User reviews

I have this movie on a collection of inexpensive B-movies. It's not restored, in fact, the audio was difficult to discern for the first few minutes.

At first, it seemed like a typical haunted house film, and feels very much like the forerunner of Clue, Murder by Death, House on Haunted Hill, etc.

About a half hour into the film, the storyline takes a really interesting twist--and it goes from being a cliché melodrama to something entirely different, and far more entertaining than I had initially thought.

Check it out, it's a great deal of fun, even if the long clips and wider shots (and near lack of music score) make it feel a bit creaky by today's standards.

One of the genres that flourished during the decade of the 30s was the variation of crime fiction known as "the murder mystery", as the addition of sound to films helped to make a more faithful translation to film of what the audiences experienced in the original plays. And since horror films were very popular in those years, by enhancing the horror elements of the plots the murder mystery films experienced a popularity almost equal to what it enjoyed in the previous decade (in which the first movies of the genre were produced). Aspiring playwright Charles Belden saw in this renewed interest in murder mysteries a chance to make a name for himself, after Warner Bros. picked his three-act play, "The Wax Works", to create the 1933 horror film, "Mystery of the Wax Museum". Belden joined independent filmmaker Frank R. Strayer to keep making films, and "The Ghost Walks" was one of his best.

In "The Ghost Walks", John Miljan plays Prescott Ames, a young playwright who wants to impress a famous Broadway producer named Herman Wood (Richard Carle) with his new play. Ames takes Wood and his assistant Homer (Johnny Arthur) to his country house for a reading of his play, but his car ends up stuck in the mud during a terrible storm. The three men ask for refugee in an old Mansion which happens to be property of one of Ames' old acquaintances. Inside the house, Wood and Homer witnesses the strange relationship between Ames and the house owners, however, this is all a plan conceived to impress Wood: everyone in the house is an actor playing a role in his murder mystery. Unfortunately, the murder committed is done for real, and while Wood and Homer think it's all fake (after discovering Ames' original plan), the cast knows that someone inside the house is a real murderer.

As expected, Charles Belden's screenplay for "The Ghost Walks" features the classic elements of the murder mystery stories of its time, as we have the stormy night at an old dark house as setting, the obligatory group of suspects, and the touch of comedy. However, what's interesting here is how Belden makes the film a real spoof on the genre with the many twists he puts in his story to play with the clichés of murder mystery plays. The dialogs are excellent, full of wit and lighthearted charm, and while the plot certainly loses a lot of steam by the end (it follows the murder mystery routine anyways), it never fails to be interesting and entertaining thanks to its smart twists and specially its quirky characters. Interestingly, there's an obvious gay subtext that while stereotypical, it's never denigrating and it's genuinely funny at times.

By 1934 director Frank R. Strayer was already an experienced craftsman in the Poverty row side of the film industry, but his partnership with writer Charles Belden would give him a couple of his most interesting movies, and "The Ghost Walks" was one of them. While obviously done on a shoestring budget and the typical production values of independent films of its time, Strayer manages to take advantage of his set and makes an atmospheric movie that fits nicely the mood and tone of the story. The pacing is a little too slow at times, but Strayer knew that the power of his film was on Belden's script and makes the most of it, letting his cast to make the most of their characters with excellent results. Certainly the execution is a bit typical and unoriginal, but Strayer makes an effective albeit restrained work in this film.

As written above, the screenplay is filled with great lines that make the quirky characters shine, and fortunately, most of the cast play with this to their advantage. Veteran character actor Richard Carle is remarkably funny as cranky producer Herman Wood, adding a lot of charm to his character, specially in his scenes with Johnny Arthur, who plays the flamboyant secretary Homer. Arthur is the one who gets the most best scenes, and he gives and hilarious performance as the cowardly yet witty assistant. John Miljan is just effective as Presocott Ames, nothing amazing, but nothing really bad, and the same could be said about June Collyer as Gloria Shaw (the obligatory love interest), whom is just fine. However, Donald Kirke is really enjoyable as the malicious Terry Shaw, and it's a shame he didn't get more screen time.

As usual with Frank R. Strayer films, the low budget hurts the film badly, as while Strayer makes the best he can, the film still feels kind of plain at times. However, the main problem is problem the very slow pace it has, as even when the film is filled with sparkly moments of witty dialogs, it moves at a pace so slow that can become boring and tedious for moments. It also must be said that while effective in their roles, Miljan and Collyer are pretty dull and average when compared to Arthur and Carle, and one wishes the movie had been more focused on the comedic pair they make than on the main couple. Finally, as written above the ending is kind of weak and not up to the high standard of the first and middle parts, although credit must go to Belden for keeping creative plot twists appearing until the very end.

