Smugglers' Cove

You know there has to be a mistake when Leo Gorcey inherits a spooky Long Island mansion. Spooky mansions only mean one thing in movies, that there is villainy afoot. Otherwise why would you have trap doors, hidden rooms and the like built into your home.

The place is actually owned by another Terrence Aloysius Mahoney if you think the world is ready for another one. This one is played by Paul Harvey who has a command of the English language, but is a rather tired and put upon individual who also visits his Long Island home where caretaker Eddie Gribbon has allowed a group of smugglers headed by Martin Kosleck to operate.

Harvey and the Bowery Boys come separately on the same night, Harvey to visit his house and Gorcey and the gang to claim it. After that it's the usual group of gags that occur in every haunted house picture.

Smuggler's Cove is a pretty good Bowery Boys film, but I personally prefer Hold That Ghost where Abbott&Costello did so much more with the haunted house genre.

Smugglers' Cove (1948)

** (out of 4)

Terrance Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) is left a large mansion on a cliff overlooking the sea. Slip and the boys head out there to take a look not knowing that he's the wrong Terrance Mahoney and that there are some smuggler's working in the house. Number eleven in the series isn't at the bottom but it's no where near the top either. This is the first entry in the series that pretty much left me cold as there wasn't a single laugh to be found anywhere. That might make you think that the movie is a complete waste since this is a comedy after all but in fact I think the more dramatic moments work the best. The actual mystery of what's going on in the basement made for a good drama and director Beaudine actually handles it quite well. I thought he did a very good job at building up the mystery and making the drama work. So, why doesn't the film work better? Because the comedy is so poorly written that it really takes away from the drama. Sach (Huntz Hall) is so out of place here you can't help but wish they'd left him out like they did Louie. The comedy bits from the other players including Gorcey isn't anything special either and in the end we're left with a rather bland attempt at humor. What mild humor does work comes from Gabriel Dell who is once again playing the same character but with a different job. This time out he's playing a rather nerd-ish character who is constantly getting into trouble. I thought the actor did a good job with the role and helped keep the film moving at a decent pace.

Terrence Mahoney--wrong one

"Smuggler's Cove" is a pretty standard Bowery Boys film, though with less antisocial behavior than usual! The film begins with Slap and Sach working at a building doing janitorial work. As usual, Slap doesn't do much of the work and is mostly there to 'supervise'. Soon a messenger brings a note for Terrence Mahoney (Sach's real given name) and he assumes it's for him...though they also happen to be in the office for a difference Terrence Mahoney...the REAL recipient of the letter. Sach reads it and it says he's the heir to a mansion...and even though all his relatives are apparently poor slobs and he's never heard of this family member, he automatically assumes it's meant to be. After all, Sach is, as usual, a bit of an idiot.

Unfortunately, when Sach and the gang arrive at the place, they don't realize that a gang of smugglers are using the place. What's worse, the OTHER Terrence Mahoney soon shows up and the usual hilarity (?) occurs. Oddly, however, the ending comes awfully easily and abruptly between the two Terrences. Overall, it's the usual undemanding time-passer you'd expect. Nothing brilliant but considering it's from Monogram pictures, this isn't a bad thing.

Maybe the greatest Bowery Boy pic ever, right up there with Ghost Chasers & Spook Busters. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict & Gabriel Dell join in the hijinks when Slip (Leo) mistakingly believes he inherits a mansion on the Sea Coast in Bayshore Long Island. Although he isn't the true owner of the house the Bowery Boys end up taking over the house & make it their own, only to discover that Diamond Smugglers are using the Mansion as their drop off point.

Well enough on the plot, the best parts of this movie are the Boys destroying the English language at every turn & battling the bad guys into submission. The caretaker, played by the GREAT EDDIE GRIBBON, has a great name that Satch (Huntz) messes up, his name is DIGGER, but Satch calls him SHOVELER... Satch & Whitey (Billy Benedict) have some great performance as Satch says...Whitey, Whitey, Whitey..., see this film, it's GREAT!

Another fun Bowery Boys picture from Monogram, the eleventh in the series. This one has Slip Mahoney mistakenly believing he's inherited a fortune from a wealthy uncle. So he packs up the Boys and heads to a secluded mansion to collect, only to get involved with smugglers. As usual with the series, it's a simple story but full of laughs. Leo Gorcey's malapropisms and Huntz Hall's rubberfacing buffoonery are on full display. The other Boys (William Benedict, Gabriel Dell, David Gorcey, and Bennie Bartlett) are all enjoyable. One of the best scenes in the picture has Slip taking inventory of the items he thinks he's inherited ("One baby piano, one mahogany coffee table -- twenty dollars for the both of 'em!"). No Louie the Sweet Shop owner in this one, unfortunately. Martin Kosleck makes for a fine villain. He had enough practice, playing a lot of villains throughout the '40s (usually Nazis). After this, he wouldn't appear in another movie for eight years. Paul Harvey is a treat as the other Terence Mahoney (yes, there is apparently more than one in the world). Amelita Ward provides the pretty. She would go on to marry co-star Leo Gorcey (it did not last happily ever after). Between the Boy's hijinks and a few 'old dark house' elements, this is an entertaining entry in the series. Not the best but far from the worst.