Miller and Moreland were a good comedy team, and i agree with others that their brand of comedy is superb. This film has a lot of wonderful moments in it, and is a high quality example of the "all colored cast" genre, but what hooked me most was the spectacular rapping by Moreland as a craps player who cannot lose, talking to and blowing on his dice. Other films (and a few 78 rpm records) have given us documentation on the rhymes and raps of early 20th century crap-shooters, but folks seeking a slice-of-life glimpse of African American gambling culture of the 1930s will enjoy Moreland's routine most of all, as he is exceptionally fluent in his speech and movements, and the scenes in which he shoots craps are long and uncut compared to those in other, similar movies.
14 Reviews
Watch this and understand the context...though super-duper politically correct folks might just want to skip this one.
planktonrules22 June 2011
Today, this would be an easy film to criticize. After all, the budget and production values were very low for black-produced movies of the 1930s and 40s. And, on top of that, the main characters in this film, Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller, are rather negative black stereotypes. But, if you look at this in context, it's actually a pretty good film. First, at that time black audiences were generally not even allowed in theaters due to segregation. And, since the Hollywood products featured only white leads, some black entrepreneurs decided to make films with all-black casts--but the funding never even came close to the major studios and was even often lower than the so-called poverty row studios like Monogram and even PRC. So, what can you expect--Shakespeare?! Second, while folks today might blanch and the sort of people portrayed by Moreland and Miller, it was only intended to be seen by blacks--and whites would not have seen these types of characters. So, you incredibly politically correct types out there, do NOT judge this film too quickly or too harshly--it represents one of the better films of its type.
Moreland and Miller are hobos and spend the initial portion of the film trying to find food. However, they happen upon some rich black guys and 'play a friendly game of dice'--after which the pair leave with the car, clothes AND chauffeur. Suddenly, Moreland and Miller look rich and sophisticated--and they are looking for excitement. Now this is pretty weird, but they find a sanitarium that is really a gambling joint--complete with sexy ladies and booze. Although the place is a clip-joint, Moreland has amazing luck--and eventually owns the place as he breaks the bank! How does this happen? Yup--it turns out the place is haunted and the spirits are out to teach everyone a lesson! As you can tell from the description of the film, it is NOT a sophisticated film. And, as I said before, politically correct folks will probably have heart attacks when they see black people gambling, trying to steal chickens and talking like characters from an episode of TV's "Amos 'n Andy"--but it is fun. My suggestion is watch it--learn about a seldom talked about piece of black history as well as enjoy the silly plot, as Moreland was a funny guy and the script writers actually did a pretty good job.
Moreland and Miller are hobos and spend the initial portion of the film trying to find food. However, they happen upon some rich black guys and 'play a friendly game of dice'--after which the pair leave with the car, clothes AND chauffeur. Suddenly, Moreland and Miller look rich and sophisticated--and they are looking for excitement. Now this is pretty weird, but they find a sanitarium that is really a gambling joint--complete with sexy ladies and booze. Although the place is a clip-joint, Moreland has amazing luck--and eventually owns the place as he breaks the bank! How does this happen? Yup--it turns out the place is haunted and the spirits are out to teach everyone a lesson! As you can tell from the description of the film, it is NOT a sophisticated film. And, as I said before, politically correct folks will probably have heart attacks when they see black people gambling, trying to steal chickens and talking like characters from an episode of TV's "Amos 'n Andy"--but it is fun. My suggestion is watch it--learn about a seldom talked about piece of black history as well as enjoy the silly plot, as Moreland was a funny guy and the script writers actually did a pretty good job.
What's the hurry boys! The fun's just starting!
sol12181 December 2012
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS**** It's when the just recently deceased Uncle Ezra saw what was going on his his once Gospel singing Bible study class home he completely threw a holy fit. This relative of his the black sheep of the family Mr. Blake had turned the place into a den of inequity with drinking booze gambling and scantly dressed women dancing to this unholy jazz music where their ogled by the drunken costumers and in some cases even hit upon on!
Determined to put an end to all this sin Uncal Ezra and his deceased family member, from the local cemetery, decide to do a number on Blake and the rowdy and in most cases drunken people at the house by scaring the holy hell out of them. And to do it they use the two former ditch diggers and now big time rollers Washington & Jefferson to start the ball rolling or party going. By first breaking the house in winning at the crap tables and then having their ill gotten and unholy gains disappear before their very eyes!
