MovieChat Forums > Hold That Ghost (1941) Discussion > My parents think this movie is a classic...

My parents think this movie is a classic...

posted 20 years ago by KINGJO4606-1
19 replies | jump to latest

I wouldn't go so far as to call this movie a classic, but it was very good. One thing I don't understand is how Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are forgotten in general. Their movies are so funny, yet people don't even bother to look back at these movies. The movies Abbott and Costello are in are much funnier than the comedies they make today. They are just as good as the Marx Brothers, in my opinion. Thank God that Universal is doing DVD sets or else people would have almost completely forgotten about the two.

Watch Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie and Escape from L.A.

[–] bombad_jedi 20 years ago

They are by far my favorite comedy team of the 1940s.
Classic stuff.
I also really love their tv show.

[–] museman1853 19 years ago

As far as Abbott and Costello movies go, this could be considered a classic. It's definitely one of the best movies they did. It's a great blend of throwing two bumblers into a serious situation, that of a dark, spooky, haunted house. It's almost like a lost art!

[–] Shearer_Goddard_Russell 19 years ago

Other than Who's On First, this has 2 of my favorite Costello moments--
-the whole dance sequence with Joan Davis is hilarious. I watched that over and over again.
-another scene with Joan Davis; the "you didn't slap me?" "Uh-uh" "You didn't slap ME?" "uh-uh" ... "uh-oh."
This had one of the best supporting casts of any A & C flick.

...and in conclusion, I would like to say that James Dean and Leo Gorcey are very hot.

[–] Robert_Wagner62 18 years ago

not to mention the WONDERFUL Andrew Sisters performance & The Great Ted Lewis...

The Comedy could stand alone anyway...

But back when AMC was good and they used to show these great films, Nick Clooney one of the hosts called Hold that Ghost, possibly, the 1st, Scary, Comedy, Musical ever...

12 Years before Martin & Lewis, Scared Stiff...

many of Bob Hope's films were comedy, musicals but usually lacked the scary factor except, Ghostbreakers (1940) but no music in that one...& Cat & The Canary (1939) no music again...

So in that sense, this movie is TRULY A COMEDIC CLASSIC, I say it's one of the 10 greatest comedies ever made...

[–] novastar_6 18 years ago

I agree, I laughed myself sick when the rooms kept changing into gambling joints and Costello couldn't prove it to Abbott...and you know I wasn't too particular to the Andrew Sisters' music in this, but it got me interested in it...and today, I LOVE the Andrew Sisters' music...now, they need to cut back on the 500 channels offered us today and get some more good OLD movies like THIS back on the air for people to see instead of the new crap they do.

[–] dioro 17 years ago

Yes, this film gives a good historic account of Ted Lewis.

[–] benohmart 18 years ago

A&C aren't forgotten. It's old or b&w movies in general that are. Few are shown on tv. I don't think people have the patience for them now. With fast editing, shakey cameras and cartoons in films, it's a different world now.

Old movies, old radio, new books.
http://www.bearmanormedia.com

[–] novastar_6 18 years ago

True, but everybody knows the 3 Stooges, everybody knows Charlie Chaplin, many know the Marx Brothers and Lucille Ball and Jack Benny...but how many will mention Abbott and Costello? I'd say they're ignored, not forgotten...but I WOULD call this movie a classic among their work. It's hilarious, it gives you chills, it have great music and dancing, what more could you ask for?

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] novastar_6 17 years ago

This is true, this is true. Now when AMC was commercial free and true to its name, Abbott and Costello popped up all the time at New Year's and early Saturday mornings, but then they sold out for the old westerns and new actions and they were just dropped from TV altogether it seems, except for once in a blue moon they pop up on TCM.

[–] holbrookp 17 years ago

Back in the 1960s, A&C were so popular on TV and especially with us young people that if anybody had told me there'd come a day in my lifetime when nobody under 40 knew who Abbott & Costello were, I wouldn't have believed it. Everybody knew them and watched them on TV all the time, as well as other TV comics, such as Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, and Red Skelton. You might find some young people who have heard of them all but few will know their work. For that matter, a few years ago I was surprised that no one under 20 knew who James Arness is. Some conceded that they had heard of GUNSMOKE, however! So sad.

[–] novastar_6 17 years ago

Well I'm 18, I've loved Abbott and Costello for about 8 years now...Red Skelton, ooooooooooohhh I love his work, he's so funny, Clem KadiddleHopper and George Appleby and Cauliflower McPugg, and of course his own introductions to the show...just brilliant.

I agree, it's a shame that the younger people have absolutely NO idea about the good actors anymore.

[–] LatigoMeans 17 years ago

Hold That Ghost is absolutely my favorite A&C movie. I do enjoy the films they made in their prime (1940's) and I grew up with their TV series.
They brought a lot of their bits from stage to the movies and then from the movies to the TV screen.
A friend a mine often describes the TV show as surreal, and I'd have to agree. If you watch a few episodes you'll find you'll need to suspend all logic in the situations they find themselves in, the appearance of cast members in multiple roles (most especially Sid Fields) and a neighborhood that defies explanation. A distinctly different kind of sit-com than what one would expect.

~LjM
Step on it! And don't spare the atoms!

[–] Charlie Goose 17 years ago

Very true. When I was growing up in the early 70s, there was an A&C movie on every Sunday morning on WPIX in NYC. Today, one of their movies will pop up once in a while on TCM, but that's it. I've actually met people younger than I am who have never seen an A&C movie or even heard of classic bits like NIAGARA FALLS or Who's on First! Meanwhile, they can quote Napoleon Dynamite from memory. Yuck.

I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] !!!deleted!!! (156688) 16 years ago

How about "whodunnit?" - "The line is busy..."

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Strazdamonas 15 years ago

Abbot and Costello is classic thus making all thier movies classic.

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"Common sense is not so common."
- Voltaire

[–] WarpedRecord 12 years ago

Indeed, anything from the 1940s can be labeled a "classic" these days. As for the quality of this film: It's harmless entertainment, but ultimately I found it forgettable. 6/10 stars from me.