The Canterville Ghost (1944)

In the 1600s, cowardly Sir Simon of Canterville flees a duel and seeks solace in the family castle. His ashamed father seals him in the room where he is hiding and dooms him to life as a ... See full summary »

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Oscar Wilde (story), Edwin Blum (screenplay)

Stars:

Charles Laughton, Robert Young, Margaret O'Brien

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Laughton	...	Sir Simon de Canterville / The Ghost
Robert Young	...	Cuffy Williams
Margaret O'Brien	...	Lady Jessica de Canterville
William Gargan	...	Sergeant Benson
Reginald Owen	...	Lord Canterville
Rags Ragland	...	Big Harry (as 'Rags' Ragland)
Una O'Connor	...	Mrs. Umney
Donald Stuart	...	Sir Valentine Williams
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Mrs. Polverdine
Frank Faylen	...	Lieutenant Kane
Lumsden Hare	...	Mr. Potts
Mike Mazurki	...	Metropolus
William Moss	...	Hector
Bobby Readick	...	Eddie
Marc Cramer	...	Bugsy McDougle

Storyline

In the 1600s, cowardly Sir Simon of Canterville flees a duel and seeks solace in the family castle. His ashamed father seals him in the room where he is hiding and dooms him to life as a ghost until one of his descendants performs a brave deed. Simon believes he may be saved when he meets Cuffy Williams, an American kinsman stationed with a troop of soldiers at the castle in 1943. Will this blood relative save the family honor, or will his blood be as yellow as the rest of the Cantervilles?

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Plot Keywords:

castle | blood | family honor | duel | soldier | 

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Taglines:

It puts you in the best of spirits!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Gespenst von Canterville

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 95 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bomb that Cuffy and the ghost want to dispose of was known as a "blockbuster". So-called because it was so powerful it could demolish more than a dozen buildings i.e. a city block.

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Goofs

All through the movie, the ghost walks through walls, doors, etc. One of the soldiers ties a string to his toe and runs the other end to the stairway to alert him when the ghost is moving about the castle.

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Quotes

Mrs. Polverdine: I believe they call it "woogie boogie".

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Connections

Version of The Canterville Ghost (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Bless 'em All"
(uncredited)
Written by Fred Godfrey (1917)
Revised lyrics by Jimmy Hughes and Frank Lake (1940)
Additional lyrics by Albert Stillman (1941)
Sung a cappella by the soldiers

User Reviews

Excellent Family Film

While there are few movies that I wholeheartedly endorse, this is definitely one of them. It has been a favorite since I was a child and it still is. It was a patriotic film in World War II to get our minds off of the horrors in Europe. Charles Laughton gives a superb performance as a 300+ year old ghost. It is very out of character for such a great dramatic actor, but slides into his comedic role effortlessly and flawlessly. The comedy duo of Charles Laughton and Robert Young in this film will never rank as high as Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy or even Hope and Crosby, but I see it as a brilliant discovery of comedy "chemistry". Had Hollywood developed this comedy team, I think we would see some Oscars from their efforts. This movie has a great plot, good character development, and fresh, clean comedy. This is a must for Margaret O'Brian fans. This is clearly her second best film (her best was "Meet Me in St. Louis"). If you are looking for space ships and aliens, you won't find any here. It's just great family entertainment.