Fright Night Friday Movie Review: The Ghost Goes Gear

Hello everyone!!

Welcome to another Fright Night Friday movie review!! Hope you all have a fun, and safe, holiday weekend! This week's movie review comes from my fabulous friend, Brenda!! Brenda is a singer/songwriter and is a member of the Urban Prairie Players band. You can check them out here: http://urbanprairieplayers.com/ Brenda is also a very talented artist and has started a line of handmade dolls called Emmy Bunter. Each doll is unique and I'm glad to say that I'm the proud owner of one (Halloween themed of course)! You can check out her Emmy Bunter Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/emmy.bunter

The Ghost Goes Gear (1966)
starring the Spencer Davis Group

The movie starts on a riverboat, where we see the Spencer Davis Group performing at a party. The boys - Spencer, Pete York, and Stevie and Muff Winwood – are all having a good time when the boat docks and their manager, Al, comes to collect them. While loading the band’s gear into their van, Al manages to drop one of Pete’s drums overboard. The comic downstream chase after the wayward drum leads to a chance encounter with Al’s family butler, Old Edwards, who reveals Al’s true origins. He is not simply “Al” but Algernon Plumley, son of an aristocrat.

Al returns with Edwards to the family manor home with the boys in tow. Once there he displays his upper class snobbery by admonishing the boys to stay out of the sight of his parents, who apparently would be appalled that their son is managing a rock band. The boys handle this quite cheerfully, and entertain the Plumleys’ perky young maid, Polly, in the kitchen.

Al, meanwhile, is reunited with his parents and learns that the family has fallen on hard times. (I wish we would see more of Lord Plumley, who looks like a fangless Grandpa Munster !) When the boys learn of the family’s plight, Spencer suggests that they advertise the manor as a "stately home" and charge admission.

The boys settle in for the night in the wine cellar, thanks to Al’s hospitality. It is here that the ghost makes his first appearance – and now it’s the group’s turn to be entertained.

Although the movie starts out as a madcap 1960’s British comedy, the plot pretty much falls apart about halfway through. It does have somewhat of a surprise ending, though.

The only reason to watch this film is for the scenes with the Spencer Davis Group. They perform several songs – including one while in their pajamas! Spencer is charming, Pete is a riot, and the Winwood brothers are cute and good natured throughout. If you're a fan of the group, it's worth watching - if you're looking for a ghost story, you'd do better to give this one a miss - even though the ghost can sing...

Rated 2 skulls

Thank you for the great review, Brenda! Sounds like a fun movie and I loved your Grandpa Munster reference! For those of you wanting to see the movie, I talked with Brenda and she said that it is available on DVD! She had rented it from Blockbuster Online and then found a VHS copy at Beatlefest (you fellow Beatles fans will know what that is)!

Once again, I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! Be sure to stay tuned to the blog--we are going to be announcing a giveaway very soon!

Happy Hauntings!