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Greetings, and welcome to VIEWING THE CLASSICS. Here you'll find capsule reviews of vintage movies from the early days of cinema through the 1970s, with a special emphasis on sci-fi, horror, and mystery movies. Be sure to check out the Pages links, where you can find a Film Index of all my reviews, links to the reviews organized by cast members, directors, and other contributors, and links to my reviews of the films of talented young director Joshua Kennedy.

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Sunday, March 13, 2016

Spook Busters (1946)

Starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Douglass Dumbrille, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell
Directed by William Beaudine
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The Bowery Boys start their own pest extermination company, and their first job is a haunted house, which unbeknownst to the boys is the secret lair of a mad scientist.

Although the environment for this Bowery Boys picture is a supposedly haunted house, there's not a ghost in evidence, just a spooky old estate on the grounds of a cemetery.  Nevertheless, there's still secret passages, lights that mysteriously turn on and off, and a savage gorilla in the basement, providing several "old dark house" elements for Gorcey, Hall, and the rest to play off of.  The guest cast is somewhat unusual for a Bowery Boys picture with some quality character actors including Dumbrille as the mad scientist and Charles Middleton and Richard Alexander of the Flash Gordon serials playing his henchmen.  Fans of the series will not be disappointed, and those new to the Bowery Boys will find some entertainment value on a low budget.

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