History Film / HoldThatGhost

* TheFlappingDickey: At the end of the film, the two main characters are running a party when Costello's character, Freddie Jones, encounters a maitre d', who had fired them from an earlier job, working as a temp waiter. Freddie tweaks the waiter's dignity by ordering him to fix his tie, fix his vest and to pull down his shirt, at which point, his dicky pops up and rolls up in classic scroll-like fashion.

* HighHopesZeroTalent: Ferdie wants more than anything to be the manager of a nightclub someday - except he has no connections, status, or skill at... much of anything. 

* {{Shave and a Haircut}}: When Camille fears she's being followed downstairs but is too scared to turn around, she stomps out "Shave and a haircut" on the last step... and the BedsheetGhost finishes with "Two bits".

* UnexpectedInheritance: Due to Moose's "profession", he never knew who he could trust. Therefore, he left his money to whoever was closest to him at the moment of his death – and it just happened to be two hapless gas station attendants.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo of Creator/AbbottAndCostello, directed by Arthur Lubin, produced by Burt Kelly and Glenn Tryon, written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, and costarring Richard Carlson, Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers, and Mischa Auer, with special appearances by Music/TheAndrewsSisters and Ted Lewis. Generally remembered as one of A&C's better pictures, it offers an early peek into what the pair could do with the kind of material they would put to good use in such later films as ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein''.

Gas station attendants Chuck Murray (Abbott) and Ferdie Jones (Costello) dream of better lives, with Ferdie aiming to own a nightclub one day. Unfortunately, their employment as relief waiters at the high-class Chez Glamour ends badly when they cause a ruckus. Some time later, the infamous gangster "Moose" Mattson (William B. Davidson) stops by their gas station for a refill and a cleaning, but is spotted by the police. Mattson speeds off, with the boys as his unwilling passengers, but gets shot and killed. Since they were the closest people to him at the time of his death, Chuck and Ferdie turn out to be Mattson's inheritors, and are given ownership of the Forrester's Club, a run-down nightspot in a remote area which Moose had owned. Somewhere on the premises is a hidden stash of money which was never found, the only clue being that Moose had told people he kept it "in his head". Chuck and Ferdie take a bus out to see the property for themselves, along with one Charlie Smith (Creator/{{Marc Lawrence|Actor}}), who unbeknownst to the boys was a former associate of Moose's. Chuck and Ferdie are abandoned by the bus driver just outside the club along with their fellow passengers, including Smith, a Dr. Jackson (Carlson), a radio actress named Camille Brewster (Davis), and a waitress named Norma Lind (Ankers). As a bad storm closes in, everyone heads into the club for shelter. Soon night comes, and strange things begin to happen. Smith is murdered while searching the basement. Candles and other things start moving on their own. As secret passages and hidden gambling machines are found all over the Forrester's Club -- leftovers from Prohibition, when the place was a speakeasy -- it becomes easier to believe the old place is haunted... or at least, that someone has come back to the building with unfinished business.

* GanglandDriveBy: A group of gangsters in a car - including Smith - try to gun Chuck and Ferdie down outside a lawyers' office. Fortunately, all that happens is Ferdie suffering some HatDamage.

* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: The Forrester's Club was a speakeasy in its heyday, and very much functioned as one of these.

Gas station attendants Chuck Murray (Abbott) and Ferdie Jones (Costello) dream of better lives, with Ferdie aiming to own a nightclub one day. Unfortunately, their employment as relief waiters at the high-class Chez Glamour ends badly when they cause a ruckus. Some time later, the infamous gangster "Moose" Mattson (William B. Davidson) stops by their gas station for a refill and a cleaning, but is spotted by the police. Mattson speeds off, with the boys as his unwilling passengers, but gets shot and killed. Since they were the closest people to him at the time of his death, Chuck and Ferdie turn out to be Mattson's inheritors, and are given ownership of the Forrester's Club, a run-down nightspot in a remote area which Moose had owned. Somewhere on the premises is a hidden stash of money which was never found, the only clue being that Moose had told people he kept it "in his head". Chuck and Ferdie take a bus out to see the property for themselves, along with one Charlie Smith (Marc Lawrence), who unbeknownst to the boys was a former associate of Moose's. Chuck and Ferdie are abandoned by the bus driver just outside the club along with their fellow passengers, including Smith, a Dr. Jackson (Carlson), a radio actress named Camille Brewster (Davis), and a waitress named Norma Lind (Ankers). As a bad storm closes in, everyone heads into the club for shelter. Soon night comes, and strange things begin to happen. Smith is murdered while searching the basement. Candles and other things start moving on their own. As secret passages and hidden gambling machines are found all over the Forrester's Club -- leftovers from Prohibition, when the place was a speakeasy -- it becomes easier to believe the old place is haunted... or at least, that someone has come back to the building with unfinished business.

