My very first encounter with the duo Abbott and Costello was a tremendous success. It was "A&C meet Frankenstein", and I absolutely loved it. Since then, however, every next film I watched of them was a little less fun and a little less clever. For this "Hold that Ghost", I had particularly high hopes considering it was one of their first pairings, but sadly it's the dullest and most disappointing comedy of all their movies thus far.
The plot starts with an irrelevant and overlong clip set in a fancy restaurant, where Ferdinand (Costello) and Chuck (Abbott) are waiters, and the former naturally does a whole lot of clumsy things that upset customers and his supervisor. All the restaurant footage is purely added just to showcase the starring of contemporary popular crooner Ted Lewis, and the singing trio The Andrew Sisters.
The actual plot comes after that, with the two working at a gas station and - due to an unlikely series of events - suddenly become the heirs of a notorious gangster. They inherit a mansion where allegedly a fortune is hidden somewhere, but it soon turns out to be haunted. Or, at least, something or someone wants them out of there as soon as possible.
The film is clichéd, even for 1940s' standards, predictable, and quite unsuccessful in making the viewers laugh. Many of the intended gags fall flat, and none of the extended cast members bring any added value. Luckily, of course, there's Lou Costello, whose comical timing is always perfect and whose grimaces and overall persona always make you chuckle automatically. Costello's witty comebacks and one-liners, and his behavior during stretched out running gags (like with the metamorphosing rooms or moving candles) still make this half worthwhile.
The plot starts with an irrelevant and overlong clip set in a fancy restaurant, where Ferdinand (Costello) and Chuck (Abbott) are waiters, and the former naturally does a whole lot of clumsy things that upset customers and his supervisor. All the restaurant footage is purely added just to showcase the starring of contemporary popular crooner Ted Lewis, and the singing trio The Andrew Sisters.
The actual plot comes after that, with the two working at a gas station and - due to an unlikely series of events - suddenly become the heirs of a notorious gangster. They inherit a mansion where allegedly a fortune is hidden somewhere, but it soon turns out to be haunted. Or, at least, something or someone wants them out of there as soon as possible.
The film is clichéd, even for 1940s' standards, predictable, and quite unsuccessful in making the viewers laugh. Many of the intended gags fall flat, and none of the extended cast members bring any added value. Luckily, of course, there's Lou Costello, whose comical timing is always perfect and whose grimaces and overall persona always make you chuckle automatically. Costello's witty comebacks and one-liners, and his behavior during stretched out running gags (like with the metamorphosing rooms or moving candles) still make this half worthwhile.