One Live Ghost (1936) User Reviews

Screwball Comedy Short

[Calaboss · 6/10 · 20 September 2008]

At 21 minutes, this screwball short doesn't give you time to think about how ridiculous the premise is. A man wants to go fishing but his family and ditsy maid (some early Lucille Ball) don't seem to care. Feeling unappreciated, the man fakes his death, and with the help of an old friend, he pretends to be an English butler in the household.

Not content with the information that his wife and family don't seem to miss him much, he has his friend conduct a séance and comes "back" to haunt his family as punishment for their lack of concern. It's silly slapstick all around and never really goes anywhere, but as mentioned, by the time you realize how improbable it all is, it's over.

Lucy never gets to show any real acting chops here as the maid, who does little more than giggle or scream. But all in all, it was a pleasant enough way to get through a morning cup of coffee.

Lucille Ball has early role in a Leon Errol short subject...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 20 September 2008]

Interesting to catch LUCILLE BALL as a giddy servant, referred to by LEON ERROL as "a half-wit." She giggles her way through an impossibly silly role in this RKO short--ironically, when her career hit the top it's the studio she and Dezi bought.

Speaking of "impossibly silly," that just about describes this painfully unfunny short. Leon Errol has his usual role as an irate husband, upset that his family disrespects him and determined to do something about it. His friend advises him to pose as another man to teach his family a lesson after he's gone, by faking his death.

Of course, everyone sees through his disguise and they have the last laugh as he struggles to convince them that he's returned as a ghost.

Awkwardly staged and performed, it's not a highlight in Errol's career.

That'll teach em'. Yeah right.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 13 September 2023]

The presence of B comedy director Leslie Goodwins indicates frivolous comedy that serves no purpose other than to introduce a character that Leon Errol would repeat under his direction in the "Mexican Spitfire" films, giving the rubber faced and legged comic the opportunity to ham it up, get some laughs and work with someone whose comedy career ironically would take off the year Errol died.

While Vivienne Osborne is Errol's all knowing wife, it's Lucille Ball whom movie watchers will be tuning in to see, giggling throughout and not saying anything sensible. Errol is pretending to have died, posing as the new butler, unaware that everyone is aware of his scheme. This needed to be expanded to really make sense, so it's a far fetched two reeler that has a few good sight gags and funny lines but not really all that good. Typical of many 30's shorts, no better or worse.

Something Different for Errol; An Early Look at Lucy

[lzf0 · 20 September 2008]

Leon pretends to be dead because his family takes him for granted and does not respect him. This a different type of plot from the familiar Errol RKO two-reel formula where Leon gets into trouble for drinking and/or cheating on his wife. This short seems to have to feel of an old stage burlesque sketch, and this works to its benefit. Leon is able to show us an early incarnation of his Lord Epping character from the later Mexican Spitfire series. Usually Leon used his own name in these shorts; this is one of the rare occasions where he has a character name. This seems to indicate that the material was not originally conceived for Leon, but was adapted for his skills. Written by comedian Monte Collins, it could have been used as a framework for a number of comedians. For many people, a large supporting role for the young Lucille Ball is this film's main attraction. Lucy plays the goofy maid of the Errol household. She has good interplay with Leon and one can tell that she has comedic abilities. This is many years prior to her television work and even her stint in post-war Columbia comedies, which tells us that Lucy's comedic skills were always in her repertoire. Errol's physical comedy skills are nicely spotlighted in this short and we even get some inside jokes about Leon's love of alcohol. The short moves quickly under Leslie Goodwins' solid direction and compares well with the classic Errol-Granger shorts made by Hal Yates in the 1940s.

Fair

[Michael_Elliott · 17 May 2009]

One Live Ghost (1936)

** (out of 4)

Lucille Ball fans might want to check this short out if they must see everything the legend has done in her career. The film centers on a husband (Leon Errol) who feels that his wife, children and even his maid (Ball) don't respect his wishes of going fishing. To prove a point, he fakes his death and later comes back to the house dressed as a butler so that he can spy on them. The idea of this guy faking his death and then coming back into the house just isn't believable enough to work and with that said the movie offered up very few laughs in the second half. The first half of the film gets a few chuckles as Errol keeps trying to go fishing and he has a few good exchanges with Ball. All of that changes in the second half as things go south in terms of laughs. I'm sure fans of Ball will want to check this out but others can stay clear.