Hold That Ghost

4K UHD

The third Abbott and Costello movie of 1941, and perhaps their funniest of all-time, was rushed into release to capitalize on the wild success of their first two starring films, Buck Privates and In the Navy. In Hold That Ghost, Bud and Lou come into an inheritance: an abandoned roadhouse formerly belonging to a “rubbed out” mobster. This choice piece of real estate is also supposedly the hiding place for the mobster’s illicit loot. When they arrive to claim the “inheritance,” all mayhem breaks loose. People are mysteriously murdered. Lights go on and off. Walls go inside and out. Moans and shrieks are heard. And ghosts run rampant in this delightful horror-comedy classic. Before Abbott and Costello met the Universal Monsters, the slap-happy stars enjoyed a jaunt with a haunt in Hold That Ghost! Co-starring Joan Davis, sensational as a “professional screamer,” and featuring toe-tappin’ musical numbers by The Andrews Sisters. Hold That Ghost was the legendary duo’s first horror-themed comedy, leading to five more horror-comedy classics, including the masterpiece, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.