Lucky Ghost (1942)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Washington (Mantan Moreland) and Jefferson (F.E. Miller) are two hobos who run into some very good luck when they play dice with a couple rich guys and walk away with a lot of cash. Soon afterwards the men role the dice and walk away with a nightclub but before long some ghosts show up for a piece of the action.
LUCKY GHOST is an all black cast film that will certainly not make the PC crowd very happy as it contains quite a few stereotypes but race films like this one should certainly be studied as they're an important part of our movie history. This film here, like most race films, suffers from an obvious low budget but "Z" movie maverick William Beudine does a nice job at keeping things moving at a nice pace.
The film actually turned out pretty good and especially since the two lead performances were so good. This is especially true for Mmoreland who had appeared in countless "B" movies throughout his career. More times than not he was playing small supporting roles but this here allowed him to play the lead and he does a good job with it and certainly helps carry the film. His comic timing is right on the mark and helps carry the hour running time.
Another thing that this film benefits from is the final fifteen-minutes where the spooks show up. This isn't your typical "old dark house" style of film. Instead of bad guys dressing up as ghosts, this film actually gives us real ghosts and a real skeleton to do the haunting. I really liked the fact that this film tried to do something a tad bit different and it makes for a fun ending.
LUCKY GHOST certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's a fun little "B" movie that is worth watching for its race history as well as its connection to the horror genre.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Washington (Mantan Moreland) and Jefferson (F.E. Miller) are two hobos who run into some very good luck when they play dice with a couple rich guys and walk away with a lot of cash. Soon afterwards the men role the dice and walk away with a nightclub but before long some ghosts show up for a piece of the action.
LUCKY GHOST is an all black cast film that will certainly not make the PC crowd very happy as it contains quite a few stereotypes but race films like this one should certainly be studied as they're an important part of our movie history. This film here, like most race films, suffers from an obvious low budget but "Z" movie maverick William Beudine does a nice job at keeping things moving at a nice pace.
The film actually turned out pretty good and especially since the two lead performances were so good. This is especially true for Mmoreland who had appeared in countless "B" movies throughout his career. More times than not he was playing small supporting roles but this here allowed him to play the lead and he does a good job with it and certainly helps carry the film. His comic timing is right on the mark and helps carry the hour running time.
Another thing that this film benefits from is the final fifteen-minutes where the spooks show up. This isn't your typical "old dark house" style of film. Instead of bad guys dressing up as ghosts, this film actually gives us real ghosts and a real skeleton to do the haunting. I really liked the fact that this film tried to do something a tad bit different and it makes for a fun ending.
LUCKY GHOST certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's a fun little "B" movie that is worth watching for its race history as well as its connection to the horror genre.