Nick Trayne (James Dunn) is a former detective for the D.A.s' office who's now earning a living as a professional "listener". (Meaning he listens to customers voice their problems in life.) He's convinced to return to his old line of work to help solve a baffling case. A prominent financier, Walter Craig (Gus Glassmire), has gone missing. Although his family fears the worst, he later turns up alive, albeit in a zombie like condition. With the lovely young Billie Hilton (Joan Woodbury) at his side, he pursues all leads in a determined fashion.
While the plot is routine stuff (with a classic, age old motivation for our mysterious antagonist), "The Living Ghost" garners most of its entertainment value through its healthy comedy quotient. Quips come flying at a rapid pace. Nick is the kind of guy with a wise ass comment for almost every occasion, but unlike Leonard Maltin, I found a lot of his dialogue quite priceless. Dunn - who later won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" - is ideal in the role of this goofy hero. He has good chemistry with many of his co- stars and there is some hilarious banter. The exchanges between him and deadpan butler Norman Willis are standouts.
Don't let the title fool you into thinking this is a horror film. "The Living Ghost" barely qualifies for that genre, although there is some wonderfully spooky and atmospheric stuff that takes place in an old run down house. Director William Beaudine does a fine job with the pacing; this zippy movie only runs about one hour long. And just in case we didn't "get it", Trayne explains it all for us in the concluding minutes, just like many a mystery story through the years.
And Dunn, Woodbury, and Beaudine do send us away with an amused smile on our faces.
Six out of 10.