One could say that Charles Belden is an unsung hero of the murder mystery genre, as among the many horror and mystery films that came out the B movie studios nicknamed as "the Poverty Row", "The Ghost Walks" is easily among the best (alongisde Strayer's previous film, "The Vmapire Bat") despite its shortcomings. And even when it's definitely not a masterpiece of the genre, it's a nice way to spend a night enjoying the way it pokes fun at its own origin as a murder mystery play. A very recommended film if you like the genre. 7/10

On their way to a country house to hear a new play being read a theatrical producer, his secretary, and the playwright end up stuck in the mud. They make their way to a nearby house, only to end up at the home of the playwright's fiance. If you can't guess that murder and mayhem are about to take place then you haven't been paying attention.

This is a a good entry in the old dark house genre. Not only does it have a good mystery, you also have some very funny one liners wandering through it. The cast is across the board excellent and they're more than willing to have a good time with what is good material.

I would love to say that this is one of the best of the genre, it should have been, but for me something happened on the way that made me down grade the rating to only seven out of ten. I can't tell you what it is, not for certain anyway. Perhaps its the sense that I knew where it was going almost from the outset, or perhaps its something else, I'm not sure what, but there was something that I couldn't shake that made me like this film despite wanting to love it. It just missed being great and somehow fell short.

That said I DO SUGGEST YOU SEE IT. It is after all a very witty film, that entertains fully, despite just missing being great.

This is a surprisingly entertaining comic mystery, given that it is mostly low-budget and has a low-profile cast. "The Ghost Walks" is an old-fashioned gloomy house mystery story. Although a lot of the plot elements are old standbys of the genre, there are some nice twists, and the low-key humor usually works fairly well, too.

The film begins with a playwright, a theatrical producer, and the producer's assistant getting stranded in the country and seeking refuge in a large, gloomy old house. The playwright happens to know the occupants, and it turns out that the house had been the scene of a still-unsolved murder some years previously. At dinner, the producer and his assistant listen uncomfortably as everyone else discusses the old murder. Suddenly the lights go out, and then - then comes a pretty nice twist, which most viewers should find surprising and satisfying. It sets the stage for the rest of the action, and is quickly followed by some other twists.

The story that follows is routine in parts, but it is entertaining and has just enough unpredictability to keep the viewer's attention until the end. There is a lot of light humor, most of which is handled pretty well by the cast.

If you like old-fashioned mystery stories that do not take themselves too seriously, you will probably find "The Ghost Walks" worth watching.

Your average story of people being stranded in the road on a dark and stormy night and they seek nearby shelter with a stranger who happens to have a very large mansion. Then strange and spooky things happen. I actually enjoy this clichéd scenario with horror films.

This one is cute. It's sometimes funny, sometimes interesting, sometimes with neat imagery. The story of course is nothing special but it's a fun movie to watch. Although it's not a film to seek out but it is one that is pretty good to watch from a film pack or a free copy to view online if you happen upon the film and like older cute "dark and stormy night" films.

I would describe this film as a comedy-mystery horror - and if you like that kind of movie then you might like this one.

6/10

After their car crashes into a tree, theatrical producer Herman Wood (Richard Carle), his secretary Homer Erskine (Johnny Arthur) and playwright Prescott Ames (John Miljan) seek refuge from a storm in a nearby house, the home of Dr. Kent (Henry Kolker). The evening takes an unexpected turn when one of occupants of the house, a strange woman called Beatrice (Eve Southern), disappears during a power outage at dinner and later turns up dead.

This old dark house murder mystery has all of the clichés covered, with a stormy night, secret passageways, a revolving bookcase, a booby trapped four poster bed, a painting with eyeholes, and an escaped homicidal maniac. It also features a neat twist in which most of the characters turn out to be actors performing Ames' new thriller in order to impress the producer. The murder, however, was not part of the plan. When Wood discovers Ames' script and realises that he has been duped, he refuses to believe that the murder is real, especially when Beatrice's body conveniently disappears.

This should have been a whole lot of macabre fun -- the premise is a good one -- but the film suffers from pedestrian direction from Frank R. Strayer, an overly talky script, and too much humour that detracts from the horror. When all is said and done, there has been no murder after all, and the escaped lunatic is easily apprehended and taken back to the asylum.

With its twist, the film reminds me a little of Pete Walker's House of the Long Shadows (1983), but that one had four icons of horror in it. The Ghost Walks doesn't.

