Such a frustrating disappointment

Lack of good storyline.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

William Castle's second outing for 1967 reteamed him with the star comic, Sid Caesar, from his previous effort, THE BUSY BODY; while the latter film was definitely no great comedy, it got by on the strength of its starry cast. Despite the appearance here of such familiar character actors as John Astin (as a shrink – with the director in a cameo as one of his patients!), Jay C. Flippen (a bartender named "Mother"), John McGiver (Caesar's rich seafaring relative), Nestor Paiva (one of the ghosts' father in the prologue), Harvey Lembeck (wasted as McGiver's first mate), Jesse White (a patron of Flippen's dive) and housemaid Mary Wickes, these ingredients fail to gel satisfactorily this time around. Conversely, while THE BUSY BODY had treated the popular 1960s theme of collective greed, THE SPIRIT IS WILLING goes back to that old warhorse of new tenants inhabiting a house haunted by its previous residents – but it emerges as decidedly a long way away from such delightful prototypes like Rene' Clair's THE GHOST GOES WEST (1935) or the odd-duck Abbott and Costello vehicle THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (1946); besides, its maritime setting is likewise reminiscent of such classier properties like Joseph L. Mankiewicz's THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947) and Albert Lewin's PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (1951). Tellingly enough, while THE BUSY BODY has been granted an official DVD release (albeit from Legend Films rather than Paramount itself) via a nice-looking print that respects its original aspect ratio, its lamer follow-up still languishes in fullscreen VHS copies floating around among enterprising collectors over the Internet (which is how I acquired it) despite having recently been legitimately issued on BluRay by Olive Films! Aging magazine editor Caesar is given forced leave from work and decides to takes his wife Vera Miles and rebellious son Barry Gordon to a summer vacation in a creaky New England mansion that was the site of a triple murder by meat cleaver 70 years before. This event, depicted in the film's prologue, is the only concession to Castle's previous cult efforts in the Horror genre; indeed, Vic Mizzy's jaunty score – tying it, along with Astin's presence, to the concurrent TV hit, "The Addams Family" – equates it more with harmless Disney kiddie fare like the contemporaneous (and similarly-themed) BLACKBEARD'S GHOST than the "with-it" ghost comedy that the theatrical poster promised. Having said that, lovely young actress Jill Townsend comes off best among the cast in her triple roles as the ill-fated, ghostly maid (in a perennial embrace with her sea captain lover), Gordon's new (and somewhat older) friend and her sexy librarian sister (who takes up with Caesar, much to Miles' chagrin). For the record, the three ghosts are initially only visible to the youngsters – despite an over-reliance on a cellar-door- which-opens-and-closes-of-its-own-accord-gag – but, eventually, Caesar, Astin and McGiver (who ultimately joins their ranks!) do too during the climactic costume party.

Most of director William Castle's later films were really not very good. While The Spirit Is Willing is fun; it is not particularly good - or brazenly funny. But it does have some funny scenes. The premise is that three ghosts, one an ugly heiress who marries a ship's captain, two, the said captain who wed this woman solely for her property, and thirdly, a pretty blonde maid with all the appropriate trimmings, have all been caught up in a love triangle the night of the first two's wedding. She(the heiress) avenges herself by hatcheting them, but not quite enough as her husband has time to return the favor. Three ghosts then materialize and the film credits begin to show us in drawings all the people that have come and gone from this haunted house. Whilst this goes on, the music of Vic Mizzy plays - and make no mistake - it is easily the most memorable thing about this film. I saw this probably twenty years plus ago and all I really remembered prior to watching it again was that it had a very catchy tune. It does. As I watched much of the film returned to my memory. Sid Caesar, lovely Vera Miles, and sometime annoying Barry Gordon(their son) rent this house. All the villagers are afraid, etc... basic stuff we would get from such films, but here we get them with a somewhat heavy-handed attempt at comedic direction from Castle. Much of it is just plain silly. What I do like about the film is that it has some good acting despite the material AND a host of small character actors given some flexibility here. Mary Wickes, Nestor Paiva, Jay. C. Flippen, Jesse White, and John Astin are in here. Astin is particularly funny. But for me, the best performance goes to that underrated performer John McGiver who knows the nuances of language about as well as any performer. I love to hear him talk. Here he plays a rich uncle who believes money is the answer to everything. The ghosts are really pretty lame, and not all that funny. But the pretty blonde, played by young, gorgeous, hot Jill Townsend is major eye candy, and she plays two other roles. She really is quite a good actress. Lots of farcial stuff here like revving up the camera speed in scenes, reverse motion here and there, and a situational comedy approach to story, direction, and just about everything else. It is not a bad movie, and I truly did enjoy seeing it again. I will not; however, confuse nostalgia with excellence. Sometimes they go hand in hand. Sometimes they do not.

