Director: Unknown
Writer(s): Unknown
Starring: Mantan Moreland, F.E. Miller, Johnny Lee, Estelle Hemsley, McKinley Reeves, Terry Knight
Synopsis: In order to make some cash, buddies Mantan and Alex found the “Ghost Association,” which will hold mock seances for the local residents. After studying the details of the locals’ various deceased relatives, Alex insist that the reluctant Manta, who is afraid of ghost, play “Prince Alabastar Amsterdam” and fool people into thinking that he is in communication with their dead loved ones.
Meanwhile, Henry Coffee, local resident Mandy’s husband, has staged his own disappearance because he can no longer tolerate his wife’s nagging. He takes refuge at Morgan’s place, and old barn, where he encounters a band of thugs who take him hostage. Soon after, Alex and Mantan, who have chosen the Morgan place for their first Ghost Association séance, show up at the old barn where the gangsters are planning their getaway. Inside, the timorous Mantan, who senses the presence of the gangsters, believe that the barn is haunted, especially after one of the gangsters knocks Alex out and hides him, leaving Mantan alone. Eventually the police come, have a shoot-out, and then haul the gangsters away, giving Alex, who say that Prince Alabaster heroically caught the gangsters, a good publicity story for his enterprise.
Later, Mandy and her friend, Miss Sarah, discuss with Mantan and Alex the upcoming séance, and, because he realizes that he knows nothing about Miss Sarah’s late husband, Mantan warns her that the man may have changed since his death. At the old barn, the audience arrives and Alex tells Mantan, who will impersonate the voices of the dearly departed, to hide in a stall. Mantan is terrified, however, because he thinks he hears a real ghost, unaware that Henry Coffee, who is still hiding in the barn’s loft. When Mandy ask “Alabastar” to conjure her husband Henry, the latter overhears and believes he’s been discovered, but when a distraught Mandy, hearing her husband’s voice, says she would never mistreat him again if he came back, he cries “You won, Honey.” The weak floor-boards of the loft break and Henry crashes down from the heaven to reunite with his wife. (from Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960)
Release Date: May 22, 1947 (USA) | Length: 49 min | Genre: Comedy | Certificate: Unknown
Note: No director was credited on either the ad materials for the film or the film itself. William Beaudine and Sam Newfield are known to have directed “race movies” for Toddy Pictures, so it could have been either one of them, but there’s no actual information confirming it. (from IMDB) Above is the earliest release date I could find for the film, in the Greenville Advocate, Greenville, Alabama, Thu, May 22, 1947 · Page 5 (from DAARAC). Also, if you check the Lobby Cards for the film on DAARAC, there are more people in the stills than listed in the cast list. I couldn’t find images for McKinley Reeves or Terry Knight as this was their only film.