* ShaveAndAHaircut: When Camille fears she's being followed downstairs but is too scared to turn around, she stomps out "Shave and a haircut" on the last step... and the BedsheetGhost finishes with "Two bits".

* SpannerInTheWorks: Moose and a few gangsters around him had their own plans, ideas, and cases of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder - but it was all completely undone by Ferdie accidentally attracting the cops' attention and getting Moose killed.
* UnexpectedInheritance: Due to Moose's "profession", he never knew who he could trust. Therefore, he left his money to whoever was closest to him at the moment of his death - and it just happened to be two hapless gas station attendants.

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: A dance between Ferdie and Camille turns into a slapstick routine, mostly due to Ferdie's clumsiness.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo of Creator/AbbottAndCostello, directed by Arthur Lubin, produced by Burt Kelly and Glenn Tryon, written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, and costarring Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Joan Davis, and Mischa Auer, with special appearances by Music/TheAndrewsSisters and Ted Lewis. Generally remembered as one of A&C's better pictures, it offers an early peek into what the pair could do with the kind of material they would put to good use in such later films as ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein''.

Gas station attendants Chuck Murray and Ferdie Jones dream of better lives, with Ferdie aiming to own a nightclub one day. Unfortunately, their employment as relief waiters at the high-class Chez Glamour ends badly when they cause a ruckus. Some time later, the infamous gangster Sidney "Moose" Mattson stops by their gas station for a refill and a cleaning, but is spotted by the police. Mattson speeds off with the boys as unwilling passengers, but is shot and killed. Since they were the closest people to Moose at the time of his death, Chuck and Ferdie turn out to be his inheritors. They get ownership of the Forrester's Club, Moose's run-down estate in a remote area. Moose's hidden stash of money was never found, and the only clue was that Moose told people he kept it "In his head". Chuck and Ferdie take a bus out to see the property for themselves, along with Charlie Smith, who, unbeknownst to the boys, was a former associate of Moose's. Chuck and Ferdie are ditched just outside the estate by the bus driver, along with Smith, one Dr. Jackson, a radio actress named Camille Brewster, and a waitress named Norma Lind. As a bad storm closes in, everyone heads into the club for shelter. Night comes, and strange things begin to happen. Smith is murdered while searching the basement. Candles and other things start moving on their own. As secret passages and hidden gambling machines are found all over the Forrester's Club - leftovers from prohibition, when the place was a Speakeasy - it becomes easier to believe the old place is haunted... or at least, that someone has come back to the building with unfinished business.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo of Creator/AbbottAndCostello, directed by Arthur Lubin, produced by Burt Kelly and Glenn Tryon, written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, and costarring Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Joan Davis, and Mischa Auer, with special appearances by Music/TheAndrewsSisters and Ted Lewis. Generally remembered as one of A&C's better pictures, it offers an early peek into what the pair could do with the kind of material they'd later put to good use in ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein''.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo of Creator/AbbottAndCostello, directed by Arthur Lubin, produced by Burt Kelly and Glenn Tryon, written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, and costarring Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Joan Davis, and Mischa Auer, with special appearances by Music/TheAndrewsSisters and Ted Lewis. Generally remembered as one of their better pictures, it offers an early peek into what the pair could do with the kind of material they'd later put to good use in ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein''.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo Creator/AbbottAndCostello, directed by Arthur Lubin, produced by Burt Kelly and Glenn Tryon, written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, and costarring Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Joan Davis, and Mischa Auer, with special appearances by Music/TheAndrewsSisters and Ted Lewis. Generally remembered as one of their better pictures, it offers an early peek into what the pair could do with the kind of material they'd later put to good use in ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein''.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo Creator/AbbottAndCostello, written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, directed by Arthur Lubin, produced by Burt Kelly and Glenn Tryon, and co-starring Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Joan Davis, and Mischa Auer, with special appearances by Music/TheAndrewsSisters and Ted Lewis. Generally remembered as one of their better pictures, it offers an early peek into what the duo could do with kind of material they would later put to good use in ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein''.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo Creator/AbbottAndCostello. Remembered as one of their better pictures, an early peek into what they could do with the horror movie material that would highlight their later careers, it was written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, directed by Arthur Lubin, and produced by Burt Kelly, and Glenn Tryon. It also starred Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Joan Davis, and Mischa Auer, with special appearances by Music/TheAndrewsSisters and Ted Lewis.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy film starring the comedy duo Creator/AbbottAndCostello. Remembered as one of their better pictures, an early peek into what they could do with the horror movie material that would highlight their later careers, it was written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, directed by Arthur Lubin, and produced by Burt Kelly, and Glenn Tryon. It also starred Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, and Joan Davis.

