Movie Review: Ghost Catchers (1944)

-

Synopsis: After Melinda Marshall gets hired to sing at Carnegie Hall, she, her sister Susanna, and their father Col. Marshall move from Georgia to New York and lease an old house. Almost immediately after moving in, the family begins to see and hear strange things. Believing the house is haunted, they accept help from their goofy neighbors, Ole and Chic. Things take a serious turn when the home's caretaker is found murdered.

Who's in it? The movie stars Chic Johnson, Ole Olsen, Gloria Jean, Martha O'Driscoll, Walter Catlett and Lon Chaney, Jr.


Review: I picked Ghost Catchers this morning because the description incorrectly described it as an East Side Kids film. After discovering, via the opening credits, that wasn't the case, I still decided to watch the movie because some of the most entertaining films I've watched were by accident. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time.

I guess, to start, I am going to say this film's overall plot wasn't anything special or even anything that hadn't already been done before (and many times since) - supposedly haunted house has gangsters living in the walls and trying to scare the family away. Heck, the movie itself even recognizes this and goes as far as to reference the 1941 Abbott & Costello film Hold That Ghost.

I will be fair and give the movie a little credit by adding a somewhat suspenseful twist toward the end that at least made the ending not as predictable as it could have been. It just wasn't enough to make up for the paint-by-numbers concept though.

My bigger complaint though was the pacing of this movie, which isn't very long (68 minutes) but had time for multiple song and dance numbers, including a very long introduction to the Olsen & Johnson team that featured everything from singing and dancing to a knife throwing act. This made it very hard to stay invested in the film, especially when some of the more serious moments were still treated as comedy.

It made me seriously regret the hour I spent watching it.

Final Opinion: I haven't seen any other Olsen & Johnson movies and after seeing this one, probably won't make an effort to correct that.

My Grade: D

__________________________________________________________________

Here are some reviews of other movies from 1944:

Movie Review: The Woman in the Window (1944)

Movie Review: Lost in a Harem (1944)

Movie Review: Brand of the Devil (1944)

Movie Review: Bluebeard (1944)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

-
Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when ...
Read more

Movie Review: Abigail (2024)

-
Image
Synopsis: A team of criminals is hired to abduct Abigail, the young daughter of an unknown wealthy man with the promise of being paid a percentage of the $50 million in ransom money. They hold Abigail in a remote mansion with the expectation of it being a simple 24-hour job. Instead, they soon learn the mansion is an elaborate and unescapable trap and their hostage is really a centuries-old vampire. Who's in it? The movie stars Melissa Barrera , Kathryn Newton , Alisha Weir , Dan Stevens and William Catlett. Review: I came across Abigail on Peacock a few days ago and, while I was concerned the trailer gave away too much of the movie for me to be surprised by it, I gave it a chance last night. It turned out to be a great choice. I'll start out by saying that group of criminals had to be some of the dumbest people I've ever seen in a horror movie. Not only were there red flags to begin with, starting with the whole "hand over your cell phones" thing, they still ...
Read more

Movie Review: Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

-
Image
Synopsis: After years of being a bachelor, Det. Mike Lowrey finally gets married, only to have his wedding nearly ruined by his partner, Det. Marcus Burnett, having a heart attack. Burnett survives but soon after leaving the hospital, the pair learn their former mentor, Captain Howard, is being accused of working for the drug cartels. Not wanting their deceased captain's name to be tarnished, Mike and Marcus conduct their own investigation, with the help of Mike's criminal son, Armando, and soon find themselves being framed both as accomplices and murderers. Who's in it? The movie stars Will Smith , Martin Lawrence , Vanessa Hudgens , Jacob Scipio and Ioan Gruffudd. Review: After binge-watching the first three movies in the series on Monday, my wife and I decided to finish things up with Bad Boys: Ride or Die last night. As is the case with most movies with multiple sequels, this installment showed signs of the series needing to come to an end. However, that didn't...
Read more