I love B horror movies, especially from the 30s and 40s, and this one does not disappoint. Equal parts creepy and melodramatic, with a lighthearted comedic flair and interesting plot devise, it's enjoyable for not taking itself too seriously or collapsing into silliness, while still creating an unsettling atmosphere until you're in on the gag. Though most will figure out the twist before it becomes obvious, there's enough "Who could it be?" subterfuge to keep interest, along with some spirited (as well as some indifferent) performances, and certainty worth an hour and some change to anyone interested in the genre.

"People stranded in a country house during a storm discover that the home was the sight of an unsolved murder years before. During a dinner discussion of the incident, the lights go out and, when they come back on, they discover that one of the guests has been killed. Fearing for their lives, the guests attempt to find out the secrets behind the death before others can occur," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

There are a couple of clever twists in this murder at the "Old Dark House" story, with the "Play within a Play" being its most interesting feature. However, the direction is rather ordinary, which serves to highlight a certain cheapness of production. Like most movies of this type, there is (or, should be) an ensemble of intriguing characters. Herein, only old-time Broadway producer Richard Carle (as Herman Wood) and his fey secretary Johnny Arthur (as Homer Erskine) maintain interest.

**** The Ghost Walks (12/1/34) Frank R. Strayer ~ Richard Carle, Johnny Arthur, John Miljan

The Ghost Walks is a nifty little mystery with a great twist, snappy dialog, and best of all a pansy played to the twittery hilt by character actor Johnny Arthur which never demeans or denigrates his character. Mr. Arthur is great in his role of Homer Erskine bringing great comic relief as the secretary of the Broadway producer Herman Wood, played by another great character actor Richard Carle.

They play off of each other superbly.

Although the acceptable words of the time sissy and cream puff are used to describe the character of Homer, it is never mean spirited or meant as denigration, and are not spoken by the manly males of the film but by his employer, who fires and rehires him every other scene and who displays an almost exasperated affection for his devoted employee.

There is a great scene where Homer tells his boss that he has devoted the best years of his life to him and has been everything but a mother to him.

The mystery angle of the film is very entertaining, and the twist at the end might just leave you in stitches.

For a low budget poverty row picture, this film has superb set decoration and great costuming.

Director Frank Strayer ably handles his cast and this film holds together much better than some of his other low budget mystery attempts, but he had a great script to work with and some wonderful actors to carry it through.

This film is a must see for devotees of poverty row films, old dark house mysteries (they actually managed to work in the lines "It was a dark and stormy night)and it has the added bonus of being an early representation of a gay character in film where nothing bad happens to them in the end.

This movie is available for download in the public domain film section of the Internet Archive at archive.org.

The Ghost Walks, starring a bunch of people we've never heard of. The usual story... car breaks down in a storm, ends up in the house where weird stuff starts happening, kind of like in Rocky Horror Picture Show. Directed by Frank Strayer, who had also started in the silents..this was a Maury Cohen production, so keep those expectations low! sound is terrible, picture and editing are miserable. badly in need of restoration. The hostess starts to see things that aren't there, and may be communicating with them. Séances and the occult were big in the 1930s, and this is a "horror" film in that genre. The acting is cardboard, and the script is just terrible. kind of fun to watch, in spite of the poor quality. It's pretty terrible. Showing on Moonlight Movies. Skip it... ain't no thang. Baaaaaaaaaddddddd.

Some nice plot twists keep the viewer sitting up through this old dark house mystery featuring John Miljan as a playwright with a new play to read—a thriller, this time!

Among a supporting cast of vaguely familiar faces, Richard Carle and Johnny Arthur lend comic relief as a Broadway producer and assistant accompanying Miljan. Producer Carle is constantly firing and un-firing assistant Arthur, which is cute but predictable; on another level entirely is their merry insistence for a good chunk of the film that the entire "mystery" taking place is part of Miljan's presentation of his new play, put on for their benefit!

Nothing particularly unusual here, otherwise, but those of us who enjoy being trapped in a dark house on a stormy night with an escaped lunatic in the neighborhood will find an hour of fun. As a bonus, the final few minutes feature a couple of bursts of really ripe maniacal laughter.

On a stormy night, when a theatrical producer, Wood, his secretary, Erskine and playwright Prescott Ames are stranded when their car skids off the road, they take refuge in the nearby home of Dr. Kent, a friend of Ames's. One of Kent's patients, who is staying at the house, is acting strangely, and the others in the house tell the newcomers that she is behaving this way because it is the anniversary of her husband's murder.

At dinner, the group begins exchanging accusations about the murder, when suddenly the lights go out, and soon afterwards comes the first in a series of mysterious and fearful events.

