''Spook Chasers'' is a 1957 horror/comedy film starring the comedy team of

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 195 ...

and

Robert Shayne Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adven ...

. The film was released on June 2, 1957 by Allied Artists and is the forty-fifth film in the series.

Plot

Café owner Mike Clancy is told by his doctor that he needs to take a rest in the mountains due to his asthma. A crooked real estate agent sells Mike an old house that once belonged to the widow of a gangster. Mike and the Bowery Boys head out to the house, and eventually find a large pile of money hidden inside. Pretty soon, old friends of the deceased gangster who once owned the house catch wind of the Boys' discovery, and decide to rob the place. To add to this madness, the Bowery Boys find the house to be supposedly inhabited by ghosts.

Cast

The Bowery Boys

Huntz Hall Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular "Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later " Bowery ...

as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones *

Stanley Clements Stanley Clements (born Stanislaw Klimowicz; July 16, 1926 – October 16, 1981) was an American actor and comedian, best known for portraying "Stash" in the East Side Kids film series, and group leader Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie in The Bowery ...

as Stanislaus 'Duke' Covelske *

David Gorcey David Gorcey (February 6, 1921 – October 23, 1984) was an American actor and the younger brother of actor Leo Gorcey. Gorcey is best known for portraying "Chuck Anderson" in Monogram Pictures' film series The Bowery Boys, and "Pee Wee" in i ...

as Charles 'Chuck' Anderson * Jimmy Murphy as Myron * Eddie LeRoy as Blinky

Remaining cast

Percy Helton Percy Alfred Helton (January 31, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was one of the most familiar faces and voices in Hollywood of the 1950s. Career A Manhattan native, Helton began acting ...

as Mike Clancy * Darlene Fields as Dolly Owens *

Peter Mamakos Peter Mamakos (December 14, 1918 – April 27, 2008) was an American film and television actor. Early life Mamakos was of Greek descent. Mamakos' father owned Pilgrim restaurants in New England. Mamakos was sent to California to scout lo ...

as Snap Sizzolo *

Ben Welden Ben Welden (born Benjamin Weinblatt; June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows. Early years Welden was born in Toledo, O ...

as Ziggie * Robert Shayne as Lt. Harris * William Henry as Harry Shelby * Robert Christopher as Ernie *

Pierre Watkin Pierre Frank Watkin (December 29, 1887 – February 3, 1960) was an American character actor best known for playing distinguished authority figures throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. He is best remembered for his roles of Mr. Skinner the b ...

as Dr. Moss * Audrey Conti as 1st Doll * Anne Fleming as 2nd Doll *

Bill Cassady William Cassady Sizemore (September 5, 1923 – September 15, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Dr. McCarty in the third and fourth season of the American western television series ''The Life and Legend of ...

as Photographer

Production

The film marks the first appearance of

, who plays the shopkeeper, Mike Clancy. It also marks the first appearance of Blinky, played by

Eddie LeRoy The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1 ...

, as a member of the gang. In addition, David Gorcey now reverts to using his real last name in the onscreen credits.

Home media

Warner Archives released the film on made-to-order

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in the United States as part of ''"The Bowery Boys, Volume Three"'' on October 1, 2013.

Critical reception

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

wrote, "yet another Bowery Boys crooks-posing-as-ghosts entry, with a surfeit of wheezy gags." ''Unseen Films'' noted, "on its own terms it's actually a fun little film."

References

External links

* * * * 1957 films 1957 horror films 1950s comedy horror films Allied Artists films American black-and-white films American comedy horror films Bowery Boys films Films directed by George Blair 1950s ghost films 1957 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{comedy-horror-film-stub