The Ghost and the Guest - 1943

"The Ghost and the Guest" from 1943 is a poverty row comedy that also includes elements of the mystery and old, dark house genres. The one-liner humor holds up in some cases, and it did have Mike and Amber laughing. However, this movie also contains a disturbing thread of execution by hanging. It's played for laughs in the movie, but it exposes how pervasive and dangerous racism was used as a comedic trope. This makes a commentary on this movie nuanced but important in being aware of how racism was coded in early movies.

Title: The Ghost and the Guest

Director: William Nigh

IMDB Rating: 4.5 out of 10

Rating: Not rated

Content warnings: Racism, misogyny, murder, execution, and a discussion of lynching, which doesn't occur in the movie, but which we address in the commentary

Hilarious tagline: “A newlywed couple winds up spending their honeymoon night in an old, dark, spooky mansion."

5th Edition Character: Honeyboy, an undead in search of his jewels, and his gang of jewel thieves

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Reference Material:

History of Lynching in America: https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america

As American as the Blues: Lynching in Film and TV: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/as-american-as-the-blues-lynching-in-film-and-tv/

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