Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1974) User Reviews (15)

Peter Sellers' worst movie?

[laojeda · 1/10 · 15 December 2004]

Peter Sellers plays Dick Scratcher (ha,ha), a cook for a pirate ship who takes over as captain after he murders the previous one. Although he's witnessed a treasure being buried, he begins losing his memory and the treasure map he obtains becomes blank. Thus, Dick is forced to find someone who can see and communicate with ghosts (do you place an ad for that?) and help lead a path to the treasure. It's mind boggling how anyone could have bankrolled this pointless film. Former Goon Spike Milligan replaced Medak as director, and given Medak's talents in the film The Ruling Class, you can probably guess which of the grainy, poorly lit scenes had Milligan in the director's chair. Peter Boyle makes a brief appearance in the film's first 10 minutes as the doomed pirate captain. He's probably quite thankful that Young Frankenstein was released the same year this was filmed and canned, so that he can keep this off his resume. Franciosa looks dashing as the handsome power-behind-Scratcher but he and Seller both look pretty desperate, with even Sellers' makeup and hair looking quite terrible. They had to know this movie was bombing even as they were filming it. With lines like these, I can understand any possible unease:

PIERRE: (about to be hanged) You'll pay for this.

SCRATCHER: No, I won't. I'll do it for free.

And that's one of the GOOD jokes. It's amazing to me that much of Sellers prolific material is still in the vaults, but this was made available on VHS more than 15 years ago! How about someone stepping up to the plate and releasing in the US the well-received British TV program "A Show Called Fred" starring Sellers, Milligan, and directed by the great Richard Lester?

Only if you are seriously curious about the worst movie he has ever made.

[ilter · 1/10 · 9 August 2020]

I'm a big fan of Peter Sellers. I watched this one because I just didn't want to die before seeing all of his movies. The only reason why we are on this page right now is because Peter Sellers is in it. This movie wouldn't have been finished if he wasn't a big name. I've lost 92 minutes of my life, but at least I am not curious anymore. If you are not a big fan, don't bother and save yourself - it isn't even grotesque. It is bad. Really bad.

Deadly dull

[coderkid · 1/10 · 4 October 1999]

You might be tempted to rent this film because Peter Sellers appears in it. That would be a mistake. This is one of the most pointless films ever made. I kept waiting for something funny to happen, but nothing funny appears in this movie. Even the film industry recognized this was a very weak film and didn't even try to promote it. Its a wonder that it was ever put on video.

I wonder what sort of contract caused Sellers to be in this film. I also wonder why the people responsible for this film were allowed to go on to make other bad films. Surely this film is a waste of the money used to create it, and a waste of anyone's time watching it. Surely there are high school students who would be able to write/produce a film which as a plot.

There is a great behind the scenes documentary

[caliwao · 1/10 · 16 May 2019]

I just saw the Ghost of Peter Sellers, a documentary about this ill fated film. Its the best documentary I've seen about a movie going wrong. As a filmmaker, I think every director should watch it. Its even better than Lost in la Mancha, because it was directed by the same director who shot the dreadful movie, Peter Medak.

Sellers at a low point

[mfisher452 · 14 February 2002]

This film is mainly a curiosity for fans of Peter Sellers. The question has been asked why he would appear in this film. Two reasons: He was at a low point in his career when he could find almost no work and was reduced to making commercials for TWA, and because his old pal and fellow Goon Spike Milligan was co-writer of the screenplay.

Hardly a single laugh in this one.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 3 November 2023]

Peter Sellars was a strange and most perplexing actor. At times, he was brilliant...producing some of the best films of the era. Imagine....playing multiple roles in such classics as "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Mouse That Roared"! He was also brilliant in "Being There" and many other pictures. That being said, he also starred in many of the WORST comedies of his era...and this became much more the norm during the last decade of his life. Some was due to his overacting, some was due to his terrible choices of film projects and some was likely due to his being a VERY difficult actor who often clashed with directors...making the filmmaking process hellish for everyone according to many sources. Just look at films like "The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu", "The Prisoner of Zenda" and "The Great McGonagall"...all box office bombs with very, very few laughs. Because of the incredibly uneven quality of his later work, I put off watching "Ghost in the Noonday Sun" for many years.

In addition to my trepidation, the film turns out to have been a nightmare to make...with Sellers and the director at each other's throats during production. The film was also shelved and never released in theaters...only being released to cable a decade later! Surely, this likely means that my watching "Ghost" would be a chore!

The story starts off poorly. Inexplicably, it begins with a long prologue which looks like a parody of a silent movie. It is odd, as the rest of the film is NOT silent nor looks anything like this prologue. However, in the prologue you learn that a pirate ship's cook has killed the Captain and assumed command. Unfortunately, this cook is too stupid to remember where the pirate treasure was buried and he and the dead Captain are the only ones who know about its whereabouts. In order to get to where it is, the cook and his crew kidnap a boy who apparently can see and talk to the dead in the hope that the boy can talk to the Captain and learn about the treasure.

