too close to home, Hope gets a summons from one of the gangland lords for a conference. But in the same hotel is Paulette Goddard who has just been warned by Anthony Quinn not to close a deal on a castle in an island off Cuba. When Quinn gets murdered Hope thinks he did it and Goddard and he are soon involved in every which way possible.

On my VHS copy is the trailer for The Ghost Breakers in which it's advertised that this new Bob Hope film will feature his 'boy' Syracuse played by Willie Best. Of course this is a play on Jack Benny's valet Rochester. Would that Willie Best was as fast on the uptake in putting down Hope as Eddie Anderson was as Rochester. Instead Best had to endure the indignity of being referred to as 'boy' in the trailer. He played the part as servile as the norm. Funny thing was his name in the film was Alex, he was never referred to as Syracuse.

Still the film does have its funny moments, especially when Hope and Goddard arrive at the haunted mansion. It's obvious there is more than ghosts haunting this place and Director George Marshall has a nice group of suspects to throw at us with Anthony Quinn, Paul Lukas, Richard Carlson, and Lloyd Corrigan. Yes, I did say Anthony Quinn who plays his own twin brother.

At the end it's actually Willie Best who saves them all. But what a surprise ending it would have been if Best had been the real villain of the piece.

Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) has just inherited a large castle estate on Black Island, near Cuba. However, besides rumors that the place is haunted, a variety of characters seem intent on claiming possession of the place. When Mary travels down to take a look at the place, she's joined by radio personality Lawrence "Larry" Lawrence (Bob Hope) who thinks he's running from a murder rap, as well as Larry's nervous manservant Alex (Willie Best).

Made as a follow-up to '39's The Cat and the Canary, this was also based on a stage play that had already been filmed in the silent era. It's a lot of fun, too, with both stars at the top of their game. Willie Best also does his best with a stereotypical servant role. Quinn and Carlson both look very young, and Robert Ryan makes his movie debut in a blink-and-miss-it bit as an ambulance attendant. Noble Johnson looks genuinely creepy as a zombie, while Goddard looks stunning, especially in her black gown made to resemble an ancestor's portrait.

The old studio system had at least one advantage over the methods used for movies today. No matter how wacky the premise of the movie, they worked from a script. From the opening crash and thunder of the storm that is pummeling New York City to the closing credits, you can tell this story was carefully crafted from beginning to end. Paulette is a delight to watch as she brings her sparkling and happy personality to an environment which would scare the crap out of most people. Bob Hope always thinks he is bigger than he is, and we are terrified along with him as he jokes and pans his way through this classic and original haunted house film. His valet delivers a delightful performance which is now not considered to be politically correct, but in the context of comedy, which is the way it was meant to be, is right on target. A movie which knows where it is going, because of the well-written and well-directed script, will take you on a beautiful journey of light entertainment.

I've just watched The Ghost Breakers for the first time and rather enjoyed it and was creepy in parts.

A woman has just inherited a castle on a small island which turns out to be haunted. She goes over there with some other people and as soon as they arrive, they become nervous. They are terrorised by bats, phantoms and a zombie. They also discover some treasure. After a final battle, they leave. A good decision.

We have a thunderstorm in this movie, but not at the castle where you would expect. This happens in New York.

The Ghost Breakers reunites Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard from The Cat and the Canary and are joined by Richard Carlson (Creature From the Black Lagoon), Paul Lukas (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) and an early role for Anthony Quinn. The zombie is played by King Kong actor Noble Johnson. Good parts from all.

I rather enjoyed The Ghost Breakers, even though it is a comedy which I am not a huge fan of. Great fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Bob Hope's early movies were rare gems to be watched over and over. Even the Road pictures with Bing are still fun. Too many of today's viewers only remember Bob's turkeys such as "A Global Affair," "I'll Take Sweden," and "Boy, Did I Get A Wrong Number." These viewers would be surprised to see a fresh young comic that could quip with the best of them. Another able funny man Willie Best, who never got his due because of the racial stereotyping rampant in Hollywood at the time, makes a better sparring partner for Bob than anyone else including Bing Crosby, although Crosby and Hope were also a winning combination with plenty of chemistry between them. The inspired teaming of Hope and Best reminds one of the later inspired teaming of Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder.

