Ghosts on the Loose

Ghosts on the Loose is an East Side Kids movie costarring Bela Lugosi. I've never heard of the East Side Kids before myself (ask me about Hammer horror and Vincent Price rather than old comedy troupes), but when I looked up this title I saw several releases revolving around the group including a DVD box set.

As you might guess from the “ghosts” part of this title we're getting a suspense comedy this go 'round. Their pal is getting married (to Ava Gardner no less). When the couple goes on their honeymoon the boys decide to help them out by secretly going over to their new house and fixing it up for them. Only they get the wrong address and end up at the “haunted” house next door.

The house isn't haunted at all but rather the lair of some people who are up to no good. They like people thinking the house is haunted, but when the truth starts coming out the boys accidentally frame their buddy for treason. When the cops start snooping around it's a mad dash to get the evidence back in the right place, but the real criminals will not be so easily caught.

It's an odd story, but it works in a goofy sort of way. I wouldn't call it all that suspenseful, but I found it entertaining. It didn't come across as a laugh a minute with me, but I did find it amusing. I guess I can live with a pseudo-haunted house, though I would have preferred some real ghosts.

The guys in the kids troupe have personality. They aren't all necessarily the best actors, but they certainly aren't forgettable. Ava is great even though her part is relatively small. In an unusual twist of cinema it is Bela Lugosi who is outshone on the screen. His part feels rather bland. That is certainly an exception to the norm.

Some of the comedy comes with the kids practicing a song they sing at the wedding ceremony. This goes on too long and causes the beginning to drag a lot.

I think it's campily amusing how quick cops in these old movies are to arrest innocent people at the drop of a hat. “Oh, you've got a loose connection with this out-of-place circumstantial evidence, you're going downtown to spend the rest of your life in a jail cell, pal.” Then again this never tries to be a serious mystery, it's all for laughs.

MORALITY:

Like most old black and white movies there is little of question in this. There is no violence really at all that I can recall. There's no sex or nudity.

There are a couple of practically indistinct strong words.

The spooking is mild so I would say this probably an OK movie even for younger viewers.

SPIRITUALITY:

As I've said already, there are no actual ghosts here. In fact, there's nothing supernatural at all. Oh well.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I guess I might consider this a “cute” film. It's amusing even if it's not tremendously funny or particularly suspenseful. Check it out if you like old black-and-white spook comedies.

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