The Ghost Breakers

Rating:
Summary: A Bob Hope Classic!!
Review: Starring the beautiful and talented Paulette Goddard is just one reason to see this classic. Fans of the Road movies with Bob and Bing will find this amusing story a worthwhile watch, even without Bing co-starring. The story takes place with Bob Hope, a radio personality, wrongly thinking he has shot and killed a man. A sure hit with all who watch!!

Rating:
Summary: Young Bob Hope and Paulette Goodard chase the spooks.
Review: The Ghost Breakers (1940). Paramount Pictures Inc. A very popular Bob Hope movie. To start the mood, there is a furious thunder and lightning storm brewing in Manhattan. In fact, a man across the hall lights his cigarette with the candles Paulette Goodard (who plays "Mary") is holding and she says, "Nice night for a murder." There is a castle on Black Island where the ghosts have to find there way around in the dark. The castle was built by Mary's great-great-grandfather. The castle has many stories and legends. No one has ever spent the night inside the castle and be able to tell about it the next morning. Paulette plans on doing just that. It is now her castle. However, Anthony Quinn (as "Mederos") has awarning for her. Bob Hope plays "Larry", a radio announcer. He goes to the hotel and hears Mederos get shot. Terrified, he ends up in the apartment of Paulette. Bob had a gun in his trenchcoat pocket and as a nervous reaction, when he heard the initial shot, he pulled out his gun and shot the light above. But when he saw Mederos drop to the floor, Bob thinks he shot him. But of course he did not. It was the man in Room 1406. Bob and Paulette end up on a cruise together to Havana, Cuba. They are warned of voodoo and Zombies by a Cuban man. More fun begins when Bob Hope reaches the castle and encounters some spooks of his own. Remade as SCARED STIFF (1953) with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis with Bob Hope in a cameo appearance. Mr. Bob Hope delighted us for 65 years on radio, film and televison. He reached 100 years of age on May 29, 2003 and peacefully passed on July 27, 2003. He will continue to delight us and make us laugh for many more years to come. DVD includes, in the "Bonus materials" section, a six-minute featurette "Entertaining The troops--Bob Hope & the USO. Another six-minute featurette "Command Performance 1944" with Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Lana Turner and Judy Garland. A theatrical featurette, "Hollywood Victory Caravan". Also Photo Gallery, Theatrical Trailer, Production Notes, Cast and Filmmakers, DVD-ROM features.

Rating:
Summary: Young Bob Hope and Paulette Goodard chase the spooks.
Review: The Ghost Breakers (1940). Paramount Pictures Inc. A very popular Bob Hope movie. To start the mood, there is a furious thunder and lightning storm brewing in Manhattan. In fact, a man across the hall lights his cigarette with the candles Paulette Goodard (who plays "Mary") is holding and she says, "Nice night for a murder." There is a castle on Black Island where the ghosts have to find there way around in the dark. The castle was built by Mary's great-great-grandfather. The castle has many stories and legends. No one has ever spent the night inside the castle and be able to tell about it the next morning. Paulette plans on doing just that. It is now her castle. However, Anthony Quinn (as "Mederos") has awarning for her. Bob Hope plays "Larry", a radio announcer. He goes to the hotel and hears Mederos get shot. Terrified, he ends up in the apartment of Paulette. Bob had a gun in his trenchcoat pocket and as a nervous reaction, when he heard the initial shot, he pulled out his gun and shot the light above. But when he saw Mederos drop to the floor, Bob thinks he shot him. But of course he did not. It was the man in Room 1406. Bob and Paulette end up on a cruise together to Havana, Cuba. They are warned of voodoo and Zombies by a Cuban man. More fun begins when Bob Hope reaches the castle and encounters some spooks of his own. Remade as SCARED STIFF (1953) with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis with Bob Hope in a cameo appearance. Mr. Bob Hope delighted us for 65 years on radio, film and televison. He reached 100 years of age on May 29, 2003 and peacefully passed on July 27, 2003. He will continue to delight us and make us laugh for many more years to come. DVD includes, in the "Bonus materials" section, a six-minute featurette "Entertaining The troops--Bob Hope & the USO. Another six-minute featurette "Command Performance 1944" with Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Lana Turner and Judy Garland. A theatrical featurette, "Hollywood Victory Caravan". Also Photo Gallery, Theatrical Trailer, Production Notes, Cast and Filmmakers, DVD-ROM features.

