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Film: The Ghost Goes West
Year: 1935
Director: René Clair
Writer: Robert E. Sherwood
Starring: Robert Donat, Jean Parker and Eugene Pallette
Review:
This was a film that I learned about when compiling my list of horror films from 1935. What is funny here is that Letterboxd doesn’t consider this horror. It is listed that way on the Internet Movie Database page. I was able to find this streaming on YouTube, so I decided to watch it for my Voyage through the FiVes as a featured review for Journey with a Cinephile.
Synopsis: a haunted Scottish castle is dismantled and transported to Florida, bringing the family ghost along with it.
We started this in Scotland back in the 18th century. The highlanders are going to battle with the English. The head of the McLaggen (Hay Petrie) family comes to scold the head of the Glourie (Morton Selten) clan. The latter are the local royalty. The McLaggens are there to state how the son of the Glouries will miss the battle. He gets upset and demands his son come before him. This would be Murdoch (Robert Donat). He is a smooth talker and a womanizer. He is with a group of women when he’s called to his father. He’s told to go to the battlefield, confront the McLaggens and then fight the English. There is a tragic accident and he fails.
Murdoch is barred from heaven though, until he stands up to the McLaggens. He is cursed to haunt the castle. In the modern day, Donald (Donat) is now the owner of the estate. They’re deep in debt. They’re trying to sell the castle to recoup their losses. This is when Peggy Martin (Jean Parker) enters. She is interested in buying the castle. This becomes a tightrope to keep her interested, helping influence the decision, but they don’t want the ghost to scare her away. Her father would be the one to pay the money, so he is invited to dinner along with his wife.
Things then go well. Joe Martin (Eugene Pallette) comes with his wife, Gladys (Everley Gregg) and they are joined by Peggy. They ask their questions about the place. He is inquiring about the pricing and the history. Gladys about the supernatural. The clock strikes midnight and they don’t see Murdoch, who is doomed to walks the halls each night. After the guests leave, the maid reveals that she turned the clocks ahead an hour, hoping that it wouldn’t affect the sale. Peggy does come back though and decides to stay.
She has an encounter with Murdoch. She believes it is Donald messing with her. The ghost asks her a riddle, stating if she cannot answer then she owes him a kiss. The next morning, she kisses Donald but is annoyed when he won’t give the answer.
Joe comes back, agreeing to buy the castle. The price is within his range. Donald gets upset though when he learns what the plan is. They’re going to take the castle apart, brick by brick and then assemble it in Florida. Donald has fallen in love with Peggy though, so he backs down from fighting with Joe. He comes to America, on the cruise ship. Since the castle pieces are aboard, Murdoch haunts the ship. There is a fancy party and he is the talk of it when he shows up. Peggy again thinks at first this is Donald, messing with her. Ed L. Bigelow (Ralph Bunker), a chain grocery store owner, sees an opportunity here. Joe is ready to sell, until he sees an opportunity for publicity. Ed then wants to sabotage his rival, trying to disprove that there’s a ghost. Murdoch still is trying to find a McLaggen to break his curse, which seems even more difficult moving his castle to America. An interesting opportunity arises though.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is whether this is a horror film or not. I personally tend to agree more with Letterboxd. This is definitely more of a quirky comedy with romance. I can see it being considered in genre just due to the era, since we have a ghost that is haunting this castle. There are interesting ideas that get explored there. We don’t truly get anything that truly goes into the genre, outside of the climax playing with elements. The haunting aspects are played more in the comedy, with misidentifying, and then romance as Peggy falls for Murdoch, thinking he’s Donald at first.
Now that I’ve set that up, let’s delve more into what we’re getting. I do like that we started this in the past. That sets the stage to explain why Murdoch is haunting the castle. He’s accused of being a coward. His father wants him to prove that he’s not. Murdoch is more of a lover than a fighter and by running away, he’s killed in a tragic accident of friendly fire. His father then prevents him from entering heaven until he can prove himself. This causes him to haunt the castle for 200 years. I do love that despite all that time, he’s still enamored with Peggy when he meets her, wanting to steal a kiss when she can't answer his riddle. Like the women of his era, she does fall for his charm. It’s also a good touch that Donat plays both roles, since that is why Peggy believes they’re the same person. It adds to the comedy.
Let’s then look at the Donald character. Over the years, he’s overextended and his family fortune is gone. He is torn between selling his family’s castle to the Martins to clear them and be free from it. There is still that legacy though hanging over him. It’s interesting though that I feel like the Donald character isn’t as fleshed out. We see him trying to charm Peggy, but it is Murdoch who does that. There is another male suitor. That doesn’t get as fleshed out. He just kind of lucks out, with Joe wanting him to help out with the publicity stunt he’s planned for the opening of the castle in Florida.
That is where I’ll then go. There is the subtle theme here of capitalism and the over indulgence that comes from it. The Martins seem to be in the United Kingdom to find a castle to purchase to ship back to the United States. That is just a wild concept and it makes me wonder how long it would take to disassemble and put back together. This feels a bit tone deaf. We’re still in the Great Depression and they’re spending all this money to move an authentic castle to the US. I get the idea that this is a comedy and an outrageous idea is for entertainment, but if I was struggling to make ends meet, seeing this on the screen would make me irate with successful people. Now this is a British production, so I’m starting to wonder if this is poking fun at America. There is also this old world concept moving to the more modern in the US.
All that is left then for the story would be the romance angle. I think I’ll look at this through the acting performances. I’ve already said that I thought Donat was solid as both Murdoch and Donald. The latter is underdeveloped from my perspective. The cowardly aspect that comes from his roles was good though. I do like Parker as Peggy as she falls for the charms of this ghost, thinking it is Donald. She does feel underdeveloped though. Pallette was interesting as well since it feels like an early version of characters we will see later in this era and beyond. He is reactive about decisions he’s already made, regretting them until more information comes up. I didn’t even notice that Elsa Lanchester was in this. Bunker works as our ‘villain’, along with Petrie. I’d say that Gregg, Selten and the rest of the cast are fine for what was needed.
Then let’s finish out with discussing filmmaking. We’re still early into the history of cinema so the cinematography was fine. It is static, but I come to expect that. I did like the exterior of the castle. I’m not sure if that is a miniature. I do know that the cruise ship and there’s a city that we see from afar are. There’s charm there. Inside the castle is a good setting, especially seeing it in Scotland and the updated take when it's in Florida. We’re limited to what they do with the effects, but they’re in camera. I enjoyed that. Other than that, the soundtrack fits what was needed.
In conclusion, this film is more of an early romantic comedy. It could be considered in the horror genre only due to the time period it was made. That doesn’t mean it is a bad film though. I enjoyed my time here. It has intriguing elements of family honor and maybe even throwing shade at the excesses of capitalism. I’d say that it was made well enough with the miniature work and the in camera effects bringing charm. The acting from Donat is solid with taking on two roles. Parker, Pallette and Bunker round out the better performances. If you’re interested in comedies from this time period, I’d recommend this one. Avoid this though unless you’re doing a deeper dive into the era of filmmaking.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10