While this isn't all that funny a film, it is pleasant and enjoyable and a lot better than most of Bob Hope's films. In general, I have found that I liked Hope's earlier films far more than the ones he did in the 50s onward--they just seem fresher and more compelling.
Bob and Willie Best come to the rescue of poor little old Paulette Goddard. She has inherited a mansion in Cuba, but she receives warnings and threats NOT to take possession--of she will die!! While I have read several places that this is a remake of THE CAT AND THE CANARY, I just didn't see this at all--and I recently saw both films. While it is somewhat reminiscent, they are really very, very different films. Both are worth seeing, though.
By the way, there are some tacky remarks concerning mentally retarded people in the film that were not at all unusual for the day, and some might take offense to Best's character. However, compared to many of the other characters played by Best in previous films (when he was billed as "Sleep 'n' Eat" instead of "Willie Best"), his portrayal is pretty responsible and avoids most of the usual "black man in a haunted house" clichés.
Bob and Willie Best come to the rescue of poor little old Paulette Goddard. She has inherited a mansion in Cuba, but she receives warnings and threats NOT to take possession--of she will die!! While I have read several places that this is a remake of THE CAT AND THE CANARY, I just didn't see this at all--and I recently saw both films. While it is somewhat reminiscent, they are really very, very different films. Both are worth seeing, though.
By the way, there are some tacky remarks concerning mentally retarded people in the film that were not at all unusual for the day, and some might take offense to Best's character. However, compared to many of the other characters played by Best in previous films (when he was billed as "Sleep 'n' Eat" instead of "Willie Best"), his portrayal is pretty responsible and avoids most of the usual "black man in a haunted house" clichés.