''Hold that Ghost'' is a 1941 HorrorComedy starring the comedy duo Creator/AbbottAndCostello. Remembered as one of their better pictures, an early peek into what they could do with the horror movie material that would highlight their later careers, it was written by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant, directed by Arthur Lubin, and produced by Burt Kelly, and Glenn Tryon. It also starred Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, and Joan Davis.


Gas station attendants Chuck Murray and Ferdie Jones dream of better lives, with Ferdie aiming to own a nightclub one day. Unfortunately, their employment as relief waiters at the high-class Chez Glamour ends badly when they cause a ruckus. Some time later, infamous gangster Sidney "Moose" Mattson stops by their gas station for a refill and a cleaning, but is spotted by the police. Mattson speeds off with the boys as unwilling passengers, but is shot and killed. Since they were the closest people to Moose at the time of his death, Chuck and Ferdie turn out to be his inheritors. They get ownership of the Forrester's Club, Moose's run-down estate in a remote area. Moose's hidden stash of money was never found, and the only clue was that Moose told people he kept it "In his head". Chuck and Ferdie take a bus out to see the property for themselves, along with Charlie Smith, who, unbeknownst to the boys, was a former associate of Moose's. Chuck and Ferdie are ditched just outside the estate by the bus driver, along with Smith, one Dr. Jackson, a radio actress named Camille Brewster, and a waitress named Norma Lind. As a bad storm closes in, everyone heads into the club for shelter. Night comes, and strange things begin to happen. Smith is murdered while searching the basement. Candles and other things start moving on their own. As secret passages and hidden gambling machines are found all over the Forrester's Club - leftovers from prohibition, when the place was a Speakeasy - it becomes easier to believe the old place is haunted... or at least, that someone has come back to the building with unfinished business.

-->'''Costello''': I play games. I play post office.
-->'''Camille''': That's a kid's game.
-->'''Costello''': Not the way I play it!

* BedsheetGhost: One of them turns up to menace the girls, then arrives again to scare Camille and Ferdie. 

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: A dance routine between Ferdie and Camille turns into a slapstick routine, mostly due to Ferdie's clumsiness.

* ValuesDissonance: A musical number in Chez Glamour has Ted Lewis singing "Me and my shadow" with a black man mimicking his movements and acting as the "Shadow". Not as grating as some racial examples, but it hasn't aged well at all.

* ShaveAndAHaircut: When Camille fears she's being followed downstairs but is two scared to turn around, she stomps out "Shave and a haircut" on the last step... and the BedsheetGhost finishes with "Two bits".

* SpannerIntheWorks: Moose and a few gangsters around him had their own plans, ideas, and cases of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder - but it was all completely undone by Ferdie accidentally attracting the cops' attention and getting Moose killed.

* MayDecemberRomance: Ferdie waits on a young woman and a much older man at Chez Glamour, with heavy hints at the latter being a Sugar Daddy... it doesn't end well.  

* NerdGlasses: The only character who wears glasses is the slightly awkward Dr. Jackson, a doctor and nutritionist. 

* OldDarkHouse: The Forrester's Club is the hotel version, but it hasn't been used in years. Now, it's a spooky old property that may or may not be haunted, full of secret passages and with a few rooms that can turn into gambling dens.

* OutOfContextEavesdropping: Early on, as a waiter approaches the kitchen at Chez Glamour, he hears someone inside claim they'll "shoot" if someone else doesn't "put that dough on the table". Turns out Ferdie and Chuck were organizing a craps game inside. 

* ScreamingWoman: Camille has made a career out of being one on the radio, but ironically, she just hitches her breath in and goes silent when she gets scared in reality... while Norma lets out a tremendous shriek. Camille becomes this in reality later on when she's scared by a BedsheetGhost. 

* SecretRoom: A few of them are found throughout the house, along with a few SecretPath-type passages hidden in the walls. 

ValuesDissonance: A musical number in Chez Glamour has Ted Lewis singing "Me and my shadow" with a black man mimicking his movements and acting as the "Shadow". Not as grating as some racial examples, but it hasn't aged well at all. 

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