The Spirit Is Willing (1967)

A married couple (Sid Caesar, Vera Miles), along with their teenage son (Barry Gordon A THOUSAND CLOWNS), rent a summer home in New England. But after some mysterious incidents, it becomes apparent that the house is haunted. By three ghosts, in fact: a homely woman (Cass Daley), her wandering husband (Robert Donner) and a sexy maid (Jill Townsend). I have a fondness for haunted house comedies like 1939's THE CAT AND THE CANARY and TOPPER RETURNS from 1941. But unlike those two films, there isn't a single smile much less a laugh to be had in this dismal attempt. Directed by schlockmeister William Castle (THE TINGLER), it plays out like a big screen extended version of 60s TV shows like THE ADDAMS FAMILY or THE MUNSTERS with Vic Mizzy's Mickey Mouse scoring only accentuating the fact. Sid Caesar was one of the great comedians of television's Golden Age but he never fared well on film and this role seems more suited to, say, the Disneyfied Fred MacMurray than to the inventive comic actor Caesar was. The special effects must have seemed shoddy even back in 1967. With John Astin, Mary Wickes, Jay C. Flippen, John McGiver and Jesse White.