Canterville Ghost, The (1944)
Directed by Jules Dassin, with a screenplay by Edwin Blum that was based on the story by Oscar Wilde, this average fantasy comedy about the infamous 300 year old English phantom features Charles Laughton in the title role. The story begins by telling how Sir Simon de Canterville came to haunt the castle for all these years leading up to present day (e.g. when the film was released) England during World War II when a company of soldiers from the United States Army use it as an outpost. Robert Young plays one of these, an American named Cuffy Williams who turns out to be a Canterville descendant, sporting the telltale family (crown shaped) tattoo on the back of his neck. The army was given permission to use the castle from its current owner, Mrs. Polverdine (Elisabeth Risdon), whose seven year old niece Lady Jessica de Canterville (Margaret O'Brien) take it upon herself to be a proper hostess to the men, despite her fear of the ghost; of course, she charms everybody.
In the 1640's, Sir Simon had been bricked up in an alcove by his father Lord Canterville (Reginald Owen) for cowardly avoiding a jousting contest with another even though he'd been taking up for the family name and his brother Anthony (Peter Lawford) who'd married Sir Valentine's (Donald Stuart) fiancée. Thus, Sir Simon was entombed, his ghost cursed to walk the estate in search of a descendant to perform a brave act on his behalf to break the spell and allow him to rest in the family plot. Even though the Cantervilles were known for their bravery through Sir Simon's father, the family has since earned a reputation for being cowardly in the face of danger. Naturally, once it's learned that Cuffy is a Canterville descendant, Sir Simon, who has befriended both he and Lady Jessica after having initially been scared himself by Cuffy and his unit, pin their hopes on the American to break the curse. William Gargan plays Cuffy's Sergeant Benson, Rags Ragland plays another soldier known as Big Harry, Una O'Connor plays Mrs. Polverdine's housekeeper Mrs. Umney assigned to serve the military guests, Frank Faylen plays skeptical Lieutenant John Kane, the only one who hasn't seen the ghost, and Mike Mazurki (among others) plays another of the soldiers.
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