HOST TO A GHOST (1947)
Short

Article 3639 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-17-2011
Posting Date: 8-1-2011
Directed by Hal Yates
Featuring Edgar Kennedy, Florence Lake, Dot Farley
Country: USA
What it is: Comedy short

When an in-law sells the house out from under him, a harried husband opts to rent a spooky old house rather than buy one that is offered to him. But the spooky old house may be haunted….

I almost watched this short a couple of weeks ago, but it turns out I didn’t have it; there’s an identically named short starring Andy Clyde. I rather wish I was covering that one; it was no great shakes, but I think it was more creative than this fairly obvious take on the subject. Most of the humor comes from Edgar’s family being scared by spooky events while Edgar crankily insists it’s not haunted. We know early on that Edgar is right and that someone is just trying to scare them out of the house, but I’ll give the short some credit for not having the plot involve Nazis or counterfeiters. The gags are shopworn, and Edgar’s family are more annoying than funny. Though I like Edgar Kennedy, I don’t think this short does him justice.