Based on a novel by Nathaniel Benchley (son of humorist Robert and father of Peter, author of JAWS)"The Spirit is Willing" has several good comedy set ups. Unfortunately, it left out the jokes. The whole movie is like a series of jokes without punch lines.A family headed by comedy icon Sid Caesar rents a New England house they don't know is haunted by three spooks, a husband/wife and the wife's maid, with whom the husband was carrying on. The triple murder that caused the haunting is related in gory detail before the credits.Judging him strictly on movies like this, "The Busybody," and even "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," it's difficult for anyone of my generation, who missed "Your Show of Shows", to understand why Caesar was considered such a great comic. Any good actor with a comic bent could have played his part.Four things make this movie worth watching.First, there is a first-class lineup of notable supporting actors. These include, sometimes all too briefly, Mary Wickes, Jesse White, Jay C. Flippin, Harvey Limbeck, John McGiver, Byron Foulger, and Doodles Weaver. The second thing follows that almost immediately, and that's John Astin's appearance as a psychiatrist, which comes late in the movie. In his prime, Astin (from the original "Addams Family) could liven any dragging proceedings with a neat comedy turn, and he certainly earned his paycheck this time.Third, the appearance of Jill Townsend in three roles: as one of the ghosts, as a teenager, and as the town librarian.Last but certainly not least, is the Vic Mizzy sound. Vic Mizzy is not one of the more well-known film composer, but his work is instantly recognizable. He did the music for "Green Acres" and several Don Knotts movies (including "The Ghost and Mister Chicken" and "The Reluctant Astronaut). The Vic Mizzy sound is not only comforting in its familiarity in odd situations like ghostly manifestations, it is also tongue-in-cheek. It may be the most wryly humorous part of the film.

I saw this on late night TV as a teenager, and remember certain cast members. That was the only way I was able to find this film in the database. I cross referenced Mary Wickes with the butterfly collector on a Gilligan's Island episode. His name escaped me then, but it is John McGiver. Recently I bought a copy of the original book, and it was well written. The basic plot is the same, but Castle's comedic treatment did take away from the scarier aspects of the story. Incidentally Nathaniel Benchley, the author of the book was the father of Jaws author Peter Benchley. Humorist Robert Benchley was Nathaniel's own father. I keep requesting this to play on Turner Classic Movies to play it, but I doubt it is classic enough. Maybe if they do a b-series of William Castle gimmick films it will fit the format. Paramount handles distribution of it. Maybe it will come out on DVD some day...***Update*** I bought the eastern European import DVD from a Florida company, and watched it today. It is as amusing as I remember -- very much in the "spirit" of the madcap sixties decade in which it was made. As is often the case, it pales in comparison to the original media. But that argument is so old its cliché. I'd like to see the book made into a true horror movie, but that's for a different forum than this. If this movie ever is released on DVD in the USA, I expect it to go straight to the $5.50 discount bin. But I do bet it gets snatched up by people like us. Us being the people that look up this movie on IMDb.