KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED

KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED (1940). 12-chapter Republic serial. Directors: John English and William Witney. 

"I didn't expect a tea party when I joined the mounties." 

Sergeant Dave King (Allan Lane) of the Royal Canadian Mounties speeds into action when both his father