The Ghosts of Berkeley Square (1947)
Directed by Vernon Sewell

Film Review

As eccentric, off-beat British comedies go they don't come much more eccentric and off-beat than The Ghosts of Berkeley Square, a spirited (ahem) adaptation of Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon's popular 1944 novel No Nightingales.  Released in the gloom of post-war austerity the film failed to make much of an impact, despite its scurrilous bouts of jingoism and exuberant performances from two of Britain's finest comedic actors, Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer, who make a remarkably effective double act.  Although dated by its primitive special effects and casual racism, the film has retained much of its charm and makes a welcome change from the anodyne comedies that were being churned out at the time in a desperate attempt to lift the spirits of a war-weary nation.

This is not a film that is likely to provoke howls of laugher but it does provide an insight into the British psyche in the immediate aftermath of WWII, in particular a loss of faith in the permanence of things and a sense of disconnection with other cultures.  Foreigners are portrayed as outrageous caricatures and treated with distrust and disdain (Morley is even blacked up to portray an Indian prince, something that would be unthinkable these days).  No opportunity to brandish the Union Jack and play the patriotic card is missed, but despite all this there is an obvious feeling of loss and disillusionment.  As the film was being made, the British Empire was well on the road to becoming history and the morale of the British was probably at its lowest ebb.

A few lame jokes about Chinamen and coloured people must have come as small comfort to a nation that had become impoverished by war and humiliated by the accelerating process of decolonisation but even this feeble attempt to beef up British identity was better than nothing.  The buffoonish duo formed by Morley and Aylmer was very much how the British would now see themselves, nostalgic about past triumphs but able (perhaps a little grudgingly) to move with the times and slowly learn to put their old prejudices behind them.  The Ghosts of Berkeley Square has less to do with the redemption of two ineffectual old ghosts and far more to do with the rehabilitation of Great Britain as she put her colonial glory days behind her and entered the modern era.

Film Synopsis

In the spirit of fostering greater understanding between humans and the deceased, the Ghost Society hooks up with the BBC to broadcast a special conference.  Two old soldiers from the 18th century, Colonel 'Bulldog' Kelsoe and General 'Jumbo' Burlap start the proceedings by recounting their exploits as ghosts at a large London town house in Berkeley Square.  It was the duo's attempt to capture the Duke of Marlborough, and thereby bring an end to the 100 Years War, that resulted in their accidental demise.  In doing so, they incurred the displeasure of Queen Anne and were condemned to remain as ghosts in the house until such time as another royal personage set foot on the premises.  Realising that the next occupant of the house has no chance of attracting royalty, Jumbo and Bulldog waste no time frightening her away, but in doing so they give the house such a bad reputation that it remains uninhabited for the next sixty years.  Both soldiers are appalled when they discover that the house's next tenant is a French woman who intends converting it into a house of ill repute, but they change their mind when they learn that the Prince Regent may be about to put in an appearance...