Whispering Ghosts (1942)

Just perfect...

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Blistering performances.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Producer: Sol M. Wurtzel. Copyright 22 May 1942 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York release at the Rialto: 17 May 1942. U.S. release: 22 May 1942. Sydney release at the Civic: 7 August 1942. Australian release: 13 August 1942. U.S. length: 6,745 feet (75 minutes). Australian length: 6,948 feet (77 minutes).SYNOPSIS: Radio comic solves mystery of haunted treasure ship.COMMENT: A most enjoyable B-picture with an amusing, intriguing script, a top-flight cast and excellent production values. Milton Berle is at the top of his form and delivers the script's many wisecracks with the same brilliant timing and dexterity as he manually disarms Abner Biberman (whom he mistakenly supposes to be an actor).Speaking of actors, there are two deliciously hammy performances from John Carradine and Renie Riano which are spot on in character and reveal a range of subtlety unmarked elsewhere in their careers. Grady Sutton too for one brief flash shows an unexpected capacity to be a menacing heavy. Frank Faylen has a nice cameo as a replacement announcer (the script device that works Faylen into the plot has us puzzling for a while but it turns out to be a typically brilliant piece of Philip N. MacDonald plot construction). Milton Parsons has another of his sinister sepulchral roles which Arthur Hohl gives a typical portrayal as the harassing detective — and Harry Hayden as the harassed sponsor. We like Charles Halton's scared lawyer and Abner Biberman scuttling about in the shadows.Brenda Joyce gives an attractive performance and whilst her Herschel costumes are now somewhat dated, she still looks pretty good to us. Many of Berle's jokes are made at the expense of Willie Best who provides plenty of chuckles with his deft portrait of a cowardly valet.Alfred Werker's direction is considerably above his usual standard — the close-up on Halton as he waits nervously for the lift and glances over his shoulder will knock audiences to the back of their seats, while the tracking and panning shots with torch beams over the rotting hulk keep suspense high.The art direction is masterly and is arguably the most lavishly atmospheric ever achieved in a "B" picture and is ably abetted by Lucien Ballard's superbly calculated-for-thrills cinematography. Other production credits are A-1 and production values, even by Fox's high B-feature standards, are exceptional.

"Whispering Ghosts" was an odd movie because although it stars Milton Berle, he isn't very much like you'd expect. While this comedian made his name on stage with his almost encyclopedic knowledge of jokes (a few were even his own), here he isn't exactly doing comedy. And, in fact, sometimes he seems more like a macho hero type! This was definitely NOT what I expected to see!The film is a murder mystery film--very much a staple of B movies of the era. In this case, H.H. Van Buren (Berle) has a radio show and through it ends up getting caught up in a murder mystery and hunt for stolen diamonds aboard an old, possibly haunted, boat. On hand to help him is Willie Best--who played pretty much the same sort of role in a similar film, Bob Hope's "Ghost Breakers". The only problem is that while Best's character KNOWS bad things are afoot, Van Buren actually thinks it's all an act and that he's not in any danger at all.Overall, this is a mildly interesting film but mostly of interest as a curiosity because it stars Berle...even if he doesn't seem much like Berle here. Nothing outstanding in any way...just a very typical B- mystery with an atypical sort of leading man.

This is my second consecutive review of a movie starring a comedian who'd eventually become a bigger success on a new phenomenon called television several years later. Milton Berle made one of his few starring features during the '40s in a vehicle which would have been suitable for Bob Hope or Red Skelton-except he seems to play the role mostly straight with whatever wisecracks only intermittently funny. Still, this was a pretty intriguing mystery he did and there's still some pleasures like some of his banter with Willie Best as his servant as well as a player from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful LIfe-in this case, Charles Halton, appearing in an early scene. Actually, there are also some nice visually chilling and occasionally funny touches to recommend as well. I was surprised to see someone else other than Berle dressed in drag here. Oh, and seeing John Carradine was also a hoot to see! So on that note, Whispering Ghosts is worth a look for any Berle completists out there.

Obviously made as an attempt to cash in on similar themes (comical radio show host solves mystery), this enjoyable comedy replaces Bob Hope (who made similar themed movies with "The Cat and the Canary" and "The Ghost Breakers") and Red Skelton (the "Whistling" series) with Milton Berle whose early film career was a brief blip in his over-all list of works. He's trying to solve an old murder on a seemingly haunted ship, left to pretty Brenda Joyce by her late great-uncle whose mysterious death remains unsolved. Most of the action takes place on this ghost ship, filled with all sorts of creepy people, including two eccentric characters (John Carradine and Renie Riano) who are almost ghost-like in their creepy demeanors.Berle gets in a few good wisecracks at Riano's expense (refering to her as "Moronica Lake"), but his slurs towards valet Willie Best (obviously spoofing Eddie "Rochester" Anderson's relationship with Berle's "friendly" rival Jack Benny) are quite racist, even if on occasion quite funny. One gag between Berle and Best is obviously lifted straight from the Humphrey Bogart comedy thriller "All Through the Night", taken from a scene where Bogart's valet (Sam McDaniel) is amusingly confronted for wearing Bogart's clothes. Best takes each stereotype tossed at him in stride, making his cowardice hysterically funny even if it tears away at his dignity. While I wish these actors had been treated better in playing less dignified parts, I have to give them credit for their personal integrity in adding a soul underneath the writers' interpretations of these parts, sometimes adding in a silent look or attitude that makes their obvious intelligence come through even in spite of the deliberate slurs tossed their way.As for who the guilty party is in the gruesome murder (involving a hatchet), there are so many red herrings that it is surprising that the water surrounding the ship doesn't look like blood. One funny theory is thought of with the suicide of the victim (how does one stab themselves in the back with a hatchet? Toss it up in the air and bend over so their back will catch it?) John Shelton is wasted as Joyce's love interest who seems to be the obvious killer, while funny man Grady Sutton has some amusing lines as a milquetoast visitor on the boat who seems to really have no reason for being there. The rapport between Berle and the detective (Arthur Hohl) investigating the case is also amusing. While this is certainly an overall enjoyable comedy thriller, it is the chilling photography and eerie atmosphere which makes it work and makes it more than just another rip-off of a plot line you've seen many, many times.