In "The Ghost Breakers" Bob Hope and Willie Best are together through much of the picture. So each is able to strut his stuff. Many of the asides and lines are as fresh and humorous today as in 1940. For example, Geoff Montgomery (Richard Carlson) tells Larry Lawrence (Bob Hope) that A zombie has no will of his own. You see them sometimes walking around blindly with dead eyes, following orders, not knowing what they do, not caring. Hope replies, "You mean like Democrats." Would many Americans find that amusing today? I think so. As for Best and Hope. Hope tells Best that if he sees two ghosts running down the stairs, "Let the first one by because that one will be me." Best retorts, "If you see another one pass you,let him go because that one will be me." And the fun continues at a scatter gun pace.

An added attraction is the wonderful and beautiful Paulette Goddard. She and Hope make a charming couple. Yes, when he was young, Bob was considered a romantic leading man to some extent. Never taking himself too seriously Hope would later use this earlier image as a continual joke.

The story based on a Paul Dickey play is also a good one. Goddard inherits a supposedly haunted plantation in Cuba. Bob, who thinks he committed a murder, accidentally ends up aboard ship with her. Are the ghosts real or is someone trying to scare her away from her inheritance? If so, who? Watch and see. Getting there is a lot of fun, combined with thrills and chills aplenty along the way.

Bob Hope comes to his own as one of the screen's best comedic actors of the 40s. Following his successful mystery/comedy THE CAT AND THE CANARY, Paramount was wise to recast he and Paulette Goddard as the romantic pair of the picture. Add the colorful (no pun intended) Willie Best as Hope's sidekick, a creative script, George Marshall's direction, two Anthony Quinns and you have movie magic. This, walking Zombies, crisp dialogue and real live ghosts floating about in a dark, dank deserted castle with flying bats and that long winding staircase and it's actually scary, even for television. I saw the original in the movie house and remember, although I was very young (ha ha) how it scared me.

And, of course, I fell in love with Paulette.

Paulette Goddard (Mary) inherits a spooky mansion in Cuba that comes with a ghostly reputation. She isn't bothered and eagerly sets sail to check it out. However, she accidentally gets a couple of chaperones when broadcaster Bob Hope (Lawrence Lawrence Lawrence) and his valet Willie Best (Alex) make a get-a-way from a murder scene. The three of them head for Cuba and the haunted house despite warnings that Goddard will be killed if she sets foot there. There are a cast of suspects that pop up, but can you guess who the villain is?

This film starts on a fantastic stormy night. It's a great start to the film as you settle into a comedy that makes you feel safe with a cast that are all a joy to watch. We travel through some amusing situations and then, about two-thirds of the way through…. Bam……!......., we hit genuine spookiness. When we arrive at the haunted house, and we see zombie Noble Johnson and his mother Virginia Brissac, we could easily be in a creepy horror film. They are very convincing.

The set for the house is perfect and we get memorable sequences unfolding there, for example Paulette Goddard coming down the stairs dressed in a black dress as portrayed in a giant portrait above the staircase. This is eerie stuff worthy of a true chiller.

I have to say that it is one of the few times that a film succeeds with the comedy/creepy house combination. Such films usually fall flat on both counts. Not here. The film resolves itself neatly and is an entertaining way to pass the time.

One of my favorite films because it has a perfect balance of comedy, a strong sense of place, and it takes its ghost seriously. Beautiful production design and photography! The old dark house is beautifully set up. I highly recommend this. A sequel to "Cat and the Canary" with Bob Hope. Ghost Breakers resides alongside the more serious "Uninvited" and "The Innocents" as a perfect ghost story.

Incorrectly assuming that he shot a man dead, a radio broadcaster flees to Cuba together with a young woman checking out the apparently haunted castle she has inherited in this amiable mix of laughs and chills starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. The set-up does not quite click with Goddard trusting Hope and agreeing to shelter him from the law far too quickly without hesitation for credibility. It also takes around two thirds of the film for the characters to finally arrive in Cuba, but the movie is frequently amusing even if the pacing is often off. Hope does a great job spurting witty one-liners left, right and centre and while his racial slurs towards Willie Best (cast as his manservant) come off poorly, Best's pitch perfect comic timing ensures that his character is still a welcome presence. The Cuban scenes are very well filmed too with appropriately disquieting castle interiors and unsettling light effects; kudos to Oscar winning cinematographer Charles Lang. There are also some very decent special effects (for the time) in the mix, talk of voodoo a la 'The Serpent and the Rainow' and a creepy local man, reported to be a zombie. The film was later remade as 'Scared Stiff' as a Martin/Lewis vehicle in which the characters take even longer to finally reach their ominous destination. It would be interesting to see a version of the story where the majority of the action actually takes place at the castle. That said, without the long and protracted journey, there would be no Hope in a suitcase subplot, which comedy-wise is a clear highlight here.

