The Ghosts of Berkeley Square 1947

5.2 / 10   7 vote(s)
Comedy Fantasy

The ghosts of two stupid 18th-century officers are doomed to haunt a Berkeley Square mansion until the unlikely event of a reigning monarch paying the house a visit. It will take more than 200 years... Based on the novel "No Nightingales" by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon.

Release Date 1947-10-30
Runtime 1h 40m
Directors Vernon Sewell, Ernest Palmer, Denis Johnson
Producer Louis H. Jackson
Writer James Seymour

Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer are on fine form as two retired soldiers who take up residence (for a whopping great £12 per annum!) in a house on London's fashionable Berkeley Square. Still loyal to Queen Anne, however, they plan to capture an enemy commander at their home, and whilst contriving their cunning plan manage to do away with themselves and get themselves sentenced to hang around on the planet until their house is visited by a reigning monarch. What now ensues are a series of daft escapades through the centuries as their haunting ghostliness sometimes scares away and somethings encourages the house's new lodgers - but despite all of their frequently humorous and creative efforts, no royalty... The two gents "Bulldog" and "Jumbo" are having fun, and it is a bit contagious - but the thing takes a simple concept and stretches it out for too long. The joke just wears thin, particularly as we move into the more modern ages. The ending is quite quirky, though and all told, I have to say watching the pair of them, with a decent script and an enjoyable sense of mischief and bloody-mindedness was quite enjoyable.

CinemaSerf