Hold That Ghost (1941)

Two gas station attendants (Bud Abbott, Lou Costello) inherit a tavern from a gangster (William B. Davidson). They reach the tavern amid a fierce storm so they invite their fellow bus passengers to spend the night till the storm blows over. But the tavern isn't as deserted as they think. Directed by Arthur Lubin (FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG). Comedic haunted house movies were often a staple for movie comics in the 1940s and 1950s. Bob Hope (CAT AND THE CANARY), Jerry Lewis (SCARED STIFF) and the East Side Kids (GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE) for example. This was Abbott and Costello's stab at it and it's one of their middling efforts but still very amusing. They began filming it immediately after BUCK PRIVATES but when that was a box office smash, filming stopped and they did another military comedy (IN THE NAVY) instead and resumed filming this one after that. Critics were very enthusiastic and so were audiences. Two musical numbers performed by The Andrews Sisters were inserted at the last minute and it shows. They seem out of place. With Joan Davis, Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Mischa Auer and Marc Lawrence.