Whispering Ghosts

Watching Whispering Ghosts and Milton Berle's scenes with Willie Best I was put in mind of Bob Hope with Willie Best in The Ghostbreakers. It was obvious that 20th Century Fox was trying to turn Berle into their version of Bob Hope with films like these. But super stardom would have wait until television for Milton Berle.

That being said Whispering Ghosts isn't a bad comedy. Berle plays a criminologist who solves mysteries on his radio show. But he's advancing theories of crimes where the principals are long dead. When he offers to solve the mystery of Brenda Joyce's uncle who was murdered and left a buried treasure there a few folks still alive who want said treasure.

Joyce's uncle was a sea captain and he was killed aboard his ship. His will contains the usual cryptic clues as to the whereabouts of the treasure. As is usual a few cast members die before the mystery is solved.

Uncle Miltie has his usual wisecracks, but the funniest is John Carradine all made up in pirate costume telling Berle and Best he was first mate to Joyce's uncle. Carradine looked like he was having a great old time shivering everyone's timbers as a pirate, Rene Riano comes in a close second as Carradine loony sister.

Whispering Ghosts while done on the cheap is still a fun film and a must for Uncle Miltie's fans.

Whispering Ghosts (1942)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Radio host H.H. Van Buren (Milton Berle) does a weekly show where he introduces a cold case and then the following week gives away the real murderer. With the latest mystery expected to bring him a ton a new listeners he realizes that he really doesn't know who the killer is so he heads out to a creepy boat where he comes under attack from a man with a hatchet.

WHISPERING GHOSTS is a comedy that has several of the "old dark house" elements thrown in for fun. Of course, the biggest difference is that they involve a ship instead of a house but for the most part this Fox comedy is entertaining enough if you enjoy these old time mysteries. It certainly helps that you've got a pretty good cast of characters and plenty of horror elements.

We should be honest that the entire story isn't anything too great but at just 75 minutes the director and cast get enough out of it to make for an entertaining movie. Berle appears to be having fun playing this wannabe detective and he and Willie Best actually have a very good chemistry together. Their work certainly brings a few laughs from the screenplay. Also on hand is Brenda Joyce as the new owner of the ship of John Carradine gets to play a weird man who ends up on the ship.

The horror elements are a plenty as there's a lot of fog, mysterious figures walking around, scary glowing eyes and other items. WHISPERING GHOSTS certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's a solid entertaining.

This is my second consecutive review of a movie starring a comedian who'd eventually become a bigger success on a new phenomenon called television several years later. Milton Berle made one of his few starring features during the '40s in a vehicle which would have been suitable for Bob Hope or Red Skelton-except he seems to play the role mostly straight with whatever wisecracks only intermittently funny. Still, this was a pretty intriguing mystery he did and there's still some pleasures like some of his banter with Willie Best as his servant as well as a player from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful LIfe-in this case, Charles Halton, appearing in an early scene. Actually, there are also some nice visually chilling and occasionally funny touches to recommend as well. I was surprised to see someone else other than Berle dressed in drag here. Oh, and seeing John Carradine was also a hoot to see! So on that note, Whispering Ghosts is worth a look for any Berle completists out there.

Milton Berle is the star and writer of a radio true-crime show. A police inspector tells him that his "murderer" of a ship's captain thirteen years ago was an alias of that captain. He's announced that he'll provide the murderer's name on the next broadcast, so he heads out to the grounded ship to look for a fresh solution for his audience.

It's a B movie from Twentieth-Century Fox, based on recent thrill comedies that had been successful: THE GHOST BREAKERS and WHISTLING IN THE DARK, with Sol Wurtzel trying to promote his comedian as an answer to Bob Hope and Red Skelton. The script is decent and Berle's delivery of wisecracks is fine, but the aren't that funny. Some sound like someone who had looked at the scenes he wasn't in, and "the Thief of Bad Gags" is a decent enough actor. Credit Fox's under-rated director Alfred Werker. Management would slot him into any project, even ones that were partially shot, and he would deliver a seamless movie without much fuss. It was that very faculty that kept him in the Bs. In this one, he balances the ghostly atmosphere and gags very well.

A radio detective and his sidekick investigate the death of a ship captain a decade earlier, and head to a ghost ship to pick up on some clues. An unusual group of people gather on the wreck of a ship, and so does the murderer who likes brandishing his hatchet.

Fast-paced mystery with some good gags. Got a soft spot old dark house mystery, only difference it's on a ship. Though the role of the radio detective was tailor made for Bob Hope, Milton does a good job, his rapport with his sidekick is amusing. Fun mystery.