Movie Review: The Living Ghost (1942)
Synopsis: Eccentric ex-detective Nick Trayne is offered $25,000 to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy banker. The case becomes more challenging when the banker returns to his house in a zombie-like state and, a short time later, the banker’s brother-in-law is found murdered in the garden. It’s up to Nick to figure out which of the banker’s uncooperative relatives is behind all of it.
Who's in it? The movie stars James Dunn, Joan Woodbury, Vera Gordon, Lawrence Grant, Norman Willis and Gus Glassmire.
Review: I came across The Living Ghost and, realizing it had been a while since I last watched it, added it to my library. I wound up watching it again this morning and it is as good as I remember.
I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m a huge fan of mysteries and this film offered up a pretty decent one. Not only did we not know what happened to the banker (Glassmire) and why he was in a zombie-like state. At times, he would actually turn violent and there was a very distinct possibility he was the killer. Not helping matters was the fact every single member of his family seemed like a potential suspect, mostly because they refused to cooperate whenever they were asked to do so.
As it turns out, I wasn’t as huge of a fan of the detective, Nick Trayne (Dunn) as I thought I would be. He was an OK character, but his jokes were a bit dated and, at least in my opinion, he just didn’t seem as witty as I think the writers meant him to be. If anything, I couldn’t help but think of him as a crude, arrogant womanizer that just wasn’t very likable and I don't think it's just because of when the movie was made.
Saving the movie, however, was Nick’s love interest, Billie (Woodbury). She was attractive, charming and very witty. Unlike many female characters in movies from this era, she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself and even saved Nick’s life on more than one occasion. While Nick, himself, wasn’t very likable, I did find I liked the two of them together because they played off of each other really well and that team definitely made the film watchable.
My only real complaint about this film is the ending does leave some unanswered questions. For example, they explain why the banker was in his zombie-like condition, but they never fully explain why he is seen carrying a knife on more than one occasion. Was it a side effect? Was the person responsible for his condition controlling him somehow? While this wasn’t enough to ruin the movie overall, it would have been nice if the film would have taken a bit more time to explain it.
Final Opinion: I don’t think the movie is as funny as the writers tried to make it at times. However, it does have a decent, horror-like mystery to it and, as I mentioned, I do like the pairing of Dunn and Woodbury. I would recommend taking the time to watch it if you get the opportunity to.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1942:
Movie Review: Just Off Broadway (1942)
Movie Review: Night Monster (1942)
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