Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES


THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (1946). Director: Charles Barton.

In 1790 in King's Point, New York, Horatio Prim (Lou Costello) and Melody Allen (Marjorie Reynolds) are running to George Washington to tell him of Benedict Arnold's traitorous plans when they are mistaken for traitors themselves and shot. Many years later they are still haunting the nearby house when a group, including Dr. Ralph Greenway (Bud Abbott) comes for the weekend. Will they manage to find the letter Washington sent to Horatio which absolves him of guilt, allowing him and Melody to finally go off and be with their loved ones in heaven? While nowhere nears as funny as Hold That Ghost or Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this is still an appealing movie with good performances. Binnie Barnes as Millie and Gale Sondergaard as Emily add to the fun. In the Revolutionary war sequences that open the film Bud Abbott plays a nasty fellow named Cuthbert, Horatio's nemesis.

Verdict: Pleasant haunting. ***.

No comments: