User Reviews

Pathe Pictures presents a British National Films LTD production {filmed at Elstree} of The Ghosts of Berkeley Square. Directed by Vernon Sewell, adapted from the novel "No Nightingales" co-written by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simons and starring Robert Morley & Felix Aylmer as the erstwhile ghosts.

We start in the afterlife during what appears to be a council held by the upper-crust spooks. Here we meet Col. Kelsoe and Gen. Burlap {Morley & Aylmer} who begin to tell us the strange tale of how they came to be condemned for eternity to haunt a mansion in the Mayfair district of London. During the reign of Queen Ann they had planned to capture a war commander in their home in an effort to avert a crisis; but in the process of testing their own cunning contraption they killed themselves! So the sentence is given for them to stay in ghostly purgatory until a reigning monarch visits the house; thus only then will the sentence be deemed to have been served.

The story then sees the decades roll by as the ghosts "live" in hope of the monarchy actually turning up. Not going to be easy because the house falls to a number of quirky inhabitants and is used for a number of interesting things. Be it a place for French dandies to drink and gamble, a Harem, or the Tex Barnum Theatre-with each new occasion causing incredulity to them and fun for us as the ghosts set about either haunting or joining in with the current owners. Morley & Aylmer are a great double act, at times grumpy with each other {they don't speak to each other for 60 odd years!}, at others cunningly effective as they embrace the almost hopeless situation they find themselves in. A number of fine British character actors pop in and out to spice up the story {Thesiger, Hyde-White et al}, and the production is a very good one {note the costumes as each different time period fills out the story}. Full of delightful whimsy from start to finish, this is highly recommended viewing for fans of British comedy. Hey,! when you got a cuckoo clock that tells the year instead of the time......well you know you are on to a winner. 7/10

Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer are a pair of Queen Anne era Colonel Blimps who have taken a nice house and live together. Thinking that the Duke of Marlborough is about to do something stupid they hatch a plot to kidnap him. But they blunder into their own trap and are killed.

The curse of Queen Anne falls on them. They are earthbound until a member of the royal house visits their dwelling. Otherwise they are a pretty lively pair and have all kinds of powers to use for their enjoyment and to get some royalty over to the place as the house passes through several different owners. A lot more than Marjorie Reynolds and Lou Costello had in The Time Of Their Lives which film bears some resemblance.

A bit of knowledge of British history helps in viewing this film. The ghosts are bound for over 300 years. And you won't believe what it takes to get a monarch to the place.

Very droll and witty a real treat for the ear that way.

A very cute ghost comedy concerning 2 gentlemen officers of the 18th century. The men were trying hard to stop a war from starting when they accidentally killed themselves. At least the 2 men were good friends because they are now doomed to live in the Berkeley Square mansion until a reigning monarch visits, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon. It takes 200 years before they are released from their spiritual earth-bound state to move onward in the "afterlife".

It's a lighthearted comedy that would be fun to watch around the winter holidays - there is a quick Christmas scene. It's also a family friendly movie that makes it nice to view around the holidays.

7/10

Although over 50 years' old, this film's wit and imagination have not dated. Two retired 18th-century British army officers accidentally kill themselves and are required to haunt their house in London's Berkeley Square until visited by reigning royalty. All their attempts over the next two centuries to lure the British monarch to the house fail. During that time, their home is occupied by a succession of colourful tenants, including a house of ill repute, an Indian rajah with his harem, a World War I soldiers' hospital and a World War II officers' club.

Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer as the quintessentially British ghosts are excellent. Their characters' witty repartee and dogged determination form the backbone of the movie. The supporting cast is equally good, containing a broad range of England's best character actors of the 1940's.

The sets and costumes are imaginatively rendered and true to the various historic periods covered by the story. The varied and imaginative musical score greatly helps set the mood of each era. Much of the cinematography is remarkable; a single-take lengthy crane shot very early in the film is particularly impressive. This is probably the best movie made by director Vernon Sewell, whose long career encompassed very little distinctive work.

This entertaining and well-made film is worthy of re-discovery.

Robert Morley and Felix Aylmar are a couple of high-ranking British officers in the reign of good Queen Anne, recently retired. They have bought a house together on Berkeley Square. When it turns out that Marlborough is in charge of the latest campaign, they realize he's going to lose the war. They rig up a contraption to kill him, but it backfires, killing them. They are condemned to haunt the place discreetly until reigning royalty visits -- there's always an escape hatch.

And so they haunt it, as it is occupied by gentry, and a bawd and her girls, and P. T. Barnum, who turns it into a haunted house exhibit. Will royalty ever visit, freeing them?

It's directed rather lugubriously by Vernon Sewell from Caryl Brahms' and S. J. Simons' comic novel, NO NIGHTINGALE. The two authors had met a couple of decades earlier, when Miss Brahms recruited him to help her write captions for a series of cartoons by David Low. Their first novel, A BULLET IN THE BALLET, arose from her fantasy of killing ballet critic Arnold Haskell. Several novels followed, including the one this is based on. She died in 1982, five days short of her 81st birthday.

S. J. Simon was born Simon Jacoblivitch Skidelsky in Harbin, Manchuria. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was a leading bridge player, co-inventing the Acol bidding system, and writing the funny and still valuable classic Why You Lose At Bridge. He died in 1948, aged 44.

As early as his directorial debut 'The Medium' in 1934, Vernon Sewell had had a penchant for supernatural subjects; of which this is one of the most ambitious, with British National Picture's production values, choc-a-block with special effects and with a noisy score by Hans May.

