The Venetian Ghost

What’s it like being a Renaissance man when your host is a jerk-of-all-trades? What’s it like being obsessed with memory when you host lives in the perpetual present? George Barber’s The Venetian Ghost has as its hero a former ruler of Venice who, as a result of a semantic boo-boo, finds himself catapulted from the High Culture of Venice, Italia, to the High camp of Venice, LA. Barber plays up these oppositions in his usual offbeat style; having the figure of the ghost keyed in cartoon – like with Charlie and family – good-time Californians to a fault.

Directed by George Barber, The Venetian Ghost leans on a strong ensemble — Tom Burke, Stanley Myron Handelman, Fran Pope — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 1988.