Hold That Ghost
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Hold That Ghost is a 1941 American horror comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello and featuring Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers and Richard Carlson. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. Abbott and Costello performed a half-hour live version of the film for radio audiences on Louella Parsons' Hollywood Premiere on August 1, 1941.
Gas station attendants Chuck Murray and Ferdie Jones aspire to better jobs. They temporarily work as waiters at Chez Glamour, a high-class nightclub where Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters perform, but are fired for causing a scene. Ferdie dreams of having his own nightclub one day.
Back at the service station, gangster "Moose" Mattson, brings his car in for gas and cleaning. When he is spotted by the police, he speeds off with Chuck and Ferdie trapped inside the vehicle. During the chase, Matson trades shots with the police and is killed. According to the gangster's unconventional will, whoever was with Matson when he died will inherit his estate. The boys are bequeathed Mattson's rundown tavern, the Forrester's Club. Mattson had also given a cryptic clue about a hidden stash of money, stating that he "kept his money in his head," but its existence remains questionable.
Mattson's attorney introduces the boys to an associate, Charlie Smith. Chuck and Ferdie are unaware that Smith is a member of Moose's gang and seeks the money. Smith has arranged for a wildcat bus to drop them off at the Forrester's Club, but the unscrupulous bus driver abandons them and three unrelated passengers-a doctor, a radio actress, and a waitress-at the tavern during a heavy rainstorm.
As the night progresses, strange things happen. Smith disappears while searching the basement, and his corpse turns up unexpectedly several times. The water in the tavern tastes foul. Ferdie discovers his bedroom is rigged to transform into a casino with hidden gambling equipment. The girls are scared by what appears to be a ghost. Two detectives show up, but vanish soon after starting their investigation. While Ferdie examines a map to find the quickest route back to town, candles on the table move mysteriously and scare him.
Ferdie inadvertently discovers Moose's treasure hidden inside the stuffed moose head above the fireplace. A disgruntled member of Moose's gang appears and demands the money at gunpoint. The boys manage to knock him out, but other gang members appear. Chuck and the doctor fight off two of them, while others chase Ferdie, who has the loot, through the tavern. Ferdie scares off all the gangsters by imitating the sound of a police siren. The doctor announces that the tavern's unsavory water has valuable therapeutic properties, and Ferdie and Chuck transform the place into a posh health resort. The boys hire Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters to headline, and the maitre d' who fired them from Chez Glamour turns up as a temp waiter.
Hold that Ghost (working title: Oh, Charlie) was made immediately after Buck Privates, from January 21 through February 24, 1941, on a budget of $190,000. The original opened with Chuck and Ferdie working at their gas station and featured many scenes of Mattson's gang planning or attempting to scare the boys out of the tavern. At the climax, another faction of Mattson's gang who had escaped from prison arrives and the rival groups fight over the loot, which turns out to be counterfeit. The state police, who had picked up the wildcat bus driver, arrive and arrest the gang members. Chuck and Ferdie are still able to open a resort based on the therapeutic properties of the well water. Lubin said the film "had more of a plot" than Buck Privates. "It was more or less straight comedy."
As the film was nearing completion, Buck Privates became one of Universal's all-time biggest hits. Oh, Charlie's release was delayed so that the studio could hastily make and release a second Abbott and Costello service comedy, In the Navy. Universal then put Oh, Charlie back into production in mid-May to append the opening and closing of the film with musical numbers by the Andrews Sisters (who appeared in both service comedies) and bandleader Ted Lewis. New scenes were written and others were re-shot for continuity purposes. These revisions were scripted primarily by Edmund L. Hartmann without credit. Upgrading Oh, Charlie cost anywhere from $25,000 to $150,000, according to different studio sources. In June 1941, the picture was retitled Hold That Ghost.
A 30-minute radio adaptation was performed by Abbott and Costello on Louella Parsons' program, Hollywood Premiere, one week before the film was released.
Cast
Bud Abbott - Chuck Murray
Lou Costello - Ferdinand Jones
Richard Carlson - Dr. Jackson
Joan Davis - Camille Brewster
Evelyn Ankers - Norma Lind
Marc Lawrence - Charlie Smith
Mischa Auer - Gregory
Shemp Howard - Soda Jerk
Russell Hicks - Bannister (Matson's attorney)
William B. Davidson - Moose Matson
Ted Lewis and his Orchestra Themselves
The Andrews Sisters Themselves
Milton Parsons - Bus Driver
Harry Hayden - Jenkins
Paul Fix - Lefty
