- Directed by: Phil Rosen
- Written by: Carl Foreman, Charles R. Marion, Jack Henley
- Stars: Bela Lugosi, Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 5 Minutes
- Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBfM31er-Lw
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Despite the title, there is a complete lack of spooks. There are endless quips and zany adventures as the gang encounters Bela Lugosi and his sinister sidekick. It’s actually really dated in the humor and everything else about it, and it doesn’t hold up much for entertainment.
Spoilery Synopsis
Six “Boys” get arrested. “We’re going to camp, not reform school.” They’re loaded on a bus and taken to a small town in the mountains. Three of the boys plan a jailbreak for that night, but first, they go to the soda shop. They hear a radio announcement warning about “The Monster Killer” who’s left a trail of three inhuman murders. Muggs, Danny, and Glimpy brags about eating monsters for breakfast.
Jeff and Linda are the “camp” chaperones, and they aren’t happy with the delinquents they’re stuck with. He’s studying to be a lawyer, and she’s a nurse. At the camp, night falls, and the boys hear howling outside. What if that killer guy is prowling around here.
A creepy man and a dwarf arrive in town with two caskets. Nardo (Lugosi) and Luigi are moving into the Billings Estate, where no one’s lived in ten years. Dr. Von Grosch comes to town, he’s here to catch the monster killer. Von Grosch wants to keep his arrival.
A man sees Nardo and Luigi in the woods and shoots at them, but they vanish. Muggs, Danny, and Glimp sneak off into the woods. They meet up with Scruno, Peewee, and Skinny out there. The man who shot at Nardo takes a shot at Peewee, but Peewee doesn’t vanish, he gets hit.
Peewee is hurt, so they drag him up to the house on the hill, looking for help. Luigi answers the door. The house is full of cobwebs and all the usual haunted house paraphernalia. Inside, Nardo reads about the “Monster Killer” in the newspaper.
Nardo looks Peewee over and offers to give him some medicine rather than call a doctor. Meanwhile, Jeff and Linda argue about whether or not it’s even worth looking for the six missing kids. Back in town, the mayor and sheriff talk about catching the killer, which isn’t going to be easy.
Nardo shows the boys to rooms where they can spend the night while they wait for Peewee to recover. Scruno stays with Peewee to watch him, but Peewee looks dead. Peewee wakes up and walks out, looking like a zombie now. Muggs and the others come to the conclusion that Nardo is a vampire. Scruno tells the others about Peewee becoming a zombie; Nardo says he has no idea what happened to Peewee.
Jeff goes to the sheriff and hears about Peewee getting shot and going to the old Billings house, where the killer is rumored to be staying.
There are some hijinks as the boys explore the haunted house. There’s lots of running around, secret doors, and Bela Lugosi leering evilly.
Outside, Dr. Von Grosch picks up Linda and heads up to the house.
Nardo and Luigi encounter the Monster in the hallway. Nardo says the ghost has made a mistake and then falls down the stairs. The ghost is really three kids in a trench coat with a skull on top. They soon find Peewee back in his bed, feeling much better now.
Dr. Von Grosch and Linda enter the house, and he suddenly turns creepy. Yes, he’s the killer, and has been all along.
The police break in, and Muggs explains that Nardo’s really a good guy and they’ve all made friends. Nardo and Luigi are magicians, here to perfect their act. They all hear Linda screaming and run upstairs. The cops and Von Grosch shoot through a door, but then Muggs sneaks in through the skylight and distracts the killer while Linda lets in the good guys.
After everything settles down, Nardo gives a magic show for the gang and makes Linda disappear. They all have a final laugh at Mugg’s expense.
Brian’s Commentary
Some of the “boys” looked to be about thirty years old, but that’s still a common thing today. They were first advertised as the “Dead End Kids” in seven films, later the “East Side Kids” for 21 films, and eventually became “The Bowery Boys,” for 41 films. That’s a lot of movies for some guys who aren’t the least bit funny today.
Lugosi and his “mini-me” sidekick are fun. Angelo Rossitto, as Luigi, doesn’t say anything here, but he played dwarves and midgets in over a hundred movies and TV shows over a very long career.
We kept waiting for the spooks to run wild, or even walk slowly, but there were no spooks. It’s only an hour long, but it’s not funny, not scary, and not particularly entertaining.
Kevin’s Commentary
It’s pretty obvious the hijinks in this inspired “Scooby Doo” later on. It was short but still managed to drag and seem too long. The humor and script are very dated. It was kind of interesting in a historical archive sort of way, but that’s about it.