Ghosts on the Loose

The East Side Kids had locked horns with Bela Lugosi in 1941's Spooks Run Wild.It made money, so Monogram paired the Hungarian and the kids again in 1943, resulting in Ghosts On The Loose.

Huntz Hall decides to redecorate his sister's honeymoon cottage as wedding present, but the boys end up at the creepy old house next door -- which just so happens to be occupied by Nazi spies.Subtle it ain't.

In a truly inspired bit of casting, Ava Gardner has an early role as Hall's sister!(Huntz must've gotten the dregs of the gene pool.)Lugosi Emil, one of the Nazis, naturally. And Leo Gorcey and the other East Side Kids are up to their typical slaptick nonsense.They were just a few years away from becoming the Bowery Boys.They'd make almost 50 pictures under that name.

In charge of all this foolishness was director William "One Shot" Beaudine (no relationship to Jethro).Beginning his career in the silent days with Tom Mix and others, he'd make scores of movies over a span of 60-plus years. His credits include The Ape Man (1943) with Lugosi and Billy The Kid Vs. Dracula (1966).