The Ghost Breakers (1940)

★ 6.5 1h 25m IMDb

After intrepid working girl Mary Carter becomes the new owner of a reputedly haunted mansion located off the Cuban coast, a stranger phones warning her to stay away from the castle. Undaunted, Mary sets sail for Cuba with a stowaway in her trunk—wise-cracking Larry Lawrence, a radio announcer who helps Mary get to the bottom of the voodoo magic, zombies and ghosts that supposedly curse the spooky estate.

The Ghost Breakers

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Cast

Bob Hope
Bob Hope as Larry Lawrence Died 2003 · Eltham, London, England, UK Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, and entertainer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature fi...
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard as Mary Carter Died 1990 · Whitestone Landing, Long Island, New York, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Paulette Goddard (June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Z...
Richard Carlson
Richard Carlson as Geoff Montgomery Died 1977 · Albert Lea, Minnesota, USA Richard Dutoit Carlson (April 29, 1912 – November 25, 1977) was an American actor, television and film director, and screenwriter..
Paul Lukas
Paul Lukas as Parada Died 1971 · Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary] Paul Lukas (originally named Pál Lukács) was a Hungarian born stage, screen, radio, and television actor, in Hollywood from 1927..
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn as Ramon Mederes / Francisco Mederes Died 2001 · Chihuahua, Mexico Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He starred in numerous critically acclaimed and commercially s...
Willie Best
Willie Best as Alex Died 1962 · Sunflower, Mississippi, USA William “Willie” Best (May 27, 1916 - February 27, 1962), sometimes known as “Sleep n' Eat,” was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African-American film actors and comed...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 8/10 Jun 14, 2020
You still there zomb?

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

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