When a group of gunmen are running sharecroppers off their land, rancher Andy Jones sends for his friend Billy Carson to organise the sharecroppers to fight. Andy is soon mortally wounded by the gunmen, but before his death schemes for his no good twin brother Fuzzy to be sent for to impersonate him. The gunmen, witnessing Andy's funeral fear that Fuzzy is Andy's avenging ghost.
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Producer: Sigmund Neufeld. Copyright 3 March 1945 by P.R.C. Pictures, Inc. No New York opening. U.S. release: 3 February 1945. Not theatrically released in Australia. 6 reels. 54 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A crooked sheriff and the local doctor employ a gang of outlaws to run homesteaders out of the valley.COMMENT: Not a single female in sight, so I think we can safely assume that this entry was wholly and exclusively intended for the moppet audiences of Saturday matinees. That's a pity, because the basic premise of the story holds more promise than the usual Billy "B", but it's largely worked out in a thoroughly bland and conventional fashion. True, Newfield's direction, complete with a few running inserts, is competent enough and it's always nice to see heavies like Charles King and Karl Hackett run through their familiar paces. And for once, St John gets a chance to shine, — in a dual role.OTHER VIEWS: Not a few directors and photographers would have grasped the opportunities presented by this entry for some atmospheric effects in the horror vein. But Newfield seems determined to play potential thrills not only as blandly as possible, but mainly to garner laughs from an easily titivated moppet audience. - JHR writing as "George Addison".
Only an incredibly stupid piece of script that allows Buster Crabbe to walk into an outlaw trap, though he does break away prevents this from being one of the best of PRC series. His Brother's Ghost has Al St. John playing Fuzzy Q. Jones and his brother Andy. Andy dies though he takes his time doing it, expiring from a gunshot wound. But not before he sets up a plan to trap the outlaws. I haven't seen this long running a death since the serial Tim Tyler's Luck where Al Shean takes two chapters to take the big trip.Andy Jones maybe with the angels, but nobody's quite sure of that as Fuzzy starts being seen around and scaring the pants off the members of a gang trying to drive homesteaders out of the valley. Veteran western villain Charles King heads the gang which has some local so called respectable community members as part of their plot. Of course Buster Crabbe takes care of them all in the end with his usual alacrity and dispatch.If you're a fan of Al St. John's slap saddle humor than this is the film for you.
You're never sure what you're getting into with these Western ghost stories, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. This one has some of the elements you would expect, with Fuzzy St. John portraying a pair of brothers, one of whom is shot and killed, then replaced by his sibling who comes to the aid of hero Bill Carson (Buster Crabbe). The central plot has bad guy Thorne (Charlie King) night raiding local sharecroppers in order to take over their property. Pretty standard for these horse operas, and it's amazing how many times you found Charlie King in the exact same role as the chief heavy.Since all of these B Westerns were made to appeal to the matinée youngster, it's no surprise the film makers would try to get some mileage out of the ghost angle every now and then. Fuzzy chimes in with some fade-ins and fade-outs at the cabin window of the bad guys, and even gets to do a white sheet gimmick. Fuzzy probably ad-libbed a lot of his routine, and it's not surprising to see Crabbe cracking up on screen from time to time over his antics.What I don't get is how the film makers came up with some of their credibility defying stuff, like digging up the grave of Andy Jones to see if he was still in there, and being satisfied, filling it back in again. You think anyone would really do that? I don't know, maybe; but it just seems creepy to me.And how about that scene near the end when Thorne shoots Bentley (Arch Hall Sr.) through a closed window without shattering it? I mean, Crabbe and Fuzzy were standing right there, couldn't they have figured out that something was wrong with that scenario? This kind of stuff happens all the time in these era pictures and is one of the reasons I get such a kick out of watching them, more so than the actual story as the case may be.There's one other goofy thing to keep an eye out for - check out the scene when Fuzzy is shooting at the bad guys from behind a fence post. It's a cartoon moment in which his entire body is invisible until he steps out from behind the post. It's a head scratcher I've never seen before in a Forties Western flick, but now I won't be surprised if I ever see it again.I'm still on the lookout for a Western themed ghost story that flat out goes for the comic element in a big way instead of bits thrown in every now and then as they're done here. Something on the order of the Bowery Boys in "Ghosts on the Loose" or "Spooks Run Wild". For now though, if you like this kind of stuff, check out Fuzzy in another haunted Western flick, 1947's "Ghost Town Renegades". He teams up in that one with Lash LaRue.
Okay, let's start at the VERY beginning. Watch the storybook credits begin, and the hand turn the page, or at least tries to. It FUMBLES! Loved that. So begins 'His Brother's Ghost' a not bad actioner with the 'King Of The Cowboys' Buster Crabbe.. Yes, Buster Crabbe and his ever faithful sidekick, Al (Fuzzy) St. John. In this St John is murdered because the Bad Guys wants his land. Luckily, St. John has a twin brother that comes around to spook them out! Remember, Crabbe is the main guy here, so it IS kind of curious that the main plot focuses around St Johns' character. Oh well, Both of them are good, not great. What I always find amusing is that no one can shoot worth a lick except for Crabbe, who can shoot a gun out of someone's hand! Oh yeah, watch out for Crabbe's coughing horse. lol