The Ghost Breaker is a 1909 play by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. It is a mixed genre work in four acts, labelled a "melodramatic farce" by its authors. There are four settings and seventeen characters. The story concerns a Spanish princess who helps a Kentucky gentleman escape from the law in Manhattan, and he in turn helps rid her castle of a spirit. The action of the play takes place on two separate days a week apart.
The play was first produced by the authors for a one week tryout in 1910. It was then produced by Maurice S. Campbell in 1913, starring H. B. Warner, with Katherine Emmet, Frank Westerton, Frank Campeau, and Sara Biala in support. Tryouts began in February 1913 at various locales in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The Broadway premiere came in early March 1913, with the run lasting ten weeks. Due to other contract obligations of H. B. Warner, the play did not go on tour until the Fall of 1913, nor was it later revived on Broadway.
The play served as the basis for a 1914 silent film in which H. B. Warner reprised his stage role, a 1915 novelization of the play, a 1922 silent film, and the 1940 film The Ghost Breakers.
Characters Characters are listed in order of appearance within their scope.
Lead Maria Theresa is a princess of Aragon, troubled by a ghost in her ancestral castle. Warren Jarvis is a young Kentucky man, caught up in a family feud that followed him to Manhattan. Supporting Rusty Snow is Warren's black servant from Kentucky, comical but also resourceful. Carlos Hernando is Duke d'Alva, a distinguished-looking older cousin of Maria. Delores is the Innkeeper's daughter in Segura, who has turned against Don Robledo. Don Robledo is a mercenary soldier, aggressive and swaggering, henchman to Duke Carlos. Featured Nita is Maria's young and fearful maid. House Detective works at the Manhattan Hotel. Hotel Porter works at the Manhattan Hotel. Detective is from Police Headquarters. Second Detective called Tom, is from Police Headquarters. Steward serves Maria on the Cunard line's SS Aquitania. Vardos is a loyal elderly follower of the missing prince. Maximo is an old discharged Spanish soldier. Gaspar is a villager of Segura who plays cards with Maximo. Pedro is the Innkeeper at Segura, fearful of Don Robledo's violence. Bit Player Jose is the chauffeur for the Princess while in Spain. Stuntman Knight is an unknown henchman of the Duke hidden in a suit of armor. Voice only Voice and Second Voice in the Manhattan Hotel corridor. Ship's Officer on board the SS Aquitania. Off stage Col. James Marcum head of the family feuding with the Jarvis family in Kentucky. Prince Basillio is Maria's brother, who disappeared in the castle earlier.
Synopsis The published play is less than seventy pages, quite short for a four-act work. Much of the play's running time is taken up with comic "business" as indicated by stage directions in the published play. There is also an admonition to the Stage Manager that the "best results in this play are obtained by a fast, snappy tempo throughout".
Act I (Suite 1121 in Manhattan Hotel, NYC. 5am.) Lured by Col. Marcum to the Manhattan Hotel, Warren Jarvis trades shots with him. Marcum is nearly killed, and Jarvis wounded in the wrist. He takes refuge in Maria Theresa's room, breaking the door lock to enter. He convinces her to let him hide in the other room, when Nita opens the door to the House Detective. Maria reassures the House Dick that she and her maid are fine and undisturbed by an intruder. Maria sends Nita back to bed when the detective leaves. She then gets Warren's story from him, and offers to save him if he helps her with a ghost. At Maria's insistence he swears an oath of vassalage to her. She will have him taken on-board the Aquitania in her steamer trunk. Jarvis has her telephone his servant Rusty Snow at the Hotel Belmont to come over to the Manhattan Hotel. Rusty is given the contents of the trunk wrapped in a blanket, also money to book passage for Jarvis and himself on the Aquitania. After cutting a hole in the trunk for air, he gets inside, just as the Hotel Porter knocks at the door. Maria instructs the porter to mark the trunk "Wanted" so it will be placed in her cabin and not in the cargo hold. As the trunk is being wheeled away, the Hotel Detective reappears. He stops the porter, and asks Maria about the broken door lock. She insists it was that way when she arrived, and that she must leave to catch her ship. The porter is allowed to go on, while police detectives are summoned to search the suite. (Curtain)
