Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Ghost Breakers (1940) Available To Borrow From Library; Features Scranton Reference

The 1940 horror-comedy The Ghost Breakers is now available to borrow on DVD from Scranton Public Library.  The film features a brief reference to Scranton, spoken by none other than comedy legend Bob Hope.

Directed by George Marshall (Marlene Dietrich’s “comeback” film Destry Rides Again, as well as Bob Hope and Lucille Ball in the film Fancy Pants and Ball again in episodes of her TV series Here’s Lucy) this breezy, timelessly amusing comedy re-teams Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, who two years earlier appeared together in The Cat and the Canary.

Mary Carter (Goddard) has just inherited a castle owned by her great-great grandfather off the coast of Cuba and said to be haunted. Despite warnings and death threats, she accepts the inheritance.

She is joined by radio broadcaster Larry Lawrence (Hope) who, believing he has killed a mob boss, flees New York with his butler, Alex (Willie Best). She enables him to escape by stowing him in a trunk bound for Cuba. In return, he promises to help rid her inherited castle of the ghosts and ghoulish creatures said to inhabit it. Once on the island, the three explore the eerie castle and search for the key to the castle's treasure while being haunted by the ghosts of Mary's ancestors.

Hope proves yet again that he is the master of the one-liner. The following dialogue is spoken as Mary and Larry descend a staircase into the dungeon of the castle--the scene takes place at the 1:21:14 mark, in the last five minutes of the movie:

Mary
Look at these railway tracks running through here.

Larry
Reminds me of my hotel room in Scranton.

Click here to place a hold on The Ghost Breakers.