The Ghost Goes West is a delightful if totally inconsequential comedy-cum-fantasy. The basic situation involving a ghost doomed to haunt a castle until he can prove his mettle and the consequences that has for his descendants is now overly familiar to audiences, which dilutes its impact somewhat; but the performance of the always engaging Robert Donat helps to overcome this flaw. Donat was a very special performer, one who made relatively few films in a lengthy career, but who could almost always be counted on to bring a certain appeal to his work. Even more importantly, he was an exceptionally fine actor, and while Ghost rises and falls more on the fact that he has the requisite charm and style, it's the fact that Donat goes well beyond these important but superficial qualities that makes his work here memorable. Aside from the familiarity of the story, the screenplay suffers from some occasional slipshoddiness -- the romance is not handled as satisfactorily as might be wished, the "is he a ghost or isn't he" aspect of it in particular not being milked as well as it might have been and not being resolved as clearly as desired. But for the most part, the script is more than adequate, and René Clair directs the proceedings with a sure but pleasingly light touch. Jean Parker is a bit unformed as the leading lady, but Eugene Pallette, Elsa Lanchester, and Ralph Bunker more than make up for her occasional stumbles. All in all, The Ghost Goes West is a sweet little treat.