Ghosts, Gangsters and... the Andrew Sisters?

 

Last week, I wrote about the 1951 Bowery Boys movie Ghost Chasers, noting that it was a movie that Dan Aykroyd once said was an inspiration for Ghostbusters. The inspiration was purely a thematic one--providing the idea of setting a comedic ghost story in modern times. The other two movies Aykroyd mentioned were The Ghost Breakers, which I reviewed a few years ago, and the 1941 Abbott and Costello comedy Hold That Ghost.

Hold that Ghost is oddly structured in terms of story. Bud and Lou play two gas station attendants who--through bizarre circumstances--inherit a tavern from a gangster they met only moments before the gangster is killed. In the finished movie, the scene opens in a swanky restaurant, with the boys trying and failing to make it as waiters before getting fired and returning to their gas station jobs. Though there is some plot exposition provided, it has nothing to do with the rest of the film. So why was this scene--added late in the production--in the film at all?

The answer is The Andrew Sisters. They had been in the previous two A & C films, which were huge hits. So Universal executives decided they needed to be in this one at well. 

And that's okay, because the boys' shenanigans as waiters are funny and the Andrew Sisters are fantastic. 

We also see then-well-known bandleader Ted Lewis do some of his act.  This includes his song "Me and My Shadow," in which a black dancer mimics his movements. It's definitely a moment in which the casual racism of the era seeps into the film--but on the other hand, it should be mentioned that Ted Lewis was one of the earliest white stars to highlight black performers in his act. It's yet another case of recognizing the sins of the past, placing them in context and then deciding individually whether it interfers with your enjoyment of the film as a whole.

Because the rest of the film is pretty darn funny. The boys, along with several other stranded passengers, end up at their newly-inherited tavern, which used to be a speakeasy and casino. One of the reluctant guests is actually a gangster himself, looking for loot supposedly hidden in the building. But he's soon murdered. Ghostly happenings ensue. But is the ghost a ghost or a mere mortal with murderous intent?

This allows for a lot of great slapstick, including a sequence in which Lou's room keeps changing from a bedroom into a mini-casino, then changing back whenever he runs to get Bud. Lou also has a hilarious dance sequence with actress Joan Davis (who proves to have great comedic chemistry with him throughout the movie). A scene in which Lou watches a candle move around a table whenever Joan isn't looking 

A chase scene through the tavern with Lou being pursued by gangsters provides an uproarious climax.

In terms of plot execution, Hold That Ghost doesn't always properly explain everything that happens at the possibly-haunted mansion. But in an Abbott and Costello movie, if you have a choice between inserting a few more gags or tying up every loose end to the story, then going for more gags would be the correct decision.

This brings our "Influences for Ghostbusters" trifecta to an end.