''The Gold Ghost'' is a 1934
short American pre-code
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
starring
Buster Keaton.
Plot
Two wealthy fathers Jim and George try to arrange their children Gloria and Wally to marry in order to strengthen their families. Gloria refuses to marry Wally dubbing him "proof that reincarnation exists because no-one could be as dumb as him in one lifetime". Wally overhears this and storms off, deciding to leave his town altogether.
He ends up in Nevada, unbeknownst to him the town he settles on is in fact a literal ghost town. Discovering a discarded sheriff's badge he declares himself the sheriff. Wally goes into a saloon and meets a beautiful girl who turns out to be a ghost. When he sees that she is being pestered by the ghosts of several rowdy former townsfolk he scares them away with his pistol. He is soon joined by former gangster Bugs Kelly who has faked his death and ended up in the same town as Wally after going on the run.
Two local prospectors discover gold buried on the outskirts of the town and this leads to renewed interest in the town and results in dozens of people showing up to begin their own search for gold including Gloria and her father. A group of gangsters shows up and tries to intimidate Wally into handing the town over to them but he refuses. Bugs Kelly, convinced that Wally doesn't have the nerve to run the town takes Wally's badge and declares himself sheriff. However he soon gives the badge back to Wally after the gangsters target him for refusing to sell and Wally and Bugs unite to run the gangsters out of town.
Cast
*
Buster Keaton as Wally
*
Warren Hymer
Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor.
Early life
He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...
as Bugs Kelly
* Dorothy Dix as Gloria
* Roger Moore (as Joe Young)
*
William Worthington as Gloria's Father, Jim
*
Lloyd Ingraham
Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director.
Biography
Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...
as Wally's Father, George
*
Leo Willis
Leo Willis (5 January 1890 – 10 April 1952) was an American actor who began his career in the silent era. He played mainly tough guys and comic villains, notably opposite Harold Lloyd, Charley Chase, and Laurel and Hardy at the Hal Roach Stud ...
*
Billy Engle
Billy Engle (May 28, 1889 – November 28, 1966) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1917 and 1957. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Hollywood, California ...
as Short Miner (uncredited)
*
Al Thompson as Miner (uncredited)
See also
*
Buster Keaton filmography
External links
*
''The Gold Ghost''at the
International Buster Keaton Society The International Buster Keaton Society Inc.— a.k.a. "The Damfinos"—is the official educational organization dedicated to comedy film producer-director-writer-actor-stuntman Buster Keaton.
Mission
According to the Damfinos, their mission is "t ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold Ghost, The
1934 films
1934 comedy films
1934 short films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by Buster Keaton
Films directed by Charles Lamont
Educational Pictures short films
American comedy short films
1930s American films