''Three Live Ghosts'' is a 1922 British

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 ...

directed by

George Fitzmaurice George Fitzmaurice (13 February 1885 – 13 June 1940) was a French-born film director and producer. Career Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage. Beginning in 1914, and continuing until his death in 1940, he directed ...

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

is credited as a title designer. The film is based on a 1920 Broadway play, ''Three Live Ghosts'', by Frederic S. Isham and

Max Marcin Max Marcin (5 May 1879 – 30 March 1948) was a Polish-born American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and film director. He wrote for 47 films between 1916 and 1949. He also directed six films between 1931 and 1936. His stage work inclu ...

. Actor Cyril Chadwick is the only performer from the play to appear in the film. A copy of the film, thought to be

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

, was found in a Russian archive and shown publicly in 2015. This version had however been radically re-edited by Soviet censors in the 1920s, making the film a searing critique of post-war Britain, including its relations with Ireland, which achieved Dominion status in the year the film was first shown.Missing believed garbled: Hitchcock’s first steps in film
/ref>

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, three Allied soldiers escape from a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

German

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

and arrive as stowaways in London on

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I a ...

. Of the three returning soldiers, one is an English nobleman suffering loss of memory as a result of

shell shock Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...

, the second is a

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

who, because he was listed among the dead casualties and his mother took the insurance money, must remain "dead," and the third is an American who must remain "dead" due to troubles with the young woman he loves. Hence, the three live ghosts. The nobleman, given to fits of

kleptomania Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main cha ...

, enters a mansion and attires himself in fine raiment and jewelry and then carries off a baby from a perambulator. Returning with a lamb gathered while crossing

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

, the nobleman returns to the

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

home of the Cockney where the three ghost soldiers have stopped. After a series of entanglements, there is a resolution of all issues. The English nobleman learns he has robbed his own home and taken his own child, the American and his sweetheart are reconciled and he is freed of a charge unjustly made against him, and the Cockney and his insurance matters are squared up.

Cast

Norman Kerry Norman Kerry (born Norman Hussey Kaiser,"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards,registration for Norman Hussey Kaiser, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 1942 This document lists his full name as Norman Hussey Kaiser, noting the na ...

as Billy Foster *

Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...

as Ivis *

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...

as Jimmy Gubbins *

John Miltern John Miltern (1870-1937) was an actor in theater and films in the United States. He was in the Broadway play '' Yellow Jack''. He was also in Channing Pollock's play ''Roads of Destiny''. Another of his stage performances was described as manly ...

as Peter Lame *

Cyril Chadwick Cyril Chadwick (11 June 1879 – 3 November 1955) was an English actor of the silent era. He appeared in 70 films between 1913 and 1938. He was born in Kensington, London. Partial filmography * ''Doc'' (1914) - Eastman * ''Mrs. Black Is Ba ...

as Spoofy *

Clare Greet Clare Greet (14 June 1871 – 14 February 1939) was an English stage and film actress. She began on stage in Shakespeare with the Ben Greet Company. She appeared in 26 films between 1921 and 1939, including seven films directed by (and one ...

as Mrs. Gubbins (as Claire Greet) * Dorothy Fane as The Duchess *

Annette Benson Annette Benson (1895–1965) was a British film actress. She was a leading lady of British silent films of the 1920s, appearing in ''Confetti'' with Jack Buchanan and ''Downhill'' with Ivor Novello. She also featured in several French and German ...

as Mrs. Woofers *

Wyndham Guise Wyndham Guise (né William Windham Guise Cutler) was a British actor who appeared on stage in Edwardian musical comedies beginning in the 1890s and became a film actor during the silent era. He is sometimes credited as Windham Guise. Selecte ...

as Briggs (as Windham Guise)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Three Live Ghosts 1922 films 1922 comedy films 1920s rediscovered films British silent feature films British comedy films British black-and-white films Fictional trios Films directed by George Fitzmaurice British films based on plays Films with screenplays by Ouida Bergère Rediscovered British films 1920s British films Silent comedy films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links