The producer thinks all the strange occurrences are part of a ploy to get him to produce a play for Ames: One of the other characters exclaims, "These fools think we are putting on a play for their benefit!" The dinner-party was a scene from Ames's play, but when a madman sneaks into the house and tries to graft different body parts on the theatrical producer and his secretary, they realize it isn't a play.

The Ghost Walks is a fun mix of comedy, horror and murder- it has the usual group holed up in a spooky mansion teeming with passage ways, eyes on the painting moving, a storm, and disappearing bodies, but it has good pace, energy and the characters were, in particular, good, especially Wood and his playwright -their wisecracks are good.

Grouchy Broadway producer Richarard Carle and his belabored secretary Johnny Arthur are driving on a country road during a storm. A fallen tree branch blocks the car, so they take refuge in an old dark house. There, aspiring playwright John Miljan takes the opportunity to stage his Old Dark House play for them. Carle and Arthur retire for bed, and discover the script. Meanwhile, something goes wrong. Eve Southern, playing the lunatic, is murdered. A madman has escaped from the local asylum and is running loose in the hidden passages. Of course, Carle thinks it's all part of the play.

It's just the sort of thing Frank Strayer was made to direct, and he and his cast have a lot of fun playing with easily burlesqued tropes of the genre. The performances are a bit theatrical, but considering the characters, that's just how they should be played. The occasional rumble of stage thunder is perfectly timed so the lines are never obscured, and the handling demonstrates just how much talent lay in Hollywood players usually resigned to bits, given a decent script and competent direction.

Okay the production values are not the best, and the pacing is a bit jittery but this is well worth a watch for the plot twists and turns and funny dialogue. Especially between supporting actors Johnny Arthur and Richard Carle's characters. E.g. Herman Wood: "Do you feel that draft? It's freezing in here." Homer Erskine: "I wish my cousin was here. She's had a temperature of 106 for 2 years. We keep her in the cellar and she heats the whole house."

There are a few other character actors you'll recognize from many other films of this era. For a nearly 100-year-old film I feel it holds up very well and is very entertaining in spite of its low budget. It's a mildly spooky mystery, and the story is odd but I thought the costumes, writing, sets, and most of the characters were wonderful. Old movie buffs should like this one!

Now, this movie, made in the middle of the great wave of 30s' mysteries, certainly has got ALL the 'necessary' ingredients: the isolated old house, the thunderstorm outside, psychic ongoings, turning bookshelves, eyes staring out of portraits, secret passages... But at the same time it's also one of the very first, and best, spoofs on the genre - and the scary moments are really masterfully mixed with the comic ones!

It all starts (once again) with a car being stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere, with only an old mansion for the three travelers to seek shelter from the rain: a theatrical producer, his secretary, and a playwright. But the scenery changes as soon as the inhabitants of the house greet the playwright: they're old acquaintances, although not all of them seem to be on very friendly terms with him. And then a strange woman makes her appearance: dressed all in black and staring in an absent-minded way, she steps down the stairs - and scares the travelers with her strange talk about danger and murders in this very house... The host explains that she's his sister, and she's been mentally disturbed ever since her husband was murdered right there in the dining room three years ago - and as soon as they sit down to dinner, she starts talking to her invisible dead husband, a chair starts to move all by itself, the lights turn out, a frightening death mask is seen; and when the lights are on again, the mysterious woman has disappeared...

But as soon as the producer and the secretary, both scared to death, have disappeared into their room, the atmosphere changes: the playwright and his friends, who turn out to be actors, are very much amused and pleased by their 'rehearsal' of his new play, which he hopes the producer will accept this way! Meanwhile, the producer finds a copy of the script in his room, and so he also thinks he knows what's going on, and decides to join in with the 'fun' - only that a short while later, the 'play' is ended suddenly when they find the actress who had impersonated the disturbed woman is found dead behind a door...

From this point on, the movie keeps confusing us so much that sometimes we really don't know where the 'plot within the plot' stops and the 'real' horror begins... But the balance between mystery and comedy is being held really perfectly throughout the whole movie, so it should provide unforgettable entertainment for ALL classic movie fans with a sense of humor - a much underestimated little B movie gem that should certainly get more attention by film historians, so that a wider audience will be able to get to know and enjoy it!

This is the usual plot where people are forced, by the weather, to stay in a rich man's house. The house has secret passages and dark corners and lights that turn off at inopportune times. The plot is basically twofold. At first, a young playwright is scripting events so he can impress a big time movie producer. Unfortunately, people begin to disappear, and one woman seemingly dies. There is wacky comedy and romance and events involving kidnapping. Some are able to keep their cool, but generally there is a frantic moving in and out of rooms. There is also the classic of the hand opening the door but not exposing its owner. Pretty ordinary in my estimation. Some of the characters are really quite charming.