THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940) – Episode 214 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“I don’t mind dying, but I hate the preliminaries.”  Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Doc Rotten, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they make a trip to an old dark house, or rather an old dark castle with The Ghost Breakers (1940).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 214 – The Ghost Breakers (1940)

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ANNOUNCEMENT
Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL
Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era!
Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website.
Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

Synopsis: A radio broadcaster, his manservant, and an heiress investigate the mystery of a haunted castle in Cuba.

• Director: George Marshall
• Writers: Walter DeLeon (screenplay); (based on a play by) Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard 
• Selected Cast:
  • Bob Hope as Larry Lawrence
  • Paulette Goddard as Mary Carter
  • Willie Best as Alex
  • Richard Carlson as Geoff Montgomery
  • Paul Lukas as Parada
  • Anthony Quinn as Ramon Mederos/Francisco Mederos
  • Noble Johnson as The Zombie
  • Pedro de Cordoba as Havez (as Pedro De Cordoba)
  • Virginia Brissac as Mother Zombie
  • Tom Dugan as Raspy Kelly
  • Paul Fix as Frenchy Duval
  • Lloyd Corrigan as Martin
  • Douglas Kennedy as Intern (uncredited)
  • Robert Ryan as Intern (uncredited)

The Grue-Crew needed some levity — some jocularity, if you will — and The Ghost Breakers (1940) turned out to be just the ticket. Bob Hope and Willie Best connect seamlessly with perfect comedic timing and finesse. Paulette Goddard provides the love interest for Lawrence Lawrence Lawrence and makes a welcome and capable addition to a trio of protagonists with Hope and Best. Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn, and Richard Carlson are cast as the possible culprits/red herrings. Not to be ignored, Noble Johnson makes one of the best voodoo zombies in memory. But, alas, the purpose of Lloyd Corrigan’s puzzling presence in the film is never revealed. If you’re looking for some good schtick, one-liners, and laughs, The Ghost Breakers will tickle your funnybone. And there’s even a real ghost!

At the time of this writing, The Ghost Breakers (1940) is available to stream from Classic Horror Movie Channel, Plex, Flix Fling, Mometu, and $4 PPV. In terms of physical media, the film is available as a standard Blu-ray formatted disc from KL Studio Classics.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Next in their very flexible schedule – this one chosen by Daphne – is Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) with Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams. One thing is for sure: this flick has some of the best taglines yet!

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To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”