I first heard about "Ghosts on the Loose" while reading Lee Servers biography, "Ava Gardner: "Love is Nothing". Server described the film (which was Ava's first credited substantial role) as a rushed mess of a production. He continued to state that the picture garnered cult popularity in the 1940s because "teenage doofuses" would catch repeat viewings under the belief that Bela Lugosi blurted out the "s-word" while he sneezed during a scene. This, of course, was at a time when the Hay's code was in full effect and such transgressions were unheard of in the movie industry. So, in a gesture that would make any "teenage doofus" proud, I rushed to find the film and see the the shoddy swear-laced piece of cinema for myself (Having now seen the film, I agree with Server in believing that Lugosi, a man of Hungarian descent, simply said the Hungarian word for "Achoo!").
Bela Lugosi, in an odd comedic turn, plays a Nazi sympathizer who hides his fascist propaganda in the cellar of a house that a group of bonehead teenagers (East Side Kids) were cleaning up for two newlyweds (Gardner and Vallin). Yes, that is the entire summary of the plot in a single sentence.
The movie was a continuation of the "East Side Kids" series of films. They were a group of young adults who behaved like a lame blend between The Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello. This is not to say that I did not find them somewhat amusing. Although much of their comedy has aged worse than expired milk, I did chuckle at a few gags, and was kept mildly engaged and entertained throughout. Granted, a healthy portion of my amusement generated from the film's inferior quality.
The picture was certainly the harried mess Server claimed it was. Director William Beaudine (known famously as "One-Take" Beaudine) blew through the filming process at break-neck speed, completing it in just six days. The quality of this method of shooting is painfully apparent. He overuses the fade in a vain attempt to disguise is squalid style. In an early scene Leo Gorcey, the Moe-like stooge in the East Side Kids, dropped a piece of sheet music. As the camera cuts from and then back to him, he is seen with the sheet music magically back in hand. Blunders like this along with "One-Take's" choppy unimaginative filming can be seen throughout the film.
The only advantage to Beaudine's hasty shooting was that it didn't give Ava Gardner time to reflect on her nervousness ans self-consciousness. At this stage in her career, she was still a bit uncomfortable around the camera. Coming from the tobacco fields of North Carolina, she never really did much acting or performing until she signed with MGM. Unfortunately for Ava, her lack of experience sticks out like a black eye. Her performance, as on of the East Side Kid's soon-to-be-wed sister, was about as bland and stiff as a stack of plywood. In her defense the role was anything but ideal. Outside of fawn-eyed gazing at her leading man (Rick Vallin), she hardly had anything to do.
Fans of the East Side Kids may enjoy this cinematic blunder, but there is little for anyone else to like. But if you have a desire to see C-Movie filming quality, a very young (and undernoursihed) Ava Gardner sleep-walking through a role, Bela Lugosi sneezing a word that vaguely sounds like swearing, or the antics of the East Side Kids, then this film is for you!
Bela Lugosi, in an odd comedic turn, plays a Nazi sympathizer who hides his fascist propaganda in the cellar of a house that a group of bonehead teenagers (East Side Kids) were cleaning up for two newlyweds (Gardner and Vallin). Yes, that is the entire summary of the plot in a single sentence.
The movie was a continuation of the "East Side Kids" series of films. They were a group of young adults who behaved like a lame blend between The Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello. This is not to say that I did not find them somewhat amusing. Although much of their comedy has aged worse than expired milk, I did chuckle at a few gags, and was kept mildly engaged and entertained throughout. Granted, a healthy portion of my amusement generated from the film's inferior quality.
The picture was certainly the harried mess Server claimed it was. Director William Beaudine (known famously as "One-Take" Beaudine) blew through the filming process at break-neck speed, completing it in just six days. The quality of this method of shooting is painfully apparent. He overuses the fade in a vain attempt to disguise is squalid style. In an early scene Leo Gorcey, the Moe-like stooge in the East Side Kids, dropped a piece of sheet music. As the camera cuts from and then back to him, he is seen with the sheet music magically back in hand. Blunders like this along with "One-Take's" choppy unimaginative filming can be seen throughout the film.
The only advantage to Beaudine's hasty shooting was that it didn't give Ava Gardner time to reflect on her nervousness ans self-consciousness. At this stage in her career, she was still a bit uncomfortable around the camera. Coming from the tobacco fields of North Carolina, she never really did much acting or performing until she signed with MGM. Unfortunately for Ava, her lack of experience sticks out like a black eye. Her performance, as on of the East Side Kid's soon-to-be-wed sister, was about as bland and stiff as a stack of plywood. In her defense the role was anything but ideal. Outside of fawn-eyed gazing at her leading man (Rick Vallin), she hardly had anything to do.
Fans of the East Side Kids may enjoy this cinematic blunder, but there is little for anyone else to like. But if you have a desire to see C-Movie filming quality, a very young (and undernoursihed) Ava Gardner sleep-walking through a role, Bela Lugosi sneezing a word that vaguely sounds like swearing, or the antics of the East Side Kids, then this film is for you!