After the relative disappointment of Phantom Thread I decided not to think, and instead simply watch a movie that I loved from childhood: The Ghost Breakers. It stars Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard (who I obviously have such a cinematic crush on) in one of the first horror comedies, which have been a staple of Hollywood for decades. Is it a great movie, of course not, nor even a good one, but it's also a film that I'd watch every time it popped up on the TV, and I eventually just my own copy. It also stars Willie Best, in one of those demeaning roles that black actors had to play for decades, as Hope's (Larry Lawrence) valet Alex. Apparently Hope said that he thought Best was one of the best actors he ever worked with, and other actors over the years said similar things, but Best was stuck playing certain roles. Later in his life he had pot and heroin busts, and the bad publicity brought an early end to his career. It makes me wonder if someone has written his biography, if so, I may track it down. The other interesting black actor in the film was Noble Johnson, who faced many of the same obstacles. Because of his imposing size, Johnson played a greater variety of roles, although none of them that gave him many opportunties: a zombie in The Ghost Breakers, a native in King Kong , an Indian chief in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, etc. What I didn't know, and which is very interesting, is that Johnson founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, an African American film company that made, what at the time were called "race films." The challenges of keeping the company afloat proved to much and Johnson eventually closed it down and went back to character roles. Again, I need to track down a biography.
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