ThiefHott Too much of everything

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Leofwine_draca Vernon Sewell made many fine little films as director, including GHOST SHIP and CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR, but unfortunately THE GHOSTS OF BERKELEY SQUARE isn't one of them. It's a potboiler that must have been dated even when it came out in post-war Britain, most resembling the 'old dark house' comedies of the 1930s. Sadly the script is very thin and the humour can best be described as genteel, especially for modern viewers.The loose plotting sees a couple of ghosts, played by Robert Morley (THEATRE OF BLOOD) and Felix Aylmer (THE MUMMY), haunting a mansion and coming into contact with the various tenants who inhabit the property. There's a PT Barnum-alike who populates the place with various foreigners (leading to some excruciatingly awful, borderline racist moments), along with ghost researchers and some cracked old biddies. The narrative is episodic in tone with a rather dark ending that brings things right up to date.Sadly, the humour just isn't funny any more, and seemingly consists of the ghosts materialising at will or else using their supernatural skills to cheat at cards, etc. The special effects are okay for their age and the cast do their best, particularly the vibrant Robert Morley, but this is completely forgettable film even for genre fans.

Mozjoukine This embarrassingly unfunny comedy comes from the quality trough in British Film-making that followed WW2.The viewer cringes for Robert Morely and Felix Aylmer called on to front a story cobbled together from THE GHOST GOES WEST and FOREVER & A DAY, which drew on earlier sources themselves. In 1708, the "Two Old Sillies" off themselves in a dumb plot to immobilize the Duke of Marlborough and they are condemned to remain in the house (where they shared their bed!) as down the years it is tenanted by card players, dancing girls and circus performers, until we get to the Great War.Characteristically for the day, considerable expense has been taken with the costumes and a major set and they people the thing with a celebrity support cast to compensate for the lack of marquee names. Effects work is as feeble as the jokes "Sheik!" "No, we better not touch him" Ho Ho! Hans May's pastiche score is the best element.

clevelander The cream of British comic acting talent could not disguise the somewhat thin script, that was clearly intended as a wartime morale booster, but somehow appeared past its sell-by date, in 1947. Its true length should have been half an hour but they didn't have TV then. Nevertheless it has some fascination as a period piece, and we are kept in dull suspense wondering why they are waiting for the visit of a monarch, an interesting twist, which gives it its patriotic wartime message. The best cameo is undoubtedly Yvonne Arnaud as the scatty Bordello keeper (who - for the benefit of those below a certain age or not French or British - continued to have great success on BBC comedy radio throughout the 1950s till her death aged 66.) Robert Morley too, as usual, never fails to entertain.

Watuma Although over 50 years' old, this film's wit and imagination have not dated. Two retired 18th-century British army officers accidentally kill themselves and are required to haunt their house in London's Berkeley Square until visited by reigning royalty. All their attempts over the next two centuries to lure the British monarch to the house fail. During that time, their home is occupied by a succession of colourful tenants, including a house of ill repute, an Indian rajah with his harem, a World War I soldiers' hospital and a World War II officers' club.Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer as the quintessentially British ghosts are excellent. Their characters' witty repartee and dogged determination form the backbone of the movie. The supporting cast is equally good, containing a broad range of England's best character actors of the 1940's.The sets and costumes are imaginatively rendered and true to the various historic periods covered by the story. The varied and imaginative musical score greatly helps set the mood of each era. Much of the cinematography is remarkable; a single-take lengthy crane shot very early in the film is particularly impressive. This is probably the best movie made by director Vernon Sewell, whose long career encompassed very little distinctive work.This entertaining and well-made film is worthy of re-discovery.