Spooks Run Wild (1941)

The boys are sent to a mountain camp. Stranded in a small rural town, they hear about a "monster killer" roaming the countryside. At night, they sneak out. Peewee is shot by a grave-digger,... See full summary »

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

Carl Foreman (original story), Charles R. Marion (original story),

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bela Lugosi	...	Nardo
Leo Gorcey	...	Muggs
Bobby Jordan	...	Danny
Huntz Hall	...	Glimpy
Ernest Morrison	...	Scruno (as Sunshine Sammy Morrison)
Dave O'Brien	...	Jeff Dixon (as David O'Brien)
Dorothy Short	...	Linda Mason
David Gorcey	...	Peewee
Donald Haines	...	Skinny
Dennis Moore	...	Dr. Von Grosch
P.J. Kelly	...	Lem Harvey (as P.J. Kelley)
Angelo Rossitto	...	Luigi
Guy Wilkerson	...	Constable

Storyline

The boys are sent to a mountain camp. Stranded in a small rural town, they hear about a "monster killer" roaming the countryside. At night, they sneak out. Peewee is shot by a grave-digger, and they are forced to seek aid at an old mansion. The owner of the mansion (Lugosi), insists that the boys spend the night. After seeing PeeWee walk around the house in a trance, the boys decide that the man turned him into a zombie. They gang up on him and tie him up. The nurse at the boys camp (Dorothy Short) sets out to find the missing boys with Von Grosch (Dennis Moore), who has come to rid the town of the killer- or has he?

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Plot Keywords:

mansion | zombie | nurse | monster | gas station | 

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Genres:

Horror | Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghosts in the Night

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures, Banner Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Production notes indicate George Pembroke was cast as Dr. Von Grosch, but he was replaced by Dennis Moore.

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Quotes

Muggs: I don't like that guy's altitude, if he thinks I'm staying out here associating with the pigs and cows, he's crazy.

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Connections

Follows Boys of the City (1940)

User Reviews

Poor Bela. Reduced to THIS!

The East Side Kids vs. Bela Lugosi. The East Side Kids a group of "lovable and funny" juvenile delinquents are sent to a camp to help straighten them out. There also happens to be a killer roaming the country (called "The Monster") right near where the camp is. Around this time Bela with his companion (midget Angelo Rossitto) move into a spooky old house near the camp. The Kids end up in the house and strange things start to happen. Could Bela be the Monster?

Pathetic. There's no real story and things are never fully explained at the end. Lugosi gives this his all but there's nothing for the poor guy to work with. It's real sad to see him reduced to doing crap like this. The East Side Kids aren't as annoying as I thought they would be but none of their jokes are funny (I groaned aloud at a few of them). Nice to see Rossitto but there's no reason for him to be in this--he doesn't even have a word of dialogue! Running about 60 minutes this is at least an hour too long. Boring, senseless and unfunny.

I give it a 4 for Lugosi and some of the East Side Kids WERE kind of engaging.