Based upon a whimsical wartime novel by Carol Brahms & S.J.Simon in the same vein as Wilde's 'The Canterville Ghost' and anticipating 'The Addams Family' in it's genial satire ("Talk him out of it? He's a Churchill!") and echoes of contemporary life (from which the plush eighteenth century mansion in which it is set provided a respite), such as the succession of requisitions the building was subjected to in it's lifetime; and that even in the afterlife there are forms to be filled in - in triplicate! (And there's a rather racy reference to the lineage of The Nawab of Bagwash.)

It's good to see Felix Aylmer in a rare film lead opposite Robert Morley (both of whom I remember well from their comedy roles on TV twenty years later).

The cream of British comic acting talent could not disguise the somewhat thin script, that was clearly intended as a wartime morale booster, but somehow appeared past its sell-by date, in 1947. Its true length should have been half an hour but they didn't have TV then.

Nevertheless it has some fascination as a period piece, and we are kept in dull suspense wondering why they are waiting for the visit of a monarch, an interesting twist, which gives it its patriotic wartime message.

The best cameo is undoubtedly Yvonne Arnaud as the scatty Bordello keeper (who - for the benefit of those below a certain age or not French or British - continued to have great success on BBC comedy radio throughout the 1950s till her death aged 66.)

Robert Morley too, as usual, never fails to entertain.

Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer are on fine form as two retired soldiers who take up residence (for a whopping great £12 per annum!) in a house on London's fashionable Berkeley Square. Still loyal to Queen Anne, however, they plan to capture an enemy commander at their home, and whilst contriving their cunning plan manage to do away with themselves and get themselves sentenced to hang around on the planet until their house is visited by a reigning monarch. What now ensues are a series of daft escapades through the centuries as their haunting ghostliness sometimes scares away and somethings encourages the house's new lodgers - but despite all of their frequently humorous and creative efforts, no royalty... The two gents "Bulldog" and "Jumbo" are having fun, and it is a bit contagious - but the thing takes a simple concept and stretches it out for too long. The joke just wears thin, particularly as we move into the more modern ages. The ending is quite quirky, though and all told, I have to say watching the pair of them, with a decent script and an enjoyable sense of mischief and bloody-mindedness was quite enjoyable.

Vernon Sewell made many fine little films as director, including GHOST SHIP and CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR, but unfortunately THE GHOSTS OF BERKELEY SQUARE isn't one of them. It's a potboiler that must have been dated even when it came out in post-war Britain, most resembling the 'old dark house' comedies of the 1930s. Sadly the script is very thin and the humour can best be described as genteel, especially for modern viewers.

The loose plotting sees a couple of ghosts, played by Robert Morley (THEATRE OF BLOOD) and Felix Aylmer (THE MUMMY), haunting a mansion and coming into contact with the various tenants who inhabit the property. There's a PT Barnum-alike who populates the place with various foreigners (leading to some excruciatingly awful, borderline racist moments), along with ghost researchers and some cracked old biddies. The narrative is episodic in tone with a rather dark ending that brings things right up to date.

Sadly, the humour just isn't funny any more, and seemingly consists of the ghosts materialising at will or else using their supernatural skills to cheat at cards, etc. The special effects are okay for their age and the cast do their best, particularly the vibrant Robert Morley, but this is completely forgettable film even for genre fans.

This embarrassingly unfunny comedy comes from the quality trough in British Film-making that followed WW2.

The viewer cringes for Robert Morely and Felix Aylmer called on to front a story cobbled together from THE GHOST GOES WEST and FOREVER & A DAY, which drew on earlier sources themselves. In 1708, the "Two Old Sillies" off themselves in a dumb plot to immobilize the Duke of Marlborough and they are condemned to remain in the house (where they shared their bed!) as down the years it is tenanted by card players, dancing girls and circus performers, until we get to the Great War.

Characteristically for the day, considerable expense has been taken with the costumes and a major set and they people the thing with a celebrity support cast to compensate for the lack of marquee names. Effects work is as feeble as the jokes "Sheik!" "No, we better not touch him" Ho Ho!

Hans May's pastiche score is the best element.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ghosts of Berkeley Square. It is perhaps too short, but there is a huge amount to like about it. The film has a very witty script that kept me amused all the time, brisk pacing and a fun story. The cinematography is quite remarkable, and the costumes and sets are imaginative. The music by Hans May is also sprightly, Vernon Sewell's direction is assured and all the characters are very likable. The cast are equally terrific, Robert Morley especially seems to be having a ball and it shows, it was a pleasure to watch him. It is just a shame that The Ghosts of Berkeley Square is so underseen, it isn't a favourite by all means but I thought it was very entertaining and a fun way to spend an hour-and-a-half of a day at home. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Having just watched this marvellous film of wit & charm I felt compelled to comment. A witty movie full of wonderful characters.

A gem of it's kind recommended for anyone who believes black & white means a bad movie but is prepared to be convinced.

However, I do not see why it is classified as horror/comedy as there is no trace of horror in the whole film.

In the 1700s a pair of rum military officers plan to kidnap the Duke of Marlborough. The officers die testing a trap-door on the afternoon they are supposed to be serving tea to Queen Anne. As punishment for missing their date, they must haunt the house until royalty visits again.

Although they try to attract royalty they seem to be doomed to failure, and the house is leased to many different colorful-characters including French courtesans, circus performers and an Indian emperor.

A light-hearted film full of dry-humour quips and farce. The humour would have appealed to audiences looking for escapism and whimsy; however like all films of this time it contains subtle war-propaganda to inspire the masses.

I saw this film on TV in the late 1980's. Fortunately I recorded it on to VHS tape and have kept it. However I cannot play it now so have to comment by memory. I feel that this is film although rather lightweight in comparison to Will Hay's 'Oh Mr Porter!' it is still good clean comedy. I hope that it will be released on to DVD one day (along with other lesser known English comedy films).

I've always loved this film its absolutely superb.