ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Sabah Hensley
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
utgard14
Fairly innocuous East Side Kids movie that's notable primarily for the presence of Bela Lugosi. Bela doesn't get much to do and appears to only be in this because of his name value. He doesn't seem to be taking the part seriously, either. This is also the first of several movies Bela did with dwarf Angelo Rossitto as his pointless sidekick.This is one of the movies that is often cited when people talk about the crap movies Bela did when Universal wasn't calling. Truth be told, it's not a bad movie. I actually enjoyed it. But then, I happen to be a fan of the Bowery Boys. Well, they're the East Side Kids here. They were the Dead End Kids first, then East Side Kids, then the Bowery Boys. I like them a lot, especially the movies they made during the Bowery years. They made some of the better movies Poverty Row studio Monogram put out. Obviously, as with all comedy teams, their style won't appeal to everybody. Spooks Run Wild isn't their best movie, and God knows it isn't Lugosi's, but it's an enjoyable way to pass an hour.
accidentaldays
1. When Bela Lugosi's character (Nardo) and his sidekick drive up to the filling station, and later, when the Professor Von Grosch drives up, the attendants is already reading a book about the Monster Killer (supposedly Lugosi) and the Professor who "has come to save us."2. When the Boy are whisked off the street to camp, none gets to even see his parents.3. Nardo's and Luigi's vanishing act at the cemetery is never explained. Was the cemetery caretaker tricked by illusion?4. Lugosi, when he arrives at the Billings Estate, had asked for directions there so it is assumed he had not been in the mansion before. Yet, he seems to know all the nooks and crannies of the house when Muggs and the kids arrive. Nardo was driving only a truck with caskets in them. Suddenly he is settled in. When Nardo and Luigi were in the cemetery, they saw Diana Billings headstone. "Diana Billings. Winter came after 18 "schort" summers," Nardo says. "She was beautiful." It is not explained if he knew Diana or how he came to occupy her former home. 5. When the kids disappear from camp and Jeff and Linda's cannot locate them, Jeff rushes into the camp office. One is sitting around and the other is at his desk reading a paper. Jeff announces there is no sign of the boys and he's going to town "and we'll probably need a search party," he says in an urgent way. The camp official just keeps on looking at the paper without flinching. "OK," he says and keeps on reading. Look, camp counselor, 6 of your kids are missing. What is so interesting in what you are reading?6. And after all the loose ends are tight up at the haunted Mansion and the search party and the kids and Lugosi are all sitting in the living room for an inpromptu magic act by Nardo, why is Margie the soda fountain girl there? What made her journey to that place of mayhem in the middle of the night?Wonderful movie. Twists and turns and soooo nonsensical. I love it!
Snow Leopard
Although this East Side Kids feature has its pluses and some good sequences, it probably could have been better. Having Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, and the rest of the gang being paired with Bela Lugosi is an intriguing thought, and it certainly seems as if it could have been the basis for a really entertaining movie. Perhaps the biggest letdown is simply that Lugosi never gets a lot to do, so that he does not really get the chance to become a part of things.The setup is kind of convoluted, and it takes a fair amount of time to get to the main action, which has the gang roaming around in an old abandoned mansion where Lugosi's character has just taken up residence. Long stretches of the movie are carried simply by the interplay among Muggs and the rest of the group as they explore, stumble around, and get lost in various situations, all the while wisecracking, ad-libbing, and playing with the props.As always, most of these antics are quite entertaining, but here the actual story is too negligible to sustain its end of things. A more carefully written story, and most importantly a better, less thankless role for Lugosi, could have made much better use of this unusual combination of talent.
dbborroughs
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.
