By Frank Miller
The Ghost Goes West
Brief Synopsis
An American millionaire moves a Scottish castle to Florida, not realizing it's haunted.
Cast & Crew
Read More
René Clair
Director
Robert Donat
Murdoch Glourie/Donald Glourie
Jean Parker
Peggie Martin
Eugene Pallette
Mr. [Joe] Martin
Elsa Lanchester
Miss Shepperton
Ralph Bunker
Ed. [L.] Bigelow
Film Details
Also Known As
The Laying of the Glourie Ghost
Genre
Comedy
Fantasy
Release Date
Feb
7,
1936
Premiere Information
London premiere: 17 Dec 1935; New York opening: 10 Jan 1936
Production Company
London Film Productions, Ltd.
Distribution Company
United Artists Corp.
Country
Great Britain and United States
Location
London--Denham, England, Great Britain
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Sir Tristram Goes West" by Eric Keown in Punch (9 May 1932).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
10 reels
Synopsis
In Scotland in the eighteenth century, Old Glourie dies as his womanizing son Murdoch goes to war against the English. First, however, he must fight the MacLaggans, with whom the Glouries have had a long-standing feud. Distracted by a pretty sheperdess, Murdoch runs from MacLaggan and is killed by a cannonball, then joins his father in afterlife limbo, where he learns that, because of his cowardice, he will not be accepted into heaven with his ancestors. Instead, he is doomed to haunt the Glourie castle until he can show his honor by proving that one Glourie can lick fifty MacLaggans. Two hundred years later, Murdoch's look-alike descendant, Donald, badly in debt, is accosted by creditors and is forced to put the Glourie castle up for sale. Tourist Peggie Martin, daughter of an American grocery store magnate, is enchanted by the six-hundred-year-old castle and brings her parents to dinner there. Donald's creditors are eager for a sale and willingly act as waiters. When the question of whether the castle is haunted comes up at dinner, the hard-boiled Joe Martin is skeptical, but his wife Gladys, who insists she became psychic after her nervous breakdown, is eager to see a ghost. Sure a ghost will ruin the sale, the creditors set the clocks back, and after Murdoch fails to show at the appointed hour, the Martins leave. Peggie returns and, discovering the castle clock is wrong, is sure the ghost is merely tardy and asks to spend the night. When Murdoch appears, Peggie thinks he is Donald, and he proceeds to involve her in a riddle game in which he wins a kiss. Martin later gives Donald his asking price for the castle, planning to reconstruct it in Sunnymede, Florida. The castle is taken apart stone by stone and loaded onto an ocean liner. On board is Martin's business rival, Ed. L. Bigelow, who is envious because he is transporting a measly Swiss chalet back to the States. Murdoch, who still must haunt the castle, even in its disassembled state, appears on the ship. Peggie reenacts what she thinks is Donald's riddle game, and Murdoch wins a forfeit from her that guarantees him a kiss. When she sees Murdoch attempt to use the riddle on another girl, Peggie becomes angry at Donald. Gladys is convinced Murdoch is a ghost, however, and while Martin is in a drunken stupor, Bigelow offers to purchase the ghost for publicity purposes. Martin wakes in time to stop the deal, but has exploitation plans of his own. When the ship reaches New York, citizens greet the ghost with a tickertape parade, but Capitol Hill protests the immigration of a ghost. Murdoch, meanwhile, expresses his dislike of America, and his equally ghostlike father advises him to remain invisible until it is time for his revenge against MacLaggan. When the castle is reconstructed, the Martins host an inaugural ceremony, and Donald is disgruntled because his beloved property has become an advertisement for Martin's Fine Foods. Meanwhile, Donald has fallen in love with Peggie, but vows to leave after the ceremony, in which Martin wants him to impersonate the ghost. Bigelow informs the press the ghost is a fake. Martin tells Peggie that Donald has left, and she confides in Murdoch that she loves Donald. Bigelow then broadcasts accusations that the Glouries are not a great Scot family, and when Donald confronts him, Bigelow reveals himself as the last descendant of the MacLaggans. Murdoch appears and forces Bigelow to apologize for dishonoring the Glouries and admit that one Glourie can thrash fifty MacLaggans. His ancient mission fulfilled, Murdoch leaves earth to join his noble ancestors in heaven. Donald then shows his chivalry by forgiving Peggie's forfeit, and she kisses him.
