Some of the scenes as the American soldiers try to chase down the ghost to get a picture of him to prove that he exists to their commanding officer are also quite funny. The question is whether he'll be able to work up the courage to do it! Laughton and Young offer excellent performances, and the very young Margaret O'Brien (who would have been about 7 when this was made) is convincing as Lady Jessica de Canterville. It turns out that Williams is a very distant descendant of the Cantervilles, and D-Day, of course, will provide the ultimate opportunity to show his bravery and to release Simon from his torment. Then along comes Cuffy Williams (Young), an American soldier whose platoon is billeted in the castle during the lead-up to D-Day. (The greatest irony of the movie is that Simon has developed a reputation as the most fearsome ghost in all of England!) Finding a hero among this family won't be easy. What's the catch? Simon was condemned by his own father for being a coward, and the Canterville line ever since has been a long line of cowards. It illustrates Wilde’s tendency to reverse situations into their opposites as the Otises gain the upper hand and succeed in terrorising the ghost rather than be terrorised by him.

The veteran Charles Laughton and a very young Robert Young team up in this entertaining fantasy about the ghost of Simon de Canterville - condemned to haunt the halls of his family's castle until a descendant performs an act of bravery on his behalf. The story of ‘The Canterville Ghost’ takes place in an old English country house, Canterville Chase, which has the accoutrements of a traditional haunted house.

The canterville ghost story in english