With today being the first of the month that Halloween takes place in, I thought I'd devote all the days before All Hallows Eve to various movies of horror, suspense, or any comedy with a combination of the two. So with that, I decided to rewatch Abbott & Costello's Hold That Ghost which I first saw 30 years ago when I was 11 or 12 staying home late Saturday watching TV at midnight. It was my first time that I observed Bud & Lou in live-action, having previously seen them in Hanna-Barbera's cartoon series when I vacationed the year before in New York City. Anyway, I was a little amused at their antics then but now I find them hilarious especially Lou with his constantly getting soooo excited when he's scared! Unlike the previous two movies-Buck Privates and In the Navy-they're not the only ones getting big laughs. Joan Davis also gets her lion's share in slapstick and facial reactions whether with Costello-gotta love their classical-rumba dance skit-or by herself when going down the stairs with a ghost behind her. There's also Shemp Howard in an amusing cameo as a soda jerk. And the screenplay by Robert Lees & Fred Rinaldo (with additions by A & C's own John Grant) also provides some witty banter with the romantic leads Richard Carlson and Evelyn Ankers. By the way, while Ms. Davis plays a screamer actress on radio (though she rarely does it when actually scared), Ms. Ankers-who would spend most of her Universal career in horror flicks-would become "Queen of the Screamers (or Horrors depending on the source)" as a result of this and subsequent movies. Oh, and if you're wondering why musical acts Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters appear in the beginning and end, well, when Universal previewed this movie, according to Maxene Andrews, when the audience filled the preview cards they asked, "Where are The Andrews Sisters?" as they had enjoyed them previously in Buck Privates. (In the Navy-and Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne's participation in it-would be hastily filmed while this haunted house comedy would be temporarily halted.) Because of their spots, they don't interrupt the flow of the comedy which includes such classic bits like the "Moving Candle", "Changing Room", and Lou's ad-libs with a stuffed moose's head. All in all, Hold That Ghost is a most enjoyable Abbott & Costello movie with great contributions from Joan Davis.