Director
René Clair
Director
Cast
Robert Donat
Murdoch Glourie/Donald Glourie
Jean Parker
Peggie Martin
Eugene Pallette
Mr. [Joe] Martin
Elsa Lanchester
Miss Shepperton
Ralph Bunker
Ed. [L.] Bigelow
Patricia Hilliard
Sheperdess
Everley Gregg
Mrs. [Gladys] Martin
Morton Selten
The Glourie
Herbert Lomas
Fergus
Elliot Mason
Mrs. MacNiff
Hay Petrie
The MacLaggan
Quintin Macpherson
MacKaye
Chili Bouchier
Cleopatra
Mark Daly
Murdoch's groom
Jack Lambert
Son of MacLaggan
Colin Leslie
Son of MacLaggan
Richard Mackie
Son of MacLaggan
J. Neil More
Son of MacLaggan
Neil Lester
Son of MacLaggan
Herbert Lomas
Creditor
Arthur Seaton
Creditor
David Keir
Creditor
Crew
John Armstrong
Robert Donat's Costume Designer by
Lajos Biro
Contr to Screenplay
René Clair
Contr to Screenplay
David B. Cunynghame
Production Manager
Harold Earle-fischbacher
Film Editor
William Hornbeck
Supervising Film Editor
René Hubert
Costume Director
Geoffrey Kerr
Scen by
Alexander Korda
Company
Vincent Korda
Set Design
Ned Mann
Special Effects Director
Muir Mathieson
Music Director
Harold Rosson
Photography
Robert Sherwood
Film play by
Michael Spolianski
Music Composition
Albert Valentin
Assistant Director
A. W. Watkins
Recording Director
Imlay Watts
Assistant Director
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Also Known As
The Laying of the Glourie Ghost
Genre
Comedy
Fantasy
Release Date
Feb
7,
1936
Premiere Information
London premiere: 17 Dec 1935; New York opening: 10 Jan 1936
Production Company
London Film Productions, Ltd.
Distribution Company
United Artists Corp.
Country
Great Britain and United States
Location
London--Denham, England, Great Britain
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Sir Tristram Goes West" by Eric Keown in Punch (9 May 1932).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
10 reels
Articles
The Ghost Goes West
This charming comic fantasy went through three leading men and two scripts before reaching the screen under Rene Clair's astute direction. Intrigued by Clair's work on such classics as Le Million and A Nous la Liberte (both 1931), British producer Alexander Korda hired him to work on a picture about Scotland. His source was the popular short story "Sir Tristram Goes West" by Eric Keown, about the ghost of a coward forced to haunt his family castle until one of his ancestors becomes a hero. At first they shaped the material for Charles Laughton, but as Clair and American playwright Robert E. Sherwood took the story in a more romantic direction, they tried to hire Laurence Olivier. With him unavailable, they had the good fortune to sign Robert Donat to play a double role as the ghost of Murdoch Glourie and his descendant, Donald Glourie, both in love with the daughter (Jean Parker) of American magnate Eugene Pallette. When Pallette buys the castle and transports it to his home in Florida, both Glouries go with him, creating some confusion for Parker, who can't tell which one she's in love with. The film was a huge hit, but Clair's last for Korda, who offended the director by reshooting some scenes.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
The Ghost Goes West
This charming comic fantasy went through three leading men and two scripts before reaching the screen under Rene Clair's astute direction. Intrigued by Clair's work on such classics as Le Million and A Nous la Liberte (both 1931), British producer Alexander Korda hired him to work on a picture about Scotland. His source was the popular short story "Sir Tristram Goes West" by Eric Keown, about the ghost of a coward forced to haunt his family castle until one of his ancestors becomes a hero. At first they shaped the material for Charles Laughton, but as Clair and American playwright Robert E. Sherwood took the story in a more romantic direction, they tried to hire Laurence Olivier. With him unavailable, they had the good fortune to sign Robert Donat to play a double role as the ghost of Murdoch Glourie and his descendant, Donald Glourie, both in love with the daughter (Jean Parker) of American magnate Eugene Pallette. When Pallette buys the castle and transports it to his home in Florida, both Glouries go with him, creating some confusion for Parker, who can't tell which one she's in love with. The film was a huge hit, but Clair's last for Korda, who offended the director by reshooting some scenes.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title for this film was The Laying of the Glourie Ghost. This film was one of Motion Picture Almanac's "champion" films for the 1936-37 season. According to a November 26, 1934 news item in Hollywood Reporter, Charles Laughton was set to star in this film. In a August 24, 1935 Hollywood Reporter British production chart, Lajos Biro is credited with writing the screenplay with Robert Sherwood. The Hollywood Reporter review of the film credits René Clair with original story and lists Sherwood and Biro as co-screenwriters, although Biro receives no credit on the film and Clair is listed only as director. A modern source credits Sherwood, Kerr and Clair with the screenplay. A modern source includes the following information on Alexander Korda's writers, his working relationship with René Clair, and location shooting: In 1933, Korda hoped to make an "international" film about Scotland and wanted Clair to direct. Korda's writers then unsuccessfully attempted to adapt Eric Keown's Punch story "Sir Tristram Goes West" into a star vehicle for Laughton. In the fall of 1934, following the London premiere of Clair's satire on Fascism and dictators, Le dernier milliardaire, which had been rejected by French audiences, Korda offered Clair a three-film contract. In the spring of 1935, Clair and Robert Sherwood rewrote the script of Korda's Scottish comedy, which became The Ghost Goes West. Clair reportedly wanted Laurence Olivier to star in the film. In June 1935, the set for the Glourie Castle was built on property northwest of London, at the same time that Korda's Denham Studios were being built at a nearby 165-acre estate called The Fishery, north of Denham Village. After Korda returned to Hollywood in the fall of 1935 and took a look at Clair's rushes, he reshot the scenes in which the castle is transported from Scotland to New York, causing Clair to consider taking his name off the film.
