Smugglers' Cove

Smugglers' Cove (1948)

** (out of 4)

Terrance Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) is left a large mansion on a cliff overlooking the sea. Slip and the boys head out there to take a look not knowing that he's the wrong Terrance Mahoney and that there are some smuggler's working in the house. Number eleven in the series isn't at the bottom but it's no where near the top either. This is the first entry in the series that pretty much left me cold as there wasn't a single laugh to be found anywhere. That might make you think that the movie is a complete waste since this is a comedy after all but in fact I think the more dramatic moments work the best. The actual mystery of what's going on in the basement made for a good drama and director Beaudine actually handles it quite well. I thought he did a very good job at building up the mystery and making the drama work. So, why doesn't the film work better? Because the comedy is so poorly written that it really takes away from the drama. Sach (Huntz Hall) is so out of place here you can't help but wish they'd left him out like they did Louie. The comedy bits from the other players including Gorcey isn't anything special either and in the end we're left with a rather bland attempt at humor. What mild humor does work comes from Gabriel Dell who is once again playing the same character but with a different job. This time out he's playing a rather nerd-ish character who is constantly getting into trouble. I thought the actor did a good job with the role and helped keep the film moving at a decent pace.