Spooks Run Wild

Just a few quick points. - This was one of the nine little gems that Lugosi made for Monogram (one of the better ones), and it's one of two he made with the East Side Kids. It's important to note that they WERE still kids (teenagers) when this film was made.-- They became "The Bowery Boys" when they grew up (It's mentioned in another comment that this film stars The Bowery Boys-- that's a BIG mistake!). The East Side Kids acted differently than, and looked different from, The Bowery Boys. -- The Bowery Boys films had more of a "Three Stooges" look and feel to them, and had none of the adolescent angst than can sometimes be seen in The East Side Kids films. And let's not forget that both groups grew out of the original Warner Brothers group: "The Dead End Kids."

This was another movie that I had never heard of until working my way through horror movies that were released in 1941. I did find this one interesting due to not only its title, but also that it was another movie I had never seen starring Bela Lugosi. Other than that, I came in blind. The synopsis is the boys are stranded in a small rural town. They hear about a 'monster killer' roaming the countryside. At night, they sneak out. Peewee (David Gorcey) is shot by a gravedigger and they are forced to seek aid at an old mansion.

For this movie, we start in the city. A group of boys led by Muggs McGinnis (Leo Gorcey) get on a bus where they're going to a camp. What I didn't realize and the synopsis makes a bit more sense, the East Side Kids seemed to be a teen comedic group that did quite a few movies. From what I'm gathering, this isn't their first and had a following coming in. Also in this gang is Danny (Bobby Jordan), Glimpy (Huntz Hall), Scruno (Ernest Morrison), Peewee and Skinny (Donald Haines). Taking them out to this camp as a chaperone is Jeff Dixon (Dave O'Brien). Also joining him is his girlfriend of Linda Mason (Dorothy Short). Jeff is studying to a lawyer and she is a nurse. He isn't thrilled about this trip, as he would rather spend time with Linda. She lets out that it is probably more to do with school for not wanting to go.

The bus arrives in a small town and the driver needs to check out the tires. Jeff goes in to get supplies while some of the boys do a bit of exploring on their own. Muggs meets Margie (Rosemary Portia) who works at the local sweet shop. She doesn't like him getting fresh with her though. From there they head out to the camp on the outskirts of town, being almost left behind.

They aren't the only new faces in town. That night Nardo (Bela Lugosi) arrives with his assistant Luigi (Angelo Rossitto). They inquire about the nearby mansion and they're informed that no one lives there. These two make the gas station attendant uneasy. It doesn't help that there are talks over the radio about a 'monster killer'. Another stranger arrives in Dr. Von Grosch (Dennis Moore). The attendant thinks he understands and I'll give the movie credit. Nardo is dressed similar to Dracula and they're playing on this, making Dr. Von Grosch as Dr. Van Helsing.

That night Muggs can't sleep so he decides to walk to town. He doesn't go alone as he's joined by two of his buddies. The rest hear them as they go to leave and it ends up being the whole gang. Also moving about are Nardo and Luigi as they stop at the local cemetery where the caretaker pulls his gun on the. The boys end up there as well and much like the synopsis states, Peewee is shot. They seek refuge in the nearby mansion where the boys meet Nardo along with his companion. It becomes of a night of fear as the boys lose Peewee and try to figure out if Nardo is this killer they've heard about.

This will be where I leave the recap as this is pretty much the first half of the movie. We end up getting a take on the old dark house film here. It is also leaning heavy into the comedy as well. To bring up something again, I didn't realize the East Side Kids were a comedic film group like Abbott and Costello or like The Three Stooges. They are just teens or early adults that use a lot of the wordplay jokes and slapstick comedy. Personally, this didn't really work for me unfortunately.

To circle back to something I've said again is the horror here comes from the old dark house aspects. They don't use a lot of that, but we get enough. No one has been to this mansion before this night so that makes sense. What I will give credit here is that it is leaning into the fact that Lugosi was Dracula. This is movie was made by Monogram films, but it is poking fun at Universal. Nardo is dressed like Dracula. They focus on the eyes like they did in that classic and of course having Dr. Von Grosch. I like this movie playing with these ideas while also doing something different with them. There are also talks of a murderer adding to this as well.

Since there isn't much to the story, I'll go to the acting. I did think that Lugosi was having fun here and he's fine as Nardo. As I was saying, I like them leaning back into his iconic role and the truth of his character makes a lot of sense as well. Leo Gorcey was good as this tough leader of the group. It does appear that David Gorcey was his brother and a member of the crew. I thought the rest of this group worked. There is a bit of racism toward Scruno who is played by the black actor of Morrison. Outside of that, I do think they play well off each other and that works for the comedy. I would also say that O'Brien and Short were fine for what was needed along with Rossitto, who is a little person. The townspeople worked as did Moore. There isn't a lot of screen time for the latter, so it doesn't work as well with the reveal.

The last thing that I want to go over would be the effects and cinematography. For the former, we don't get a lot of them, but it is also not that type of movie. We get some gags playing with a skeleton, a moving suit of armor and some floating objects. The design and the explanation for all of this did make sense. The cinematography didn't add much. It could also be that the version I watched on Amazon Prime wasn't in the greatest shape. I'm not going to hold either against the movie to be honest.

That is about the extent of what I wanted to go over so in conclusion here, this movie is an interesting comedic horror film. This is really a vehicle to get customers in the seats with the likes of Lugosi and the East Side Kids who I'm assuming had their own followers. I think the acting here is fine. The story was lacking a bit as they wanted the comedy to carry it. Playing with Lugosi's former role and the troupes with it were good though. The movie had issues keeping my attention though and I just wanted a bit more. The last thing to say would be the soundtrack didn't really stick out or hurt the movie. I would rate this as just average to me. I can't really recommend it if I'm going to be honest, unless you're out to see all of the Lugosi films or a fan of the East Side Kids' comedies.

Would anyone have believed that an Academy Award would be in the future for one of the participants in Spooks Run Wild back in 1941? I think one would have been told to get a cranial examination. Yet Carl Foreman who wrote the screenplay would be getting one eleven years later for High Noon. Unfortunately blacklist was also in his future.

Academy Award winners didn't usually work at Monogram Pictures, but one starts to learn the trade somewhere in the film business. In this case it's with The Bowery Boys. They've been sent in the charge of Dave O'Brien and Dorothy Short to a summer camp. The boys go wandering off and come upon a haunted house occupied by Bela Lugosi.

The usual Bowery Boy monkeyshines are present throughout. When the boys go wandering off however, we're informed that a serial killer is also loose in the area.

It's from Monogram so don't expect all that much. Still it's interesting to see the genesis of High Noon?

Bela Lugosi and the East Side Kids (aka the Dead End Kids aka The Bowery Boys) made two films together. This is the first and best. Its a low budget creaky mystery that some how works despite its short comings.

The plot has the Kids forcibly removed from the streets for two weeks in the country at a summer camp. Not wanting to be watched over they sneak out the first night only to be shot at by a local care taker. They end up taking refuge in an old mansion inhabited where Bela Lugosi is staying. At the same time a "monster killer" is prowling the surrounding area. Confusion, murder and "comedy" ensues.

By no means a great film, and probably only an okay one, this is a movie that needs to be watched at about two in the morning when you're half asleep. Its the stereotypical haunted house film turned side ways,yet again, by Leo Gorcey and his pals. Sure the comedy is beyond low and the plot is predictable, but somehow Bela, in a decent role, lifts this up to be more than just a bunch of 30 year old teenagers running amok. Actually the fact there there is a real plot helps a great deal (The later Bela/ East Side Kids pairing Ghosts on the Loose suffers greatly from essentially being two barely connected halves). Its not great by anyone's definition, but it is fun in a silly way.

If you're in the mood for a haunted house comedy the likes of which they don't make any more (thank God) you can give it a try. While far from great it does have Bela hamming it up which is usually good for an hour entertainment.

Spooks Run Wild (1941)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

The East Side Kids get into trouble once again so a councilor decides to take them on a trip for two weeks to get away from the city. They end up in a small town and decide to walk away from shelter and end up in a creepy haunted castle with a strange man (Bela Lugosi) inside.

SPOOKS RUN WILD isn't a very good movie as it does very little "right" but at the same time I must admit that I watch it quite often because there's just something rather charming about it. Seeing The East Side Kids mix it up with Bela Lugosi should have made for a much better movie but it's obvious this was made on the cheap and very quickly. I'm sure most of the scenes here could have done better but they weren't really going for quality but instead something to get onto movie screens quick.

I think the greatest thing the film offers is Lugosi in a very colorful performance. I'm sure he was probably wondering why he had to appear in something like this but the actor still gave it his all and delivered a rather fun performance. Just check out the highlight of the picture when Lugosi goes to complete terror when a skeleton is coming after him. So much energy and passion can be seen here, which is something only Lugosi could deliver. The rest of the cast are good in their roles but there's no question that the screenplay didn't give them much to work with.

Again, SPOOKS RUN WILD is a pretty poor movie. The dialogue is rather weak and there's no question that there's not too much to the actual story. Still, if you're a fan of Lugosi then it's pretty much worth watching just for his performance alone.