Act II (Stateroom A on board the SS Aquitania, same morning.) At curtain rise, the steamer trunk is seen, turned upside down, and gently rocking back and forth. The Princess enters first, and notes the trunk's position. Nita and the Steward are right behind her. It takes the nervous Maria several minutes to get them out of the stateroom, so she can unlock the trunk. Before Jarvis can exit, Duke Carlos knocks and enters the stateroom. Surprised, Maria learns he has followed her to America. With difficulty she leads him on deck so Jarvis can free himself. Jarvis phones Rusty from the stateroom to bring the trunk contents. He tells Rusty to return to their own room and pretend to be a deaf-mute. Maria returns alone and tells Jarvis about the deserted and supposedly haunted castle, how her brother the Prince disappeared there, and about the hidden treasure. She came to America to find an old locket that had a hidden note in it locating the treasure. The Duke enters and is introduced to Jarvis. The Duke is suspicious of him, and the two verbally spar, until interrupted by police detectives. The Duke tries to shop Jarvis to the police, but Jarvis adroitly turns the detectives against Carlos by taking advantage of the Duke's snobbish manner and unfamiliarity with American slang. They leave to go ashore on the pilot boat, but Jarvis menacingly stops Carlos from leaving the stateroom. (Curtain)
Act III (An old inn at Segura, Spain, at evening.) Vardos sorrowfully informs Delores that there is still no sign of the Prince at the castle, but that he will visit it again the next day. Don Robledo verbally abuses Pedro, commanding him to take care of his horse, and prepare for the Duke's imminent arrival. He grabs Delores, but she rebuffs him for not searching for the Prince. The Duke arrives, alerting Pedro and Delores to the Princess, whose is coming in her motorcar. The Duke also warns Don Robledo that Jarvis must not reach the castle tonight. Upon arrival the Princess commands Delores and Pedro to aid the American man following her. Jarvis and Rusty are next to enter the inn. The Duke tries to scare, then buy off Jarvis, who is unmoved. Don Robledo proposes a sneering toast to the fool going to the castle. While Rusty fetches lanterns and horses from Pedro, Jarvis hears from the Princess that the locket has been stolen. They suspect Duke Carlos, who claimed he had to go to Madrid. Jarvis decides to go to the castle at once. As he descends the steps, the inn's courtyard is deserted. Jarvis throws his coat over the single lantern on the table, frustrating Don Robledo's shot, while return fire from Jarvis brings down the would-be assassin. (Curtain)
Act IV (The Hall of the Knights in the castle, same night.) Jarvis and Rusty have searched the decaying castle with their lanterns, but find neither prince nor treasure. They have heard some dull thuds and smell traces of a smokey lantern. Rusty breaks up a rotting table to build a fire in the hall's fireplace. They discover a trap door, hinged in the middle so whichever side is stepped on pitches the unwary into a long drop. Groans are heard, but the discovery of a hammer and chisel tells Jarvis the treasure must be located in this room. He tells Rusty the Duke and his men are watching them and trying to scare them out of the hall. Rusty yells "Look out" when one of the suits of armor raises a sword to strike Jarvis. After a short battle, Jarvis maneuvers the knight into stepping on the trap door, sending it plunging down. Jarvis has Rusty get into another suit of armor as a precaution. Carrying a lantern, Delores, Maximo, and the Princess enter the hall. They explain that the Prince has escaped that same night and has gone to the king for help. Don Robledo is dying and confessed his guilt. Maximo takes Delores back to the inn, but the Princess refuses to leave Jarvis in the castle. By the light of the fireplace they confess their mutual love. The Duke sneezes from his hiding place behind a picture, and is forced into the open by Jarvis' threat to shoot through the painting. The Duke hands over the locket and departs. Maria tells Jarvis she loves him and will go to Kentucky with him. (Slow curtain)
Original production Background Paul Dickey was an actor and Charles W. Goddard a journalist when they joined forces to write The Ghost Breaker in 1909. Goddard had written the draft for it several years earlier; when he showed it to Dickey, the latter recognized its stage potential at once.
Dickey, a former varsity halfback at Michigan under Fielding Yost, had already written a one-act sketch with Emmett Corrigan. Goddard, who graduated from Dartmouth in 1902, was an editor for the Sunday American Magazine. They had the good fortune to immediately sell their play to producer Henry B. Harris. Harris never got around to producing it, and after a year the manuscript came back to the authors. However, it later developed that Harris still had an option on the play. Dickey and Goddard shopped the play to other producers, but not until the fall of 1912 did they find a taker in Maurice S. Campbell. He agreed to produce the play, only to find out that the Harris estateHarris had perished in the sinking earlier that year, and his estate was now in the hands of his wife Renee, who survived the disaster. had a lien on it. It took until December 1912 for the legalities to be settled, so Campbell could formally accept the play for production.
Campbell wanted H. B. Warner to play the lead, which meant arranging to take over his management from George C. Tyler of Liebler & Company. He then persuaded Katherine Emmet to leave The Affairs of Anatol to join the cast of The Ghost Breaker.
Cast