When l'd watched Paleface in 1976 Bob Hope becomes my hero ever since, then l've looking for pictures from this fabulous comedy actor, I have some, not enough but each them are specials, in this latest release here in Brazil is a fine tale a mix of spooky and smart jokes told in every frame, Paulette Goddard in sexiest scenes showing us a beuatiful full shape, Willie Best rise up in funny faces in every corner, the picture was well conceived, with many twists around, Bob gained recognition afterwards with several upcoming well-crafted and smart comedies paving a solid career that will confirm later!!

Resume:

First watch: 2012 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

While this isn't all that funny a film, it is pleasant and enjoyable and a lot better than most of Bob Hope's films. In general, I have found that I liked Hope's earlier films far more than the ones he did in the 50s onward--they just seem fresher and more compelling.

Bob and Willie Best come to the rescue of poor little old Paulette Goddard. She has inherited a mansion in Cuba, but she receives warnings and threats NOT to take possession--of she will die!! While I have read several places that this is a remake of THE CAT AND THE CANARY, I just didn't see this at all--and I recently saw both films. While it is somewhat reminiscent, they are really very, very different films. Both are worth seeing, though.

By the way, there are some tacky remarks concerning mentally retarded people in the film that were not at all unusual for the day, and some might take offense to Best's character. However, compared to many of the other characters played by Best in previous films (when he was billed as "Sleep 'n' Eat" instead of "Willie Best"), his portrayal is pretty responsible and avoids most of the usual "black man in a haunted house" clichés.

There are not many comedy-horror films that are as equally good in comedy and horror, either succeeding better in one or the other or being unsuccessful in both (though there are exceptions no doubt). 'The Ghost Breakers' is one such film, in excelling in both comedy and horror, and one of the finest examples there is.

It was remade thirteen years later as 1953's 'Scared Stiff' with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. That film was enjoyable enough on its own terms but it is not in the same league as this, there is no doubt as to which is the better film. As far as Bob Hope films go, 'The Ghost Breakers' is also one of his best ('The Cat and the Canary' is another example of Hope at his best). It is a perfect marriage of romance, humour and scares, delivering to never less than very good standards on all three.

Visually, 'The Ghost Breakers' looks great and one of Hope's better looking films. The photography wonderfully enhances the eeriness of the haunted house and the exotic locale. The music is a good mix of haunting and jaunty.

Here in 'The Ghost Breakers' the story moves along at a lightning fast pace without being rushed. The very end is a little abrupt but the climax is still such a knockout that one is past caring about that. There is nothing to complain about with the writing either, the romantic elements are sweet and loving, the humour is genuinely funny and often hilarious and the scares are spooky and suspenseful. Hope has some terrific one-liners that he delivers better than most.

Just as good is the adroit direction, while one couldn't ask for better performances. Didn't have a problem with Willie Best, who to me was hilarious, yes he's a stereotype but there are far more offensive ones out there before 'The Ghost Breakers' and since. Hope is a joy and Paulette Goddard is charming and sensual. Richard Carlson excels magnificently against type and Anthony Quinn likewise in more than one role.

Overall, truly wonderful comedy-horror, a fine example of Bob Hope at his best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) inherits haunted Cuban plantation, Castillo Maldito, on the mysterious Black Island. No one has survived a night at the place for the last twenty years. Parada (Paul Lukas) offers to buy it, but she gets a call from stranger Ramon Mederos (Anthony Quinn) who warns her not to sell. Meanwhile, radio host Larry Lawrence (Bob Hope) exposes crime boss Frenchy Duval. He goes to meet Frenchy and mistakenly assumes that he shot a man. He goes to hide in Mary's apartment. Alex (Willie Best) is his manservant. Mary's friend Geoff Montgomery tells them about zombies.

This should be a simple haunted house horror comedy. The first hour is way too complicated. Even with the convoluted start, the simple way to get the group to the mansion is Larry taking Mary hostage. He could try to hide in her haunted mansion and it really doesn't have to be in Cuba. It takes almost an hour to get to the mansion and I don't know why anybody is going there. As for the characters, Willie Best is doing his usual scared idiot negro role. It's dated, but it is what it is. Bob Hope is doing his usual clownish scared everyman. They are well suited to be scared in a screwball horror comedy and that's enough to be funny. They should go there with Mary. I don't know why they split up. Once they get to the mansion, it's a fine horror comedy.

