The second of two films in which Abbott and Costello appeared but not as a team – but the leap in quality from Little Giant is remarkable. A great deal of the credit surely must go to Charles Barton, who went on to helm some of the duo’s best films, including Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. A great feature of Barton’s films would be the complexity and strength of the stories. This one starts in 1780 Revolutionary America – butler Abbott betrays tinker Costello over a woman, and Costello is mistakenly thought with a traitor. Along with Marjoriw Reynolds, another revolutionary, he is shot dead (full on!) by the Americans (even more full on!) – who promptly curse the two of them as traitors and they are destined to exist as ghosts until their reputations are cleared. I didn’t know they went in for curses for all eternity in revolutionary America, at least not outside the south, but there you go. Fast-forward to 1947 and the house is inhabited by some newcomers, including Abbott as a shrink, and the ghosts try to reverse the curse.
Some really good moments – the period stuff, the special effects (for the time), the fact the hot female ghost Reynolds is horny for Costello for a time, Costello gets to torment Abbott for a change, the third act twist with the appearance of another ghost, trusty Gale Sondegaard essaying another depiction of a creepy servant who feels she’s in touch with ghosts. It does taper away a bit towards the end and the final car chase feels a bit tacked on.
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