East Side Kids - Spooks Run Wild (1941)

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In their first of two Monogram spook comedies, the East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi square off in yet another haunted house. On their way to summer camp, the malapropism dependant East Siders are warned of a "monster killer" loose in the area, and, sure enough, almost immediately encounter Nardo… More In their first of two Monogram spook comedies, the East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi square off in yet another haunted house. On their way to summer camp, the malapropism dependant East Siders are warned of a "monster killer" loose in the area, and, sure enough, almost immediately encounter Nardo (Lugosi) and his weird little helper Luigi (Angelo Rossitto). Nardo does very little to repudiate the Kids' impression of him as a vampire (the Kids say "vulture" lest Monogram should get in trouble with Universal, who held the rights to Dracula), but is he really the monster killer? Perhaps Doctor Von Grosch (Dennis Moore) knows, the famed mystery writer and "monster hunter" having arrived like clockwork at the creepy Billings mansion with camp nurse Linda Mason (Dorothy Short) in tow. Although Peewee (David Gorcey) is at one point feared to have become the victim of the "vulture," the smart aleck turns up safe and sound, and Muggs (Leo Gorcey) and the Kids decide to trap the killer. And so they do, ably assisted by young attorney Jeff Dixon (Dave O'Brien), who, for reasons not immediately clear, has a vested interest in the well being of the East Side Kids. O'Brien and leading lady Dorothy Short were married in real life. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 4 min.
Directed By: Phil Rosen
Genres: Horror, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 24, 1941 Wide
On DVD: Jun 4, 2002
Studio: Acme DVD Works

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The only real horror is in how unfunny is the juvenile comedy.

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Anthony L

Spooks run wild is an odd one. Cashing in on the comedy horror films that Abbott and Costello were doing at the time, it was to appeal to a younger audience but apart from the obvious coup of bagging Bela Lugosi, the script was much better than many of A&C films and I found it a… More
Spooks run wild is an odd one. Cashing in on the comedy horror films that Abbott and Costello were doing at the time, it was to appeal to a younger audience but apart from the obvious coup of bagging Bela Lugosi, the script was much better than many of A&C films and I found it a little funnier. The East Side Kids made it what it is, wise-cracking young NY hooligans with silver tongues, most of them were quite funny - certainly outshining Lugosi. It also stars a young Leo Gorcey, a personal favourite of mine from old Hollywood - he made it worth watching alone.