This is one of my few Bob Hope "keepers," not that I didn't like the man; i just found most of his movies too corny.

However, as corny as this one is, too, and stupid and silly in parts, it's also very funny and very entertaining.....and that's the name of that tune, as "Baretta" used to say.

The story moves fast, exhibiting that entertainment value, and has a good mixture of comedy, drama, horror and romance. Paulette Goddard is a very attractive, likable female lead and Willie West provides a lot of laughs as Hope's valet-friend. Yes, his Negro role is degrading, so a warning to those who would be very offended at that. It was interesting to see Anthony Quinn in this early role in his career.

All in all, a movie that a lot other folks would agree is one of Hope's funniest films.

Bob Hope's death really shocked me. Not that I knew him personally, or thought about him often. In fact at that time I doubt if I had ever re-watched one of his movies for at least ten years. But it saddened me nevertheless.

You see, during my early teens, it was often only Bob and his movies that kept me going, that made me survive the hostility (well, that's how it seemed to me at the time) of life at school. I devoured any book on Hope that I could lay my hands one, caught as many movies as television broadcast, good ones bad ones, I saw the lot.

After school ended (in the mid-eighties), I discovered that I didn't need Bob any more. I gradually stopped watching his movies, gradually forgot all about him as I forgot my teenage worries. His death changed all that, like the burst of adrenaline you get when you slam hard on the brake, the memories flooded back. I ordered several DVD's; re- watched his movies with new interest.

The Ghost Breakers was a favourite of mine as a teenager and age hasn't diluted its quality. The ‘forties was Hope's decade and he was never the same after it. Perhaps he needed the danger that the war years provided, as, in his best movies, the comedian thrives on danger. His was an uncertain world, with death at every elbow, yet, while not a hero, he managed to survive and come out top (perhaps it was this quality that my adolescent mind grasped on to). In The Ghost Breakers, the supernatural chills are there and are still effective; the zombie in particular, remains a very eerie creation. In fact, there are times when it is easy to forget that this is a Bob Hope comedy and not a straight horror movie (you can easily imagine, that Val Lewton, say, was out in the original audience, taking notes).

Hope is helped by the cast. Sexy Paulette Goddard reunited from the almost as good The Cat And The Canary, Anthony Quinn, perhaps a villain, perhaps a good guy. While Hope and the splendid Willie Best make an ideal partnership (though Best is sadly politically-incorrect these days).

Atmospheric, chilling and very funny, this is how I will always remember Bob.

Cheers Bob and thanks for the memories.

Long before there were "Ghostbusters" (1984) in a film by that name, there were "The Ghost Breakers." Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard and Willie Best solve the mystery about the island off the coast of Cuba that she inherited. But how they get there - nearly the whole first half of the film, has some of the best situational comedy.

Hope is Lawrence Lawrence Lawrence (his parents didn't know many names) but on his radio show about the underworld in New York, he goes by Larry Lawrence. He and his servant Alex (Willie Best) are heading off for two weeks of vacation trout-fishing in the mountains. But the gang didn't like his final broadcast, so he has to leave town quickly. In the meantime, Goddard's Mary Carter is visited across town by a staff member from the Cuban embassy (Paul Lukas as Parada) who tries to urge her not to sail to Cuba to take possession of the island castle she just inherited.

Somehow Larry and Mary get mixed up and mixed together and wind up in Cuba. Anthony Quinn joins this prestigious cast, first as one brother, Ramon, who gets bumped off, and then as his twin, Francisco. Parada is a shady character from the start, but when he gets bumped off, the Ghost Breakers are hard pressed for a likely suspect. A mummy comes to life, a ghost takes a stroll, eerie music fills the air, and a good haunt is on, before the trio bring this film to an end.

It's an entertaining flick that the whole family should enjoy - but maybe not children under seven without some explanation. This was 1940 when Americans traveled to Cuba for entertainment and vacations. One other question is about to be answered at the end as they speed away from the island in a boat. It looks as though Mary and Larry with marry.

The best line in the film is Larry's with Alex. "Give me the candle. You fall over the furniture for a while."