Manton Moreland & F.E Miller do a very good Dean Martain & jerry Lewis comedy act ten years before anyone ever heard of the famous comedy duo as Washington & Jefferson who ends up at Blake's place just for the free food. But end up with the help of Uncal Ezra turning the whole place upside down instead. Of course both of them never realized that they were being used by Uncal Ezra to do his dirty or better yet holy work until the whole place emptied out as all hell broke loose in the last five or so minutes of the movie! It's then that Uncle Ezra & Co. really got their act, or MoJo, together and put an end to Blake and his gang of sinners plans to make his former holy home into a combination Las Vegas casino and Prohibition era Chicago speakeasy!
Determined to put an end to all this sin Uncal Ezra and his deceased family member, from the local cemetery, decide to do a number on Blake and the rowdy and in most cases drunken people at the house by scaring the holy hell out of them. And to do it they use the two former ditch diggers and now big time rollers Washington & Jefferson to start the ball rolling or party going. By first breaking the house in winning at the crap tables and then having their ill gotten and unholy gains disappear before their very eyes!
Manton Moreland & F.E Miller do a very good Dean Martain & jerry Lewis comedy act ten years before anyone ever heard of the famous comedy duo as Washington & Jefferson who ends up at Blake's place just for the free food. But end up with the help of Uncal Ezra turning the whole place upside down instead. Of course both of them never realized that they were being used by Uncal Ezra to do his dirty or better yet holy work until the whole place emptied out as all hell broke loose in the last five or so minutes of the movie! It's then that Uncle Ezra & Co. really got their act, or MoJo, together and put an end to Blake and his gang of sinners plans to make his former holy home into a combination Las Vegas casino and Prohibition era Chicago speakeasy!
a well put together film.
bernardhaines5725 July 2004
many attempt to play down the value of vintage black films,but fail to recognize that they were the best that could be done at that point in time. Mantan Moreland and other black comedians set the stage for many black comedians of today. The film packs a lot into 60 minutes. Mantan Moreland teams up with Flournoy E. Miller, Maceo Sheffield,Jessie lee Brooks,Arthur Ray and a good cast who put on a very fine show despite a few stereotypical flaws. The action,transitions,dialogue,settings were realistic at that time. Maceo Sheffield who played the part of the crooked club owner played a role in the production of the film as well. The film had no wasted motion or dead periods. You will get more than your money's worth and you will not forget this film.
A must see for the comic interplay, the rest is fair
dbborroughs24 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Mantan Moreland and his partner FE Miller in one of their few pairings on screen. The pair play a couple of guys run out of one town and walking to the next when they run across a couple of rich guys waiting for their chauffeur to return with gas. Thanks to Mantan's less then honest way of playing dice the rich men are fleeced and Mantan and Miller end up driving off in their car. From there it's the pair playing rich and ending up in haunted house. Forget the plot, it makes little sense and isn't very good and instead just watch the stars do what they do best with double speak and double takes. Its so nice to finally see what Moreland was capable when he wasn't relegated to supporting roles in films that were showcases for other people. Its also nice to have some sort of record of what Moreland and his comedy partner used to do on stage that made them stars in nightclubs. Worth a look for the comedy and the silliness.
The Dice Do Their Stuff
bkoganbing2 May 2015
On an objective scale I'd have to rate Lady Luck on the low side of films. But this Dixie International Studio didn't even have the financing that a white poverty row outfit had back in the day. Dixie International makes PRC look like MGM.
Lady Luck has Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller as a pair of down on their luck hobos. But Mantan's talent with dice puts them in the chips as they get cash, a car, and even a chauffeur. That's quite a parley and the guys are off to an asylum that doubles as an illegal gambling club.
But the spirits of past residents are restless and even those dice aren't lucky against the folks from beyond.
The comedy is no better or worse than Amos And Andy or in more modern times what you would see Redd Foxx do on Sanford And Son. Mantan Moreland was a very good comedian with a good line of patter and expressions that would rival Lou Costello.
Lady Luck is funny, but a sign of times forgotten. Black film makers get slightly bigger budgets in these times.
Lady Luck has Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller as a pair of down on their luck hobos. But Mantan's talent with dice puts them in the chips as they get cash, a car, and even a chauffeur. That's quite a parley and the guys are off to an asylum that doubles as an illegal gambling club.
But the spirits of past residents are restless and even those dice aren't lucky against the folks from beyond.
The comedy is no better or worse than Amos And Andy or in more modern times what you would see Redd Foxx do on Sanford And Son. Mantan Moreland was a very good comedian with a good line of patter and expressions that would rival Lou Costello.
Lady Luck is funny, but a sign of times forgotten. Black film makers get slightly bigger budgets in these times.