Rating:
Summary: The movie is great!
Review: The movie is great! It is very funny and a bit spooky. Fans of Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope should really enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Let the Buyer Beware
Review: There's no doubt that The Ghost Breakers is a great movie. But it's unfortunate that this seems to be the only version available on DVD.
At least one scene is missing, that in which the "real ghost" appears. This event is alluded to in the final scene. Another scene is only half there: Paulette Goddard appears onshore, but the sequence wherein she swims to the island has been cut. It seems too that earlier scenes have suffered smaller cuts.
Universal owns this property, and the DVD is issued under its brand name. But the mastering was outsourced, and had I been told the name of the company responsible, I could have done a bit of research and found that its products vary greatly in quality.
Point being: if you want The Ghost Breakers on DVD, this is what you buy. Just don't be too disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery / Comedy holds up well
Review: This fast-paced mystery / comedy tale of a young woman's trip to Cuba to claim her inheritance of a haunted castle holds up well, even after 60 years of 'progress' (contrast this delightful 1940 hit with today's Blade II and judge for yourself how far we have really come). The only truly dated element is the stereotypical character of Bob Hope's black manservant. However, he is more of a buddy ala today's buddy picture, not at all a defenseless object of ridicule. As a strongly-played central character with plenty of witty dialog, he easily holds his own with Bob Hope. The movie is well scripted, with various plot twists and suspicious characters. There are only one or two major loose ends (probably the footage tying these up wound up on the cutting room floor). There are a few 'gratuitous sex scenes' (Paulette Goddard seen briefly in her slip as she changes clothes) that will be welcome to male viewers, even if they don't advance the plot. Bob Hope is young and debonair, if not actually handsome. His role is just the right mix of hero, lover, and comic. Makeup and special effects seem advanced for the time. Wisps of fog 'morph' convincingly into letters of the opening title, so we learn that this technique was not invented by the Terminator II movie after all. The lightening storm in the city is impressive. The zombie is genuinely creepy. So by all means rent or buy this movie and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: SPOOKY AND FUNNY
Review: This film is a follow-up to the Goddard-Hope comedy thriller "The Cat and the Canary" which they made in 1939. "The Ghost Breakers" was an even more successful venture for the popular comedy duo, they are quite ahead of their time in their sparkling performances. (The story had previously been filmed twice as silents in 1914 and 1922). Though really a comedy, this film has it's fair share of effecitively spooky horror scenes and it's directed with an atmospheric style by George Marshall. The haunted Cuban mansion is filled with creepy organ music and there is a room full of caskets! The balance between laughs and chills is expertly handled, making the film a pleasure to watch. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious spook feast, one of Bob Hope's best!
Review: This film marks one of the high water marks of Bob Hope's illustrious film career. For the second time Hope is teamed with the beautiful and talented Paulette Goddard (why oh why isn't "The Cat and the Canary" available on video??) and the two have a wonderful screen chemistry that works wonderfully in this movie.
I wont relate the details of the plot but to say that the film involves gangsters, spooky haunted houses, corpses rising from the dead,zombies, thunder storms etc. It is an engrossing comedy/thriller from start to finish. Bob Hope has never been better with his lovable coward characterisation and the memorable quips along the way will have you laughing till your stomach hurts.
The overraul look of the film is lavish and intriguing. Paramount obviously spent a fortune on the production and it shows. The spooky house on Black Island that Paulette inherits is one of the best haunted house sets ever constructed. It combined with the fog, strange animal noises really gets the chills going.
Willie Best, a fine negro actor has a major role as Hope's man servant and he is wonderful in his performance with his one liners generating alot of laughs and he matches Bob Hope all the way.
"The Ghost Breakers" is a superb spook flick which I know you will really enjoy. The VHS copy I have is really pristine so it is definately worthwhile in adding this classic to your collection. I love the Bob Hope films of the 40's and this is one of the best. Now can someone release "The Cat and the Canary" onto video? I'd truly love to see this great comedy duo of Hope and Goddard in their other famous screen teaming.

Rating:
Summary: GHOSTS IN CUBA
Review: This is a fun movie to watch, especially if you like Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Paulette inherits an old castle in Cuba which just happens to be haunted.("Isn't it exciting?") Paulette says as she watches lightning during a thunderstorm. In 1940, Paramount really hit on something: the fabled formula for making the audience shriek and laugh simultaneously. Spurred on by the Hope-Goddard teams box-office returns - (they did the unavailable-on-video CAT AND THE CANARY in 1939) - the duo was reunited for a third and final screen time in the comedy NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH the next year. This film's success would lead other studios to play around with the "haunted house comedy" formula, for instance, in 1945, Paramount dusted off this old chestnut of a story and made SCARED STIFF with Jack Haley and Ann (DETOUR) Savage. Eight years later, the studio squeezed more mileage from the property by remaking it yet again, this time as a Martin and Lewis feature (SCARED STIFF - AGAIN?) Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made cameo appearances in the 1953 feature with Lizabeth Scott and Carmen Miranda (!). As for this original version, the special effects are sensational - for a 1940 flick - and there are some GENUINE chills in this classic comedy.

Rating:
Summary: GHOSTS IN CUBA
Review: This is a fun movie to watch, especially if you like Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Paulette inherits an old castle in Cuba which just happens to be haunted.("Isn't it exciting?") Paulette says as she watches lightning during a thunderstorm. In 1940, Paramount really hit on something: the fabled formula for making the audience shriek and laugh simultaneously. Spurred on by the Hope-Goddard teams box-office returns - (they did the unavailable-on-video CAT AND THE CANARY in 1939) - the duo was reunited for a third and final screen time in the comedy NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH the next year. This film's success would lead other studios to play around with the "haunted house comedy" formula, for instance, in 1945, Paramount dusted off this old chestnut of a story and made SCARED STIFF with Jack Haley and Ann (DETOUR) Savage. Eight years later, the studio squeezed more mileage from the property by remaking it yet again, this time as a Martin and Lewis feature (SCARED STIFF - AGAIN?) Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made cameo appearances in the 1953 feature with Lizabeth Scott and Carmen Miranda (!). As for this original version, the special effects are sensational - for a 1940 flick - and there are some GENUINE chills in this classic comedy.