Hold That Ghost is a 1941 horror comedy film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello and featuring Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers and Richard Carlson.
On August 1, 1941, Abbott and Costello performed a half-hour live version of the film for radio audiences on Louella Parsons' Hollywood Premiere.
Plot[]
Gas station attendants Chuck Murray and Ferdie Jones aspire to better jobs. They get work as temporary waiters at Chez Glamour, a high-class nightclub where Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters perform, but quickly are fired for causing a scene. Ferdie dreams of having his own nightclub one day.
Back at the service station, gangster "Moose" Mattson, brings his car in for gas and cleaning. When he is spotted by the police, he speeds off with Chuck and Ferdie trapped inside the vehicle. During the chase, Matson trades shots with the police and is killed. According to the gangster's unconventional will, which states that whoever was with him when he died will inherit his estate, the boys inherit Mattson's rundown tavern, the Forrester's Club. Mattson had also given a cryptic clue about a hidden stash of money, stating that he "kept his money in his head," but its existence remains questionable.
Mattson's attorney introduces the boys to an associate, Charlie Smith. Chuck and Ferdie are unaware that Smith is a member of Moose's gang and seeks the money. Smith has arranged for a wildcat bus to drop them off at the Forrester's Club, but the unscrupulous bus driver abandons them and three unrelated passengers—a doctor, a radio actress, and a waitress—at the tavern during a heavy rainstorm.
As the night progresses, strange things happen. Smith disappears while searching the basement, and his corpse turns up unexpectedly several times. The water in the tavern tastes foul. Ferdie discovers his bedroom is rigged to transform into a casino with hidden gambling equipment. The girls are scared by what appears to be a ghost. Two detectives show up, but vanish soon after starting their investigation. While Ferdie examines a map to find the quickest route back to town, candles on the table move mysteriously and scare him.
Ferdie inadvertently discovers Moose's treasure hidden inside the stuffed moose head above the fireplace. A disgruntled member of Moose's gang appears and demands the money at gunpoint. The boys manage to knock him out, but other gang members appear. Chuck and the doctor fight off two of them, while others chase Ferdie, who has the loot, through the tavern. Ferdie scares off all the gangsters by imitating the sound of a police siren. The doctor announces that the tavern's unsavory water has valuable therapeutic properties, and Ferdie and Chuck transform the place into a posh health resort. The boys hire Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters to headline, and the maitre d' who fired them from Chez Glamour turns up as a temp waiter.