Mantan Moreland
boblipton11 February 2020
Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller promote a pair of dice into a good car and cash, and thence into a casino. The old,owners are about to do something dire, but the ghosts in the cemetery out back don't like that.
True enough, some very stereotyped situation, but you've got two fine performers in the lead. Moreland was one of the leading cross-over Black comedians of the era, and if his comedy became old fashioned in the post-war era, his comedy timing is on display here. As for Miller, he started one of the first Black legitimate theater companies in the Country during the Mauve Decade, and was one of the writers and performers of the landmark Black Broadway show, 1921's SHUFFLE ALONG, with songs by Eunice Blake and Noble Sissle.
This cheap movie was intended for the all-black theaters, one of many "race films" of the era. It's directed by William Beaudine, a director who could handle anything from sentiment, Mary Pickford, on down to the Bowery Boys. This one is nearer the bottom of that list than the top, but the leads are fine comic actors.
True enough, some very stereotyped situation, but you've got two fine performers in the lead. Moreland was one of the leading cross-over Black comedians of the era, and if his comedy became old fashioned in the post-war era, his comedy timing is on display here. As for Miller, he started one of the first Black legitimate theater companies in the Country during the Mauve Decade, and was one of the writers and performers of the landmark Black Broadway show, 1921's SHUFFLE ALONG, with songs by Eunice Blake and Noble Sissle.
This cheap movie was intended for the all-black theaters, one of many "race films" of the era. It's directed by William Beaudine, a director who could handle anything from sentiment, Mary Pickford, on down to the Bowery Boys. This one is nearer the bottom of that list than the top, but the leads are fine comic actors.
Casinos and chicken stealing
BandSAboutMovies13 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
William Beaudine - as we discussed back when we watched Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter - came back from England in 1937 and had a rough time re-establishing himself with American studios. He ended up directing all-black films, realizing that when he did, he'd never reach the heights of fame he was at before.
Lucky Ghost was made a half-decade later, a sequel to Mr. Washington Goes to Town. It concerns the continuing adventures of Washington Delaware Jones (Mantan Moreland, the messenger in Spider Baby and a man considered to take over for Shemp in The Three Stooges in 1955), who has been such a strain on his hometown that a judge banishes him. As he travels to find a new place to live, he brings along Jefferson (F.E. Miller, who made several all black movies like Harlem on the Prairie, Harlem Rides the Range and The Bronze Buckaroo).
Neither man has any experience nor do they much like to work, so they decide to be food tasters. Their career path starts with impersonating food inspectors and stealing chickens, which gets them shot at.
The two then play craps with a rich man named Brown and two of his friends, cleaning them all out and getting a fancy car out of the deal. They travel to the country club of Dr. Brutus Blake, a con artist who wants to steal their money and keep Washington away from the club's hostess.
That's when we learn that Blake's relatives haunt the joint and they're none too happy about how he is turning out. But even when our heroes defeat Blake and win his club, the place is just as sinful and decadent as it's ever been. So the ghosts en masse begin to haunt the club, sending the twosome of Washington and Jefferson running for their lives as the ghosts bemoan all of the "jitterbugging, jiving, and hullaballooing" and begins slamming doors and even playing the drums.
Race films - as they were called - featured parts for actors that never really got the chance to be anything other than servants.
Moreland is a great example, as he was mostly known for his role as chauffeur Birmingham Brown in the Charlie Chan films. He also worked with Ben Carter (who was replaced by Nipsey Russell in the 1950's) and was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame in 2004.
F.E. Miller is considered one of the seminal figures in the development of African American musical theater on Broadway and was posthumously nominated for a Tony Award in 1979 for his contributions.
Lucky Ghost was made a half-decade later, a sequel to Mr. Washington Goes to Town. It concerns the continuing adventures of Washington Delaware Jones (Mantan Moreland, the messenger in Spider Baby and a man considered to take over for Shemp in The Three Stooges in 1955), who has been such a strain on his hometown that a judge banishes him. As he travels to find a new place to live, he brings along Jefferson (F.E. Miller, who made several all black movies like Harlem on the Prairie, Harlem Rides the Range and The Bronze Buckaroo).
Neither man has any experience nor do they much like to work, so they decide to be food tasters. Their career path starts with impersonating food inspectors and stealing chickens, which gets them shot at.
The two then play craps with a rich man named Brown and two of his friends, cleaning them all out and getting a fancy car out of the deal. They travel to the country club of Dr. Brutus Blake, a con artist who wants to steal their money and keep Washington away from the club's hostess.
