Starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizbeth Scott, and Carmen Miranda
Directed by George Marshall
Music and Lyrics by various
As I did last year, I'm easing us into our two-week Halloween Horror-Fest with an older spooky comedy. Martin and Lewis were among the top money-makers at Paramount by the time this movie came out, but they did have respect for their comedy predecessors at the studio. They didn't really want to make this movie at first, as they considered Bob Hope's 1940 version The Ghost Breakers to be fine the way it was. Producer Hal B. Wallis thought it would make a great vehicle for them and held the duo to their contracts. Was he right to do this, or is the story of two nightclub performers who get mixed up with gangsters and a lady who inherited a haunted house dead on arrival? Let's begin at the nightclub where singer Larry Todd (Martin) is currently performing and find out...
The Story: Larry and his waiter buddy Myron Mertz (Lewis) end up fleeing New York when Larry believes he accidentally killed a gangster. Larry hides in the trunk of Mary Carroll (Scott), a young woman who is visiting her ancestral home in Cuba. They join her in Cuba, and after performing with nightclub sensation Carmelita Castinha (Miranda), head to her newly-inherited castle. Turns out the creaky old manor has many secrets, including an ancestor who is a dead ringer for Mary and someone who will literally kill to keep her and the guys from finding the treasure hidden in its walls.
The Song and Dance: In some ways, I enjoyed this even more than the 1940 Ghost Breakers. Nervous as he is, Lewis is still less cowardly (and a lot less offensive) than Willie Best in the equivalent role in that movie, and Martin's having just as much fun as Hope. Miranda's vogue had long since passed by 1953, but she still has fun with the guys in her second number. There's a few good gags as well, especially in the opening when the guys demonstrate their nightclub act and when they finally make it into the haunted house during the last 20-30 minutes of the film.
Favorite Number: We open with Martin singing "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine" surrounded by a bevy of beauties in scanty costumes. He's solo for "You Hit the Spot." Larry and Myron ask each other "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" as Larry reminds Myron of their friendship. Miranda and the duo get two numbers together, the goofy bongo number "Bongo Bingo" with Miranda wiggling while the guys play drums and the more dramatic "Song of the Enchilada Man" with the chorus in Cuba. The latter is a big routine, with Miranda singing to enchilada seller Martin while Lewis goofs off around them and the chorus ladies lounge sexily in door frames. Martin's big ballad is "When Someone Wonderful Thinks You're Wonderful" on the boat with Scott. Lewis does his attempt at a Miranda imitation (complete with fruit-topped hat) singing her hit "Mama Yo Quiero."
Trivia: Carmen Miranda's last movie and the first future TV mogul Norman Lear worked on.
Look for Bing Crosby and original Ghost Breakers star Bob Hope in a rather dark cameo at the end. They're repaying the favor after Martin and Lewis did a cameo in their Road to Bali earlier in 1953.
George Marshall also directed The Ghost Breakers. In addition to being a remake of the 1940 film, there were two silent versions of the story filmed under the title The Ghost Breaker in 1914 and 1922. Both are now lost.
What I Don't Like: They could have given Miranda more to do, like actually be involved with the plot. She's just there to goof with the guys in specialty numbers. Scott and Dorothy Malone as Larry's chorus dancer girlfriend at the New York club have even less to do. Scott's mainly known for her work in thrillers and film noir; wacky comedy was never her forte. Malone's character vanishes after they leave New York and is never mentioned again.
While the updating does make this less dated than Ghost Breakers, it also makes it a tad less scary. With the spooky housekeeper eliminated, the only "ghost" in the haunted house is a zombie who looks less like a zombie and more like a big guy ambling around. They also take forever just to arrive at the haunted house. There's way too much padding in the middle of the movie on the boat and in the nightclub before they arrive. None of the musical numbers have a single thing to do with the plot besides "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" and Martin's ballad.
The Big Finale: Mainly of interest to fans of the duo separately or together, of Miranda, or those who want to see another version of this oft-told tale.
Home Media: Only on DVD in the US as part of a now-pricey Martin and Lewis DVD collection. At the moment, you may be better off streaming this one.
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