Hold That Ghost

Hold That Ghost, directed by Arthur Lubin, is an Abbott and Costello comedy about two bumbling gas station attendants who inherit a haunted inn under an odd clause in a gangster's will, and become trapped there while trying to claim their fortune. The film was actually shot and completed under the title Oh Charlie!, but when the duo's previous film, Buck Privates, became an unexpected box office sensation, the studio worried the new film had no visible connection to that hit and shelved it; months later, nightclub opening and closing scenes were added, featuring names like the Andrews Sisters, and the film was recut and released as Hold That Ghost. It was the duo's first film built around supernatural and horror elements. Who it's for: anyone curious about Abbott and Costello's first horror-comedy, a finished film shelved and recut by the studio to cash in on the surprise success of their previous release. Who it's not for: those assuming the film was shot start to finish in one continuous production, since its final scenes were added months later in a separate shoot.