THREE LIVE GHOSTS (1936)

London, 1918, at the end of the First World War. Mrs. Gibbins (Beryl Mercer) regularly holds séances to communicate with Jimmie, her son who was declared dead in the war. An American detective named Bolton visits, looking for information about Bill, a buddy of Jimmy's who is also presumed dead, and tells her there is a thousand dollar reward for verifiable information on Bill. Soon, who should come strolling down the street than Jimmie (Charles MacNaughten) and Bill (Richard Arlen), alive as can be, with their shell-shocked buddy Spoofy (Claude Allister) whose primary activity is stealing things--mostly grabbing hats off of people's heads and putting them on. Ma is happy to see her son, but even happier to see Bill since she can now contact the detective for a big payoff, but when she realizes she has lost his phone number (Spoofy innocently stole the newspaper it was written on), she becomes frantic. Meanwhile, Peg, Jimmie's girl, and Ann, Bill's girl, are living in the same building and happy to see their men alive, but Bill, uncertain of why he is being tracked down and hence unsure about his future, acts like he's no longer interested in her. When he finds out she is about to be kicked out the building due to late rent, he allows Mrs. Gibbins to turn him in if she gives half the reward money to Ann. One night, Spoofy leaves the building, enters a strange house, and steals some jewels--and a baby. The presence of police is not so welcome now, but eventually everything gets cleared up, with happy endings all around. This mild comedy is the third film version of a successful Broadway comedy from 1920. It can't quite escape its stage origins, as most of the film takes place in one setting, the Gibbins' apartment, with an occasional street scene and the memorable nighttime walk taken by Spoofy. It's competently made and acted, with the standouts being Mercer as the conniving mother and Allister as the goofy Spoofy--because his shellshock is played for laughs, we know he's going to get a happy ending like all the others. Harmless fun. Pictured from left: Arlen, McNaughten and Allister. [TCM]