That's when we learn that Blake's relatives haunt the joint and they're none too happy about how he is turning out. But even when our heroes defeat Blake and win his club, the place is just as sinful and decadent as it's ever been. So the ghosts en masse begin to haunt the club, sending the twosome of Washington and Jefferson running for their lives as the ghosts bemoan all of the "jitterbugging, jiving, and hullaballooing" and begins slamming doors and even playing the drums.
Race films - as they were called - featured parts for actors that never really got the chance to be anything other than servants.
Moreland is a great example, as he was mostly known for his role as chauffeur Birmingham Brown in the Charlie Chan films. He also worked with Ben Carter (who was replaced by Nipsey Russell in the 1950's) and was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame in 2004.
F.E. Miller is considered one of the seminal figures in the development of African American musical theater on Broadway and was posthumously nominated for a Tony Award in 1979 for his contributions.
a comedy genius who has yet to recieve his recognition
touly23 May 2001
someday Mantan will receive his just due. his comedy could never be duplicated. his films as Birmingham Brown opposite Charlie Chan are classics and should be hailed as so.His other features are well above comedy of today. That chubby little man made my sides ache with his antics."Feet don't fail me now"
More Mantan is always welcome.
mark.waltz16 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The pleasant personality of Mantan Moreland is always a plus in the slew of B films he did, particularly the Charlie Chan movies and the string of comedy capers with Frankie Darro. In this all black comedy with music, Moreland is paired with F.E. Miller who didn't have exposure in mainstream cinema and thus isn't known at all.
They are hobos, crossing the country just looking for food, and by some luck (thanks to Moreland's ability playing craps), they end up exchanging suits (that miraculously fit!) with the uppercrust black men they beat, and spend the night in the cabaret where Moreland flirts with hostess Florence O'Brien and making an enemy out of the cabaret's owner. Ghosts from the cemetery next door step in to frighten Miller into saving his pal.
This is harmless but often eye raising with the stereotypical antics that Moreland and Miller must show on-screen. For historical purposes, it is critical viewing for sociological research of the attitudes of the time, even within the black film industry. O'Brien is a great femme fatale, sort of the Carmen Jones of her time, with the very light skinned Ida Coffin a unique presence on-screen as well. Nice visual gags offer some amusing special effects.
They are hobos, crossing the country just looking for food, and by some luck (thanks to Moreland's ability playing craps), they end up exchanging suits (that miraculously fit!) with the uppercrust black men they beat, and spend the night in the cabaret where Moreland flirts with hostess Florence O'Brien and making an enemy out of the cabaret's owner. Ghosts from the cemetery next door step in to frighten Miller into saving his pal.
This is harmless but often eye raising with the stereotypical antics that Moreland and Miller must show on-screen. For historical purposes, it is critical viewing for sociological research of the attitudes of the time, even within the black film industry. O'Brien is a great femme fatale, sort of the Carmen Jones of her time, with the very light skinned Ida Coffin a unique presence on-screen as well. Nice visual gags offer some amusing special effects.
Great Movie, Under rated comedy movie
1969VIETNAM29 May 2021
Fun Race Film
Michael_Elliott4 October 2016
Lucky Ghost (1942)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Washington (Mantan Moreland) and Jefferson (F.E. Miller) are two hobos who run into some very good luck when they play dice with a couple rich guys and walk away with a lot of cash. Soon afterwards the men role the dice and walk away with a nightclub but before long some ghosts show up for a piece of the action.
LUCKY GHOST is an all black cast film that will certainly not make the PC crowd very happy as it contains quite a few stereotypes but race films like this one should certainly be studied as they're an important part of our movie history. This film here, like most race films, suffers from an obvious low budget but "Z" movie maverick William Beudine does a nice job at keeping things moving at a nice pace.
The film actually turned out pretty good and especially since the two lead performances were so good. This is especially true for Mmoreland who had appeared in countless "B" movies throughout his career. More times than not he was playing small supporting roles but this here allowed him to play the lead and he does a good job with it and certainly helps carry the film. His comic timing is right on the mark and helps carry the hour running time.
Another thing that this film benefits from is the final fifteen-minutes where the spooks show up. This isn't your typical "old dark house" style of film. Instead of bad guys dressing up as ghosts, this film actually gives us real ghosts and a real skeleton to do the haunting. I really liked the fact that this film tried to do something a tad bit different and it makes for a fun ending.
