The Spirit Is Willing (1967) Reviews

• Good memories

  tampasaint2001-07-25

  Certain movies can stick with you after years and years. I've only seen "The Spirit is Willing" two or three times, probably most often on the CBS Late Night Movies. (That was way back in the Stone Age, when Carson was the only late-night talk show. I was probably in elementary or junior high school and would stay up way too late to watch the movies that started at 10:30 Central time. But enough about that.) "The Spirit is Willing" was one of those silly, harmless comedies so fondly remembered. It had the hapless dad, the loving mother and the teenage son who was smarter than either, except when it came to the romance department. What teenage boy wouldn't want to live in a house with a beautiful and sexy blonde ghost?! Oh, and of course, he had a beautiful blond girlfriend who looked just like the ghost!! This is a movie the way they used to be made! Not hilarious, but definitely funny ... a guilty pleasure. (Now if only it would be re-released!)

• Fun horror comedy, woefully obscure.

  TheFinalAlias2009-11-29

  William Castle; famous for his shock gimmicks and bizarre plots, is a director I always liked even if I didn't revere him, his films were always accessible and fun. As of late however, he's starting to become a favorite of mine. I can't say I've ever seen a truly bad film from him, even though he usually gets lumped in with Ed Wood & Coleman Francis. His films were meant to be fun, with their crazy promotional gimmicks and animated opening credits, he clearly intended his films to not be taken seriously, but in a good way. Most say the element of humor was unintentional because he was a lousy director whose films came off as camp, and that he would fail at comedy as much as horror if he had tried. Well, I just saw this film on it's entirety on Youtube, and not only is it an overt comedy, but it's a hoot from start to finish. In the distant past in New England, a greedy but handsome sailor decided to get rich quick by marrying Felicity; the lonely horse-faced daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate, but fell in love instead with the pretty maid, Jenny. Felicity killed the maid, and then the sailor with a meat cleaver before the sailor finished her off with a knife right before bleeding to death, now the trio's ghosts haunt the local mansion. In (then)present times the Powell family moves in to the manor for a vacation. Led by paranoid, chronic-back pain suffering father Ben(Sid Caesar), whining son Steve(Barry Gordon) and nagging mother Kate(Vera Miles). This bickering, dysfunctional clan is a hoot to watch, with everyone showing off reasons both to like and dislike them, so that we don't come to find them all annoying and hope they get killed off. The dialog exchanges are great and laugh-out-loud funny rather than dated. The characters are so well-developed that this feels like a Halloween special for a long-running sitcom in it's prime, and that's always a plus. You can just imagine all the crazy adventures this family has had before and after this film. It doesn't take a genius to realize the house is going to be haunted, and thankfully rather than setting up some Scooby Doo fake-ghost subplot, the film makes the Ghost's presence clear from the beginning. It admittedly falls into formula; you know how it goes, Outsider sees ghosts, gets blamed for their mischief and nobody believes him. It's an old formula, but it's delivered with a nice hint of freshness considering that the ghosts are given personality without speaking, the ghosts of the Sailor & the Maid keep making out, and Felicity keeps throwing things at them which leads to furniture getting smashed. And apparently the ghost couple isn't getting along too well either, as they fight amongst themselves even when Felicity is gone. Poor Steve gets blamed for all this, and it's hilarious how his parents seem to explain it all way as typical teenage behavior even though if he really was doing all this stuff he would have to be dangerously psychotic, but they just keep threatening to deduct from his allowance. One of the best parts comes when the ghosts sink his rich(he's a toilet bowl baron...yeah), paranoid Uncle George's yacht and Steve's only reaction is to say 'You can take it from my allowance'. The film has several highlights thereafter, from a diving expedition gone wrong, a male bartender named Mother, a bizarre series of circumstances that leads Kate to believe Ben is cheating on her, a great cameo from John Astin(Gomez from the 'Addams Family')as a psychologist hired by Uncle George to find out if Steve is gay(after he sees him buying lots of perfume and makeup for Felicity to appease her evil spirit) who quickly comes to wonder if he's going mad himself. Not all of the jokes work, but they all manage to keep a (pardon the pun) spirit of fun. Risqué fun too. For a film from the '60's, there's a good deal of swearing, underage drinking, sex, adultery and homophobia. Yet it's all done with a sense of innocence, only the murders in the prologue would cause the film to get more than a PG today. The performances are all good, too. Sid Caesar is the most experienced of the lot, and gives a typically fine performance. Barry Gordon manages to make Steve believably obnoxious and brash but still likable. Vera Miles shows great range in the role of Kate, compare her role here to her role in 'Psycho'. But it's Jill Townsend in a triple role as Jenny the Maid/Steve's psychic girlfriend Priscilla/her librarian sister Carol who steals the show. John McGiver is also great as the boisterous, Archie Bunker-like Uncle George. A fun twist-ending is also in store. The music is good too. A great little gem that I can already tell is going to be one of my new favorites, I highly recommend this obscure film. I also wonder if this was an influence on Burton's 'Beetlejuice'. The plots are very similar; Seaside New England manor is haunted by two lovers, dysfunctional family arrives and havoc ensues. If the film was remade, I can totally see the supernatural-obsessed Priscilla portrayed as a goth like Lydia from 'Beetlejuice'. I also notice that the 'Topper' film series from the 40's influenced both films greatly, yet, I enjoyed 'Spirit' more than either of them. Y' Know, sometimes I get the feeling that "A' cinema isn't all it's cracked up to be... For lovers of humorous horror films and screwball comedies, I can't recommend this enough.~

• Love to see it again

  Jozepo2002-07-16

  I would love to see this movie again, I saw it once as a kid, and have always wanted to see it again. I wonder how much my perception has changed since then. I fear that I might think it's horrible now, compared to my fond childhood memory of it. Why do I think so highly of this film? I don't even know. That may be a question in itself. All I know is, the film couldn't have been so bad that they wouldn't put it out on video or DVD, hell they've put everything else out. If anybody knows how I can see this film again please notify me. . It was very nice to read the other comments from other people who liked this film as well. Now, suddenly I don't feel so alone in the universe. -Joe

• Loved it. Good comedy with a twist.

  SusanWeilep2005-08-14

  I saw this movie when I was about 14 and couldn't remember the name of it till I found this site. It was a hilarious movie and I'd love to get the movie if it's available. The music from the movie has stuck in my head all of these years. A very catchy tune. I loved the way the ghosts would fight among themselves and the boy got the blame for all the damages that they were inflicting on the house. I was able to relate to what the teenage boy was feeling each time he got the blame. He was able to see the ghosts and could do nothing to stop it and no one would believe him. It is billed as Comedy/Horror, but I remember it being a good family comedy that I wouldn't hesitate to take my kids to see.

• I too thought I dreamed this movie

  fillipsk2006-08-04

  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.