Spooks Run Wild

The East Side Kids run into a Dracula look-alike (Bela Lugosi) in a creepy old mansion.

The East Side Kids began as The Dead End Kids, the child stars of the Humphrey Bogart gangster picture Dead End. They proved popular, spinning off into several other films until a slightly altered version of the group, starred in Boys of the City, this time as The East Side Kids.

Spooks Run Wild is an East Side Kids movie, and thus your enjoyment level will depend largely on whether or not you like the kids’ shtick as Bela Lugosi’s role is really little more than an extended cameo. Unfortunately, while the kids aren’t totally without merit, their gags and adlibs miss far more than they hit.

Further it’s awkward, given Leo Gorcey’s age of 26, that the movie pigeonholes the kids as, well, kids. The script has them more interested in goofing around then chasing girls, writing in a useless character played by Dave O’Brien to play the romantic lead opposite Dorothy Short’s damsel in distress. This is most evident in the odd finale, where it’s Gorcey who saves the girl, but O’Brien who gets her.

While the film is certainly low budget, the sets do provide some nice atmosphere and the script has several nice nods to Lugosi’s memorable Dracula performance, though neither of which is enough to make Spooks Run Wild worth seeking out.

Thus, while fans of the East Side Kids should enjoy this formulaic series entry, but others should look elsewhere.