The Ghost Goes Wild (1947) User Reviews

Mild ghost comedy

[the_mysteriousx · 5/10 · 13 November 2008]

I always hate seeing an IMDb page for a film without a review. Every films deserves some comments to show how it played, so readers can figure out if it may be worthwhile if available.

That being said, THE GHOST GOES WILD is a mild, standard old-fashioned comedy. It offends no one and goes down as easy as applesauce. For the same reasons, it is a rather bland film despite some excellent talents involved. Edward Everett Horton is always worth watching and the photography by John Alton is solid. James Ellison is pretty good in the lead and Anne Gwynne is good, but somewhat wasted. Ellison tries very hard, but he never had the personality like a Cary Grant, who would have added great flavor to this. Lloyd Corrigan adds some nice support as the only legitimate ghost in the film.

I got this to see the ghost angle and it was pleasantly done, if not inspired. The jokes are a bit repetitive, but the plot stays predictably amusing as Ellison pretends to be a ghost to avoid being sued by a wealthy dowager, who mistakenly believes he is dead. If you like these old-fashioned screwball-styled comedies then it should be enjoyable.

No boo's to give this sweet programmer.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 11 January 2019]

This amusing secondary comedy is aided greatly by a terrific cast of character actors and a light-hearted attitude that aids in making this more than just a passable time filler. it's not a good day for society matron Ruth Donnelly when she has her portrait painted by handsome James Ellison who truly paints her as he sees her: a shrew with her nose in the air and a holier-than-thou attitude. of course you don't get to see the actual painting which ends up as a cover on a magazine until near the end of the film, but it's worth the wait. Donnelly is not amused and threaten a lawsuit on Allison, already dealing with the presence of an ex-wife (Stephanie Batchelor) and others with designs on suing him. With the help of his devoted valet Edward Everett Horton, Ellison takes matters into his own hand, and the results are lightly funny, if not downright hysterical.

The presence of Veteran character actors Donnelly, Horton, Jonathan Hale and Lloyd Corrigan aid greatly in turning this Republic comedy into something memorable. Donnelly, who could play shrewish or deliciously wisecracking, chooses the previous here and is truly funny, especially when confronted by the ghost of late husband Corrigan and the revelation of a long kept secret. Unfortunately, nothing is done with that but it is fun watching Ellison use ghostly powers to get himself out of trouble. Anne Gwynne, as Donnelly's niece who is in love with Ellison, is decent as the romantic interest but basically unremarkable. This certainly could have had a little bit more farce to spark it up a bit, but overall I was satisfied with this as a light-hearted look at the spirit world and what they could possibly be doing to pass the time.

Not a Sequel To THEODORA GOES WILD or THE GHOST GOES WEST

[boblipton · 4/10 · 3 March 2019]

James Ellison is a cartoonist. He's happy to be engaged to Anne Gwynne, but her aunt. Ruth Donnelly, is suing him for a caricature of her on the cover of the magazine he draws for, and Grant Withers wants to shoot him for an imagined affair between Ellison and his wife, Stephanie Bachelor. So Ellison pretends he has died and is now a ghost. Then Lloyd Corrigan, the late husband of Miss Donnelly, shows up as a real ghost.

It's one of those comedies in which the humor is supposed to arise from people trying to cope with insane situations. Unfortunately, director George Blair seems to have a tin ear for comedy, and even such talented comics performers as Mr. Corrigan, Jonathan Hale, and Edward Everett Horton can't breathe any life into this movie. Neither does the script, in which Mr. Ellison's troubles are handwaved away at the end, provide much inspiration.

Mr. Ellison was one of those performers who looked good, memorized his lines and didn't trip over the furniture. He spent most of his career in B Westerns and as beefcake in programmers. This movie counts as one of the latter.