A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO

A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO (1942). Director: Albert L. Werker.

Stan and Ollie are hired to accompany a corpse on a train, but the coffin gets mixed up with another one employed by magician Dante in his act; the boys are soon dodging hoods who wanted to use the "body" in a scam even as they appear as assistants in Dante's stage act. The title was probably chosen because it would remind audiences of Abbott and Costello's Hold That Ghost, which was a big hit the previous year. While A-Haunting We Will Go is not a classic like the A&C film, it is still a fun, fast-moving romp with the boys doing some great bits and getting solid laughs. Elisha Cook, Jr. plays one of the hoods and even dresses up as an old granny at one point. Mantan Moreland has a brief funny bit as a waiter who serves the boys food in the dining car (the film's end-title cast-list credits Willie Best with this bit but it is clearly Moreland).

Verdict: No masterpiece, but fun. **1/2.