So is this any good? No. Unfortunately, instead of making the film conventional and funny, like Sellers' Pink Panther films, it is very unconventional. Sellers' performance is VERY broad and, frankly, poor. The film also is just dumb in places, such as the extensive use of 'silly' sound effects, sped up sequences in order to make them funny (it didn't work) as well as naming the cook 'Dick Scratcher'.

It has more of a Three Stooges style than that of a pirate film. Compared to this, the silly (but very uneven) 1980s film, "Yellowbeard" is a masterpiece!

Overall, this is a very bad film that even Peter Sellers' most devoted fans would have a hard time enjoying or even justifying its being made in the first place.

Not Quite a Treasure

[EmperorNortonII · 7/10 · 15 January 2001]

This is one of Peter Sellers' lesser-known movies. And I wouldn't say it's one of his best. It's not the same quality as classics like "The Pink Panther" or "Dr. Strangelove." This movie is just a silly pirate farce. Not bad, but could have been better.

Appalling bad

[Impman2 · 1/10 · 4 February 2024]

For decades I have been a fan of both Spike Milligan (especially his war memoirs) and Peter Sellers. However and with great sadness I have to say that this is, by a million miles, the worst film that I have ever had the misfortune to watch. Appalling, terribly, trash, bad, knaff, awful, rubbish, the pits, a stinking pile of doo doo, what a load of .......... Thankfully it was free to watch on Amazon. Imagine paying to watch this, I would be devastated.

The emperor's clothes spring to mind. Why didn't anyone tell Peter that this film was a disaster?

It is completely unfunny and instantly forgotten.

You are missing the whole point

[dave-2142 · 8/10 · 4 July 2006]

I have been a Sellers fan for most of my life. Growing up in the late 60's and 70's his name was a household word because his comedic power brought laughter to millions. His diversity is simply astounding compared to, say, Jim Carrey or Jeniffer Aniston. Maybe this is a movie for the true Peter Sellers fan. A bit off the beaten path. The plot is secondary. Watching Sellers in character is a pure joy. You will never see a more cowardly pathetic weasel on film anywhere. Sellers performance in Ghost in the Noonday Sun is much more entertaining than Magic Christian or Casino Royale. Lighten up and enjoy the simple buffoonery and hilarious character brilliantly played by the great Peter Sellers. Skelingtons and canyon balls to you.

So poor it's brilliant

[Wayland_Wombat · 7/10 · 22 May 2020]

This is by far a good film and performances not great, however my sides were hurting with laughter during certain scenes.

Ghost in the Noonday Sun

[henry8-3 · 2/10 · 14 March 2024]

A pirate treasure 'comedy' featuring Peter Sellers as a cook who kills his captain after learning where his treasure is buried and then has to rely on the ghost of the man he's just killed as his memory is fading. He assumes captaincy of the ship and sails to Ireland by mistake and thereafter to other places having such larks and finally he picks up Spike Milligan and they get to the treasure island.

This film never got a theatrical release and the reason is simple, it's awful. All documentation around the making of this and director Medak's later documentary 'The Ghost of Peter Sellers' makes it pretty clear that this is down to Sellers. A legend and some time comic genius, it should not be forgotten that along with his many towering performances he was perfectly capable of making utter rot and this is one of those films. Standing around in daft costumes and mumbling in stupid, often illegible voices does not great comedy make. Sellers knew this and threw tantrums throughout and frequently just didn't turn up - full of self doubt then and totally unprofessional.

I'll be honest, I did chuckle at a few one liners and the cast including James Villiers and Clive Revill are fun, but ultimately 99% if this is just dreadful. Avoid.

really funny movie

[shavlor · 10/10 · 18 November 2003]

I have heard so much bad talk about this movie. I have seen this movie at least 10 times now and I love it. Yes the lines are hard to understand but honestly this adds to the humor. Peter Sellers does an excellent job of acting as a buffoon. It is his acting and the odd script that make this movie so funny.

I would recommend this movie to anyone and everyone. Just except a funny somewhat slack-stick humor based movie.

Pirate ships, forgotten treasures, stupid cooks, ghosts

[mythos-20 · 9/10 · 2 March 2008]

I remember watching this film many years ago (i think it was early to mid 80's) and i remember LOVING it! I mean, it is Peter Sellers we are talking about! What more can one say about this comedy genius?? In this film Peter Sellers plays the part of a really stupid cook on board a pirate ship, who later assumes control of the command of the ship and sets off to a really funny treasure hunt. And ghost hunt as well... As i remember it, it was this very way of Seller's acting that made an impression on me. I liked the dialogue between the cook and his crew about the food shortage. Overall, I found it very funny and it's sad that it's not very well known and hard to find in video stores. I gave it a solid nine (9).

Great Film

[olsenwilly · 10/10 · 29 May 2020]

This a great and enjoyable watch. It watches even better when you know the background story of shooting the film, and how Sellers went to every length to thwart the film's production.

10/10

[klaus159 · 10/10 · 27 June 2020]

I just like this film, as well as every other film of Sellers.