Last Friday I posted THE SMILING GHOST, well today, THE GHOST GOES WEST and goes like this... An American businessman's family convinces him to buy a Scottish castle, disassemble it and ship it to America, brick by brick, where it will be put it back together!! But, the castle isn't the only part of the deal, it comes with the several-hundred year old ghost who haunts it.
Look at this beautiful title card, nice!.. Robert Donat was a popular actor in England, he worked up to his death in 1958 at age 53. Hitchcock attempted to get Robert for three roles, SABOTAGE (1936), SECRET AGENT (1936) and REBECCA (1940), but illness, commitments, and more illness kept him from accepting them. Elsa Lanchester also has a role.
After a brief setup from the past, we head to the year 1935...
The castle, which is for sale, is visited by American Peggy Martin, she's there to buy the place for her father who has big plans for it.
Peggy tries to sit down in a chair but the thing has a broken leg! This is a pretty wild looking still I captured as she tries to catch her balance!
Here's Robert as Donald Glourie, ancestor of the ghost, Murdoch Glourie. He hears the ghost's voice and cannot find where it's coming from. Of course, Robert plays both roles...
On the cruise to America, with the castle in the hold, Murdoch decides to mingle with the passengers, especially the pretty ones!
It's a freakin' insane ticker tape parade for the incoming Brits. Man, that's damn crazy, wouldn't want to be part of the cleanup crew!!
Check out this scene using a miniature set of New York City, a lot of work for a 10 second shot!
The Ghost appears at the warehouse where the pieces of the castle are being stored. About fifteen dudes show up and shoot at him a hundred times before they run away, because, he's a scary old
GHOST!!
After the castle is rebuilt, Murdoch appears again to cause havoc with his entrance. The butler gets to show off his comedy chops as he reacts to the turmoil!
Murdoch shows himself and everyone is amazed. He has a few words about the transition.
He singles out Mr. Martin, the new owner of his castle. He has some demands that he wants to make perfectly clear, and, Mr. Martin complies after being chased around by the Ghost.
Then, Murdoch disappears forever before giving his blessing to Donald, and, we gots a happy ending... Tune in tomorrow for a very special treat!
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