Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Ghost Breakers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 6, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of The Bob Hope Collection.

Bob Hope became such a monolith over the course of his later life that it may be hard to remember at one point he was just another “player”, albeit a promising one, at Paramount. In that regard, as with many other nascent stars at both Paramount and a number of other major studios during Hollywood’s so-called “Golden Era”, it can be kind of fun seeing the marketing and other behind the scenes mavens at the studio trying to develop a persona for Hope that would click with the public. Hope’s feature films from the first couple of years of his career tended to be lightweight musicals and/or comedies, but Hope was also featured in two films that helped establish his wisecracking milquetoast characterizations and which also helped to develop the horror-comedy hybrid that was also utilized effectively by Abbott and Costello in such films as Hold That Ghost (which notably debuted after both of these features, which would suggest that the Hope outings attracted the attention of bean counters in studios other than Paramount).

Long before Ray Parker Jr. was asking "who you gonna call?", Bob Hope was on the hunt to do a little "ghost busting" of his own in this well remembered 1940 film which re-teamed him with Paulette Goddard from The Cat and the Canary, in a story that could for all intents and purposes have been just as easily entitled The Cat and the Canary 2. Once again Goddard is the prospective heir of a creepy, isolated mansion, and once again there are all sorts of supposedly supernatural phenomena surrounding her attempts to take possession of the property. And, of course, Bob Hope is once again on hand as a slightly nervous type who might not be the typical damsel in distress's idea of a knight in shining armor.

One of the slight if niggling issues I have with The Cat and the Canary is that it is probably too rushed for its own good, and in that regard, The Ghost Breakers wisely devotes a little more time to development and contextualizing its story. That includes offering decent background information on the humorously named Lawrence Lawrence (Bob Hope), a radio muckraker who has a habit of taking on the local organized crime element. That ultimately plays into the proceedings when Larry mistakenly thinks he's offed a henchman of a crime boss, and in a panicked state hides in a trunk that Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) has packed in order to get to Cuba, where a bequest from a will awaits her.

This is another film which, perhaps a bit like the recently reviewed Zenobia, doesn't age particularly well in its depiction of its main African American character, in this case Larry's valet Alex (Willie Best), who is tasked with providing comedy with the same kind of wide eyed fear that other black character actors were so routinely assigned. That said, The Ghost Breakers does manage to provide regular laughs along with a few scares, and the film is notable for a couple of amusing bit parts by actors who would soon burst into A-list status, including Anthony Quinn.

The Ghost Breakers has more of a special effects emphasis than The Cat and the Canary, and while perhaps quaint to modern day eyes, the result is often quite well done. While more than obviously studio bound, the film's production design at least hints at the spookier, supposedly Cuban, locale the story ultimately gets to.

The Ghost Breakers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Ghost Breakers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint, ViaVision and Universal Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. My hunch is this was culled from the same master as the Kino Lorber Blu-ray release for the North American market, though I'm considerably less impressed with the presentation on this release than Neil was for the American release. It seems apparent that this was either sourced from at least two different elements with pretty widely divergent quality, or from one element that has some pretty ragged looking moments. This is a much "dupier" looking presentation than The Cat and the Canary, with fluctuating contrast, blown out whites and (conversely) crushed blacks at times, and a much grittier grain field at times that can mask fine detail levels. I've tried to provide a representative sample of some of the variances on display, but for just one example, compare general clarity, grain structure and contrast between screenshots 3 and 17. Kind of ironically, this doesn't have the same recurrent damage in the form of scratches and other blemishes that The Cat and the Canary does, but it has a much more "aged" overall appearance nonetheless. Grain does ebb and flow, as can perhaps be made out by comparing screenshots, but resolves naturally throughout, and there are no signs of any aggressive filtering. In its best moments, this certainly approaches the generally fine appearance of The Cat and the Canary, but this is a more variable presentation. My score is 3.25.

The Ghost Breakers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Ghost Breakers features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track which is very much in line with the audio presentation of The Cat and the Canary. The typically boxy sound of this era's recording technologies is on display, but dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. This film probably has more sound effects than The Cat and the Canary, and those moments, along with Ernst Toch's nicely evocative score, sound fine throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Ghost Breakers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Exclusive Audio Commentary by Horror and Fantasy Authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman


• The Screen Directors Playhouse Radio Version (1080p; 29:33) is an audio supplement culled from an April 3, 1949 broadcast. This plays to various promotional materials from the film.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:14)


• Photo Gallery (1080p; 1:06)

The Ghost Breakers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This film, along with the first of the Road pictures, helped cement Bob Hope as one of Paramount's most durable and popular stars. The Ghost Breakers takes many of the best elements of The Cat and the Canary and ups the ante in both comedy and scare aspects, with the result being one of the most memorable Hope outings from this era. Video encounters some issues, but audio is fine and the commentary very enjoyable. Recommended.