LUCKY GHOST certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's a fun little "B" movie that is worth watching for its race history as well as its connection to the horror genre.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Washington (Mantan Moreland) and Jefferson (F.E. Miller) are two hobos who run into some very good luck when they play dice with a couple rich guys and walk away with a lot of cash. Soon afterwards the men role the dice and walk away with a nightclub but before long some ghosts show up for a piece of the action.
LUCKY GHOST is an all black cast film that will certainly not make the PC crowd very happy as it contains quite a few stereotypes but race films like this one should certainly be studied as they're an important part of our movie history. This film here, like most race films, suffers from an obvious low budget but "Z" movie maverick William Beudine does a nice job at keeping things moving at a nice pace.
The film actually turned out pretty good and especially since the two lead performances were so good. This is especially true for Mmoreland who had appeared in countless "B" movies throughout his career. More times than not he was playing small supporting roles but this here allowed him to play the lead and he does a good job with it and certainly helps carry the film. His comic timing is right on the mark and helps carry the hour running time.
Another thing that this film benefits from is the final fifteen-minutes where the spooks show up. This isn't your typical "old dark house" style of film. Instead of bad guys dressing up as ghosts, this film actually gives us real ghosts and a real skeleton to do the haunting. I really liked the fact that this film tried to do something a tad bit different and it makes for a fun ending.
LUCKY GHOST certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's a fun little "B" movie that is worth watching for its race history as well as its connection to the horror genre.
Mantan Moreland rules!
rickmacnamara10 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Mantan was a great comic talent who unfortunately was an early casualty of Cancel Culture. Mantan began in movies like this one that featured a celebrity "all colored cast" as the poster shows, but eventually made the transition to mainstream Hollywood movies such as the Charlie Chan series. Although in those later films, he fell into subservient roles like butler, chauffeur, and waiter, his screen presence still shined through. A good example of this is in King of the Zombies, where Mantan is a valet to a White explorer but steals the show as the only one who really knows what's going on on an island full of the undead, while the White characters are clueless.
This movie Lucky Ghosts has Mantan as one of a pair of down on their luck gamblers who meet two rich guys and take them for all their money, a limo, a chauffeur, and even their fine clothes, then make a splash at a casino that they end up owning by the end of the night. It has some wonderful musical interludes and even some vengeful comic ghosts from a nearby cemetery who are annoyed at all the noise next door.
It's unfortunate that Mantan's style of comedy is harshly judged by modern audiences as an artifact of Hollywood's exploitation of Black actors and actresses in roles involving rolling their eyes and mouthing such embarrassing lines as "Feets, don't fail me now." No matter the role, Mantan never really fell too deeply into that stereotype and in some ways, his performances appear to broadly lampoon the stereotype.
Mantan is great in this role and has plenty of opportunities to show off his skill at physical comedy. A nice way to spend an hour and a half.
This movie Lucky Ghosts has Mantan as one of a pair of down on their luck gamblers who meet two rich guys and take them for all their money, a limo, a chauffeur, and even their fine clothes, then make a splash at a casino that they end up owning by the end of the night. It has some wonderful musical interludes and even some vengeful comic ghosts from a nearby cemetery who are annoyed at all the noise next door.
It's unfortunate that Mantan's style of comedy is harshly judged by modern audiences as an artifact of Hollywood's exploitation of Black actors and actresses in roles involving rolling their eyes and mouthing such embarrassing lines as "Feets, don't fail me now." No matter the role, Mantan never really fell too deeply into that stereotype and in some ways, his performances appear to broadly lampoon the stereotype.
Mantan is great in this role and has plenty of opportunities to show off his skill at physical comedy. A nice way to spend an hour and a half.
"Stick Around! You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!"...
azathothpwiggins22 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
LUCKY GHOST (aka: LADY LUCK) stars Mantan Moreland and F. E. Miller as friends, Washington and Jefferson, who are down on their luck, and looking for a break. After winning big at dice, the two make their way to an illegal gambling house / sanitarium. Convinced that they've hit the big time, W and J live it up.
Uh oh!
The fix is in! Can our heroes manage to beat the odds against their cheating hosts?
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone inside, ghosts begin rising from a nearby graveyard. These specters have decided to pay a visit to this house of iniquity. This is when the real fun begins!
This is a very humorous movie, especially for Director William Beaudine! Moreland and Miller deserve far more recognition than they received...
Uh oh!
The fix is in! Can our heroes manage to beat the odds against their cheating hosts?
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone inside, ghosts begin rising from a nearby graveyard. These specters have decided to pay a visit to this house of iniquity. This is when the real fun begins!
This is a very humorous movie, especially for Director William Beaudine! Moreland and Miller deserve far more recognition than they received...
See also
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