Movie Review: Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)

Synopsis: A group of car-loving teenagers are facing eviction from their clubhouse and because of an unfair belief they are just delinquents, can't find anybody else willing to provide them with a space. This changes when the elderly Anastasia Abernathy offers them her home. There's just one condition, it's haunted and they need to chase away the ghost.

Who's in it? The movie stars Jody Fair, Russ Bender, Elaine DuPont, Leon Tyler and Dorothy Neumann.

Review: When I saw Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow described as a horror movie on ScreenPix last night, I suspected the description was wrong, based mostly on the movie's artwork. However, figuring it would be a comedy, not unlike The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, I figured I'd give it a try this morning.

As it turns out, it was something I truly wasn't expecting, and I'm still undecided if that was a good thing or not.

This film, which I think was geared toward teenagers, does have some moments. I especially like how the movie went out of its way to debunk the whole "all teenagers are delinquents" stereotype while having some profound opinions on the subject. Included in the latter were things like teenagers who stay busy with hobbies don't get into trouble and kids feel the need to grow up faster because they feel like the world is going to end.

Also, while I would have a hard time telling you all their names without looking it up, the film does have some interesting characters. This includes Lois (Fair), who is as obsessed with cars as most teenage girls are obsessed with boys (at least in the movies) and her father (Kirby Smith), a character I found I could relate to as he tried to come to grips with his daughter growing up.

The thing about this movie though is for a film about cars and ghosts, there isn't a whole lot of either. Instead, this 65-minute-long film has time for a dance party, another dance party followed by a sleepover (which also has dancing), a third dance party with costumes, plenty of parrot jokes and a very random guest cameo by Hollywood special effects creator Paul Blaisdell as himself dressed as one of his monsters.

The movie spends so much time of those things, in fact, the main showdown between Lois and her rival, Nita (Nancy Anderson) takes place off screen in between scenes at the costume dance party. That was disappointing. How often do movies feature two women settling a score by dueling it out in a drag race?

Final Opinion: This is a somewhat goofy movie that doesn't even get to the haunted house part of the plot until 40 minutes into its 65-minute runtime. However, I also didn't hate it because in between the dance parties, parrot jokes and random cameos, it did tell an entertaining story. It's worth watching if you have a chance.

My Grade: B-

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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1959:

Movie Review: The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

Movie Review: The Atomic Submarine (1959)

Movie Review: Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)