Haunted House

Ok, I'm 75 and I like old movies. This is dead on the genre of black and white films made from about 1930 through somewhere around 1948 that were comedic but involved a murder mystery. The murderer stays in the shadows scattering clues around and the stars of the show slowly and painfully track him/her/them down. Naturally the authorities are in the way hampering the investigation and the stars are put in improbable danger which cannot come to pass because it would ruin the film.

Normally it takes two stars, male and female, who needle one another endlessly but must have one another to make the bust. In fact, as the film moves forward, they come to rely on each other more and more ending up hopelessly in love. They realize they love one another but can't admit it until the end of the movie, but sometimes never depending on the writers.

The Nancy Drew mysteries fit the mold, except for the getting together at the end. Nonetheless, the audience knows Nancy has picked her man and his chances of escape are nil; thus, they will get together, we trust, even though the movie ends without a romantic commitment.

Haunted House 1940 falls directly into this category of film, and I really like this one. It takes place in a small town and the chemistry between the two leads, Jones and Moran, is perfect. The title is off, no haunted house, but there is a murder and a lot of suspicious activity, and really nutty ideas from Jones about how to solve the crime. Naturally, Moran will do anything she requests almost without resistance. The result is constant trouble of a laughable nature. You will not bend over laughing, but there are a ton of laughs and humorous moments and funny situations all throughout the movie. This is a great feel good movie in every way. Nothing heavy, which I really like because I don't watch movies for life lessons or reminders about how hard life is.

Highly recommended. AD2.

Don't let the title of this scarce movie fool you. It's not a haunted house movie & it's not an "old dark house" type of movie. It's a simple murder mystery movie with teenage leads. They do spend about 5 of the movie's 70 minutes inside an old spooky house, but that's hardly enough to warrant naming this movie "Haunted House"! Not a bad movie, although a bit redundant. The acting is OK, there's a neat old hot rod, but it's neither juvenile enough to please that movie crowd, nor scary, nor mysterious enough to please those movie crowds. I rate it 5/10 (& that's being a bit generous).

Although the house concerned isn't haunted, it's merely the crime scene of a murder, young Jackie Moran who works in a small town newspaper is determined to find the killer and prove his worth to editor George Cleveland. He's also showing off for Cleveland's niece Marcia Mae Jones who's visiting from out of town.

For a cheap Monogram programmer it's not Gone With The Wind, but not all that bad either. Moran barks up a wrong tree at first, but eventually gets it right. Imagine having your grandmother being the alibi for your first suspect.

The murder turns out to be a cover-up for another crime. The victim was a wealthy widow and her killer is one whom she gave her trust. And a rather obvious choice.

Not a bad film, but not one to write home about.

A fun film produced to cash in on the popularity of mysteries that swept the late '30's / early '40's. Very well done for an obvious "low budget" b-film. "Want-to-be" reporter and editor's niece do their best to prove innocence of accused murderer. Much circumstantial evidence leads them down several wrong paths, causing frustration and chastizing from elders. Perserverance pays off as they finally convince the law of friend's innocence, surprising everyone with the guilt of the real culprit. Definitely worth viewing.

So 1940 wasn't only the year former Our Ganger Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison started playing Scruno in Monogram Pictures' East Side Kids movies, or that other former OG member Mary Kornman made her final picture for the same studio called On the Spot, it was also the year former OG director Robert F. McGowan made his final movies for the exact same studio. One of them was this one which starred Marcia Mae Jones-who previously appeared in McGowan's OG shorts Birthday Blues and Mush & Milk as well as with other former OG member Jackie Cooper in The Champ-and Jackie Moran. They are a couple of teens intent on getting an innocent man out of jail. McGowan provides some good humor as well as wonderful atmosphere concerning the title object which only appears near the end. So on that note, I recommend Haunted House. P.S. Another player familiar to OG fans is Clarence Wilson, who played a meanie in the series shorts, Shrimps for a Day and Little Sinner.