Alberto Terracina is Napoleon B. Higgins, a rather lazy entrepreneur who sells elixir for 25 cents a bottle.
One day, he messes up the formula, leaving everyone who swigs his Emperor’s Miracle cure with a nasty case of diarrhea.
That gets him chased out of the town where he’s been peddling his potion.
But it also stops the posse dead in its tracks when its members are stricken with the side effect.
Having escaped one problem, Napoleon literally stumbles into another.
He steps on a thorn, falls backwards into a cave and comes face to face with the ghost of Davy Crockett.
Davy wants Napoleon to take him to see an old woman named Katie. Seems she knows the whereabouts of a treasure buried just before its owner died at the Alamo.
Napoleon agrees, sort of, and quickly discovers this is one hard-drinking ghost with an odd sense of what’s right and what’s wrong.
But the ghost of Davy certainly comes in useful when Garcia and his band of Mexican bandits keeps showing up.
And thanks to Davy, Napoleon meets Rosy, Katie’s lovely dark-haired granddaughter, sporting a smile that melts his heart.
And makes him more ambitious. Because he’d sure like to impress that lovely lass.
Alberto Terracina (Tom Scott) as Napoleon B. Higgins, professing his affection for Rosy in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Maribel Martin as Rosy, baffled at the way her clothes starting falling off in the middle of a gun battle; in truth, a ghost was at work in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Review:
Spaghetti fans who’ve endured a few too-many cringe worthy 1970s comedy Westerns might hesitate to hit play on this one.
A snake-oil salesman meets a ghost for comedic adventures out West? A film “dedicated to heroes in sky who prefer whiskey to Coca-cola?”
Give it a spin, and you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised. Thanks to the presence of a ghost only Napoleon can see, it’s filled with surprisingly funny gags.
It helps that Napoleon is adorably awkward around Rosy. It helps that Maribel Martin is around to brighten the screen whenever she appears.
And here’s a bonus: There’s not a single barroom brawl in the script. Now there’s a Spaghetti Western novelty.
Bottom line: This is much, much better than most of the Trinity clones that cluttered the Spaghetti landscape in the early 1970s.
The scriptwiters even throw in the ghosts of Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed as a bonus.
Fernando Bilboa (Fred Harris) as the ghost of Davy Crockett, vowing to have just one more drink in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Elsa Zabala as Granny Katie, a woman with a secret after buried treasure in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Directed by:
Antonio Margheriti
as Anthony M. Dawson
Cast:
Alberto Terracina … Napoleon B. Higgins
as Tom Scott
Fernando Bilbao … Davy Crockett, Il fantasma
as Fred Harris
Maribel Martin … Rosie
Rafael Albaicin … Paco
Richardo Palacios … Garcia
George Rigaud … Mastermind boss
Francesco Ferracini …. Mortimer
Elsa Zabala … Granny Katie
Manuel De Blas … Davy Carradine
Bernabe Barta Barri … Sheriff
Maribel Hildago … Boutique clerk
Runtime: 105 min.
aka:
Fantasma en el Oeste
Richard Palacios as Garcia, sure he’s finally got Napoleon trapped in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Rafael Albaicin as Paco, Garcia’s trusted sidekick in banditry in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Memorable lines:
Napoleon, about his elixir: “I went wrong with the formula. It loosens the body, so to speak.”
Davy Crockett: “With mine, it sure would be difficult.”
Rosy, watching Napoleon react to things she can’t see: “When you said your name was Napoleon, I thought you were crazy. Now I’m sure of it.”
Rosy: “The funniest thing happened when I was shooting at you. My blouse and my skirt fell right off of me.”
Davy Crockett: “You better be careful, boy. You kissed that girl like you had matrimony in mind. That’s for sure. I was watching real close.”
Napoleon: “You Peeping Tom!”
Davy: “You’re as good as cooked.”
Bandit boss, to a captured Napoleon: “My dear friend, I think you’re in a fine mess. Garcia here is hot tempered and he’s got it against you. I can understand why. You know he’s lost 40 pounds since he met you.”
George Rigaud as the outlaw boss, suggesting Garcia arrange a firing squad for Napoleon in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Manuel De Blas as Davy Carradine, the gambling house manager baffled by how Napoleon keeps winning in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Trivia:
* One of just four credits on IMDb for actor Alberto Terracina. He also teamed up with Fernando Bilbao and director Antonio Margheriti in 1973’s “Mr. Hercules vs. Karate.”
* Maribel Martin started her acting career at age 6 and Spaghetti fans will best remember her as the young Mormon girl named Sarah in The Big Gundown. Lee Van Cleef tries to save from the “lecherous” Tomas Milian only to discover she’s the fourth wife of a Mormon settler. This film marked her only other Spaghetti Western.
Francesco Ferracini as Mortimer, the rich train passenger who tries to move in on Rosy, until Davy intervenes, in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Mirabel Hildago as the boutique clerk, wondering how Napoleon can pinch her from so far away in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Maribel Martin as Rosy, proclaiming Napoleon crazy for sure in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
Albert Terracina (Tom Scott) as Napoleon, caught holding another booze bottle drained by Ghost Davy in Whiskey and Ghosts (1974)
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