That's the Spirit (1945)

A vaudeville performer returns from the dead to help his wife and daughter, who are being dominated by a greedy banker.

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writers:

Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano

Stars:

Peggy Ryan, Jack Oakie, June Vincent

Cast

Cast overview:
Peggy Ryan	...	Sheila Gogarty
Jack Oakie	...	Steve 'Slim' Gogarty
June Vincent	...	Libby Cawthorne Gogarty
Gene Lockhart	...	Jasper Cawthorne
Johnny Coy	...	Martin Wilde Jr.
Andy Devine	...	Martin Wilde Sr.
Arthur Treacher	...	Masters
Irene Ryan	...	Bilson
Buster Keaton	...	L.M.
Victoria Horne	...	Patience
Edith Barrett	...	Abigail
Rex Storey	...	Specialty

Storyline

A vaudeville performer returns from the dead to help his wife and daughter, who are being dominated by a greedy banker.

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Taglines:

Did You Ever See A Piccoloed Ghost?

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Henki vaelluksella

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"No Matter Where You Are"
Lyrics by Jack Brooks
Music by Hans J. Salter

User Reviews

Moving, amusing ghost story, with knockout musical numbers

That's the Spirit (Charles Lamont, 1945) is an absolutely delightful ghost comedy, among the best of the succession made in the '30s and '40s. Jack Oakie plays a vaudeville performer in the early-1900s who gives up his life for that of his wife (June Vincent), as she suffers complications during the birth of their daughter. Unfortunately, he's seen shuffling off this mortal coil with a not unattractive (though bloody creepy) woman who just happens to be the spectre of death. Oakie spends the next 15 years begging to be sent back to Earth to mend his wife's broken heart, and finally heavenly bureaucrat Buster Keaton relents, allowing the chubby comic a week to clear his name and rescue the happiness of his hoofing offspring (Peggy Ryan), herself desperate to climb out from beneath the thumb of grandfather Gene Lockhart.

The film wears its heady sentiment lightly, aided by Oakie's unexpectedly poignant, powerful turn, and there's top support from peerless, pug-faced villain Lockhart, Keaton - well-used for once in a talkie - and Vincent, in a quiet, affecting performance. Ryan, well-known to '40s audiences as part of a double-act with future Singin' in the Rain dancer Donald O'Connor, is also ideal in her key role, starring in a handful of superlative numbers alongside Johnny Coy, with How Come You Do Me Like You Do the absolute standout. That's the Spirit isn't as sophisticated or as slickly-plotted as - say - Here Comes Mr Jordan, placing a greater emphasis on sheer silliness, but I found it completely winning, and was taken aback by Oakie's touching central characterisation.