The Ghost Breakers

The film unfolds on a stormy 1940 night in Manhattan, where a tense radio broadcast from a bustling studio sets the stage. Larry Lawrence, Bob Hope, uses the airwaves to expose the crimes of the dangerous underworld boss Frenchy Duval, Paul Fix, stirring danger and intrigue to life beyond the airwaves. In her hotel suite, Mary Carter, Paulette Goddard, sits listening as a sinister visitor arrives. Parada, Paul Lukas, a Cuban solicitor with a dark purpose, delivers Mary the deed to a distant inheritance—a plantation and mansion in Cuba. Despite Parada’s warnings and the shadowy hints that surround the property, Mary makes a decisive choice: she will travel to inspect the estate in person. The plot thickens as the radio host winds down, and Frenchy Duval himself, Paul Fix, calls from a hotel on Mary’s floor, inviting Larry to join him in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

When Larry arrives at the hotel, tension erupts. He fires his gun, convinced he has killed a man, though the actual shooter lies down the hall. Seeking cover, Larry slips into Mary’s suite and hides inside a large trunk that Mary, unaware of his presence, seals and arranges to ship to the harbor. On the dock, Larry’s loyal valet, Alex, Willie Best, discovers the trapped man among the luggage, but the trunk has already begun its voyage to the ship’s hold. Alex manages a daring climb aboard to reach his employer, narrowly steering the situation toward a new set of peril and possibilities.

On the sailing journey, Larry and Mary find themselves drawn to one another, sharing a flirtatious ease that complicates the danger they already face. They are joined by Geoff Montgomery, Richard Carlson, a young intellectual who weaves vivid tales of Caribbean superstitions—voodoo, ghosts, and zombies—that blur the line between myth and menace. The trio arrives in Havana and continues toward Mary’s island estate, their creeping sense of mystery growing with every mile. A roadside shack along the way becomes a chilling waypoint: an old woman and her catatonic son hint at something far older and darker than any treasure they seek, a rumored zombie that hangs over the island like a whisper.

Inside the abandoned mansion, a chilling portrait of a woman who eerily resembles Mary appears, and a spectral presence unsettles the visitors. The tension escalates as they encounter the zombie, who is swiftly confined by Alex in a closet, a brief moment of relief shadowed by the ever-present danger surrounding them. Parada arrives again, but tragedy strikes—he is fatally stabbed and placed in a casket. In a final act, Parada’s death reveals a hidden passage beneath the house, a doorway that leads toward the treasure and the truth behind the estate’s mystery.

As Mary, Larry, and Alex draw nearer to the lost wealth, the killer among Parada’s circle mounts one last attempt to extinguish their pursuit. A trap in the cellar proves deadly for the attacker, sending him plunging to his demise and sealing the trio’s grim fortune. With the danger behind them, they depart the island, Mary’s right to her fortune secured and the promise of a future together hanging in the air. The film closes on Larry’s hopeful, if somewhat playful, note about a future honeymoon with Mary, a quiet whisper of happiness after a storm of secrets and danger.

• Bob Hope as Larry Lawrence

• Paulette Goddard as Mary Carter

• Paul Lukas as Parada

• Paul Fix as Frenchy Duval

• Anthony Quinn as Ramon Mederes / Francisco Mederes

• Tom Dugan as Raspy Kelly

• Willie Best as Alex

• Richard Carlson as Geoff Montgomery

• Noble Johnson as the Zombie

• James Flavin as Hotel Porter

• Paul Lukas as Parada

• Virginia Brissac as Mother Zombie

• Douglas Kennedy as Intern

• Tom Quinn as Man in Hotel Hallway

• Pedro de Cordoba as Havez

• Lloyd Corrigan as Martin

• Grace Hayle as Screaming Woman

• Claire James as Las Palmas Club Patron

Note: Roles and actor links reflect the cast information provided.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:09