As early as his directorial debut 'The Medium' in 1934, Vernon Sewell had had a penchant for supernatural subjects; of which this is one of the most ambitious, with British National Picture's production values, choc-a-block with special effects and with a noisy score by Hans May.
Based upon a whimsical wartime novel by Carol Brahms & S.J.Simon in the same vein as Wilde's 'The Canterville Ghost' and anticipating 'The Addams Family' in it's genial satire ("Talk him out of it? He's a Churchill!") and echoes of contemporary life (from which the plush eighteenth century mansion in which it is set provided a respite), such as the succession of requisitions the building was subjected to in it's lifetime; and that even in the afterlife there are forms to be filled in - in triplicate! (And there's a rather racy reference to the lineage of The Nawab of Bagwash.)
It's good to see Felix Aylmer in a rare film lead opposite Robert Morley (both of whom I remember well from their comedy roles on TV twenty years later).
Based upon a whimsical wartime novel by Carol Brahms & S.J.Simon in the same vein as Wilde's 'The Canterville Ghost' and anticipating 'The Addams Family' in it's genial satire ("Talk him out of it? He's a Churchill!") and echoes of contemporary life (from which the plush eighteenth century mansion in which it is set provided a respite), such as the succession of requisitions the building was subjected to in it's lifetime; and that even in the afterlife there are forms to be filled in - in triplicate! (And there's a rather racy reference to the lineage of The Nawab of Bagwash.)
It's good to see Felix Aylmer in a rare film lead opposite Robert Morley (both of whom I remember well from their comedy roles on TV twenty years later).