The Time of Their Lives

Franco Nero as Horatio Prim arrives at the Kings Point estate of Tom Danbury, eager to win the heart of Nora O’Leary and secure their marriage with a letter of commendation from Gen. George Washington in hand. He hopes the document will persuade Danbury to consent, but a rival stands in his way: the estate’s sly and calculating butler, Cuthbert Greenway. Nora, bound by her servitude and the promise of happiness, rushes to present the letter to Danbury, yet she overhears a dangerous confession—Danbury revealing his role in Benedict Arnold’s treachery. In a swift and shocking turn, Danbury seizes the letter and hides it inside a secret compartment in the mantel clock. Outside the window, Melody Allen, Danbury’s fiancée, witnesses the betrayal and enlists Horatio’s help to alert Washington’s army. What follows is a night of chaos: American troops on the march to arrest Tom overrun the estate, loot its halls, and set the property ablaze. In a cruel misreading of fate, Melody and Horatio are shot as traitors, their bodies hurled into a well. Their souls, innocent of treachery, are condemned to linger at the estate until justice can finally clear their names.

For 166 years, the two ghosts wander the grounds of Kings Point, tethered to a place that once meant love and now holds unfinished business. In 1946, the estate has been rebuilt and furnished with much of its original character. Playwright Sheldon Gage invites his fiancée, June Prescott, her Aunt Millie, and his psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenway (a descendant of Cuthbert), to spend a weekend within the haunting walls. They are greeted by Emily, a clairvoyant maid who senses that the grounds are alive with supernatural presence. Horatio and Melody revel in their spectral powers, playing tricks on the guests—especially Greenway, whom Horatio initially mistakes for his old rival. The duo also finds themselves unsettled by modern wonders like electric lights and the radio, a reminder that time has moved on while they remain fixed in their past. The living guests, drawn by curiosity and fear, organize a séance led by Emily. Through Horatio’s hints and the repentant memories of Melody and Tom’s spirit, they begin to uncover who the ghosts are and the existence of the missing letter that could finally free them.

The group presses on in search of the elusive letter, realizing that the mantel clock that houses it is now housed in a New York museum. Greenway, seeking redemption for his ancestor’s misdeeds, travels to the museum to retrieve the clock’s contents. When museum officials refuse to let him examine the clock, Greenway takes the clock anyway and returns to the estate with law enforcement waiting at the gate. The authorities arrest him, yet the ancient curse that binds Horatio and Melody to the grounds prevents their removal. As the clock is opened and the letter is revealed, the truth of Horatio and Melody’s innocence is proven beyond doubt. Freed at last, each ghost is called to heaven by a loved one—Melody by Tom and Horatio by Nora. Nora meets him at heaven’s gate, but a sign reads, “Closed for Washington’s Birthday,” meaning Horatio must wait one more day to enter the afterlife.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 13:05