The Ghost Goes West

Director: Rene Clair

Overview

In this film, wealthy American Eugene Pallette purchases an ancient Scottish castle, then has it dismantled and transferred to his Florida estate; there he plans to reconstruct the castle brick by brick. Pallette is unaware that his new acquisition comes equipped with an 18th century ghost.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/15/2015
UPC:	0644827679027
Original Release:	0000
Language:	English
Sales rank:	20,595

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Donat	Murdoch/Robert Glourie
Eugene Pallette	Joe Martin
Everley Gregg	Gladys Martin
Elsa Lanchester	Lady Shepperton
Jean Parker	Peggy Martin
Ralph Bunker	Ed Bigelow
Patricia Hilliard	Shepherdess
Morton Selten	Gavin Glourie
Dorothy Bouchier	Cleopatra
Mark Daly	Groom
Herbert Lomas	Fergus
Elliot Mason	Mrs. NcNiff
Hay Petrie	The MacLaggan
Quinton McPherson	MacKaye
Arthur Seaton	Creditor
David Keir	Creditor
Jack Lambert	Son of MacLaggan
J. More	Son of MacLaggan
Colin Lesslie	Actor
Mischa Spoliansky	Composer

Technical Credits

Geoffrey Kerr

Robert E. Sherwood

Ren? Clair

Alexander Korda	Producer
Geoffrey Kerr	Screenwriter
Robert E. Sherwood	Screenwriter
Ned Mann	Special Effects
Ren? Clair	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The Ghost Goes West is a delightful if totally inconsequential comedy-cum-fantasy. The basic situation involving a ghost doomed to haunt a castle until he can prove his mettle and the consequences that has for his descendants is now overly familiar to audiences, which dilutes its impact somewhat; but the performance of the always engaging Robert Donat helps to overcome this flaw. Donat was a very special performer, one who made relatively few films in a lengthy career, but who could almost always be counted on to bring a certain appeal to his work. Even more importantly, he was an exceptionally fine actor, and while Ghost rises and falls more on the fact that he has the requisite charm and style, it's the fact that Donat goes well beyond these important but superficial qualities that makes his work here memorable. Aside from the familiarity of the story, the screenplay suffers from some occasional slipshoddiness -- the romance is not handled as satisfactorily as might be wished, the "is he a ghost or isn't he" aspect of it in particular not being milked as well as it might have been and not being resolved as clearly as desired. But for the most part, the script is more than adequate, and René Clair directs the proceedings with a sure but pleasingly light touch. Jean Parker is a bit unformed as the leading lady, but Eugene Pallette, Elsa Lanchester, and Ralph Bunker more than make up for her occasional stumbles. All in all, The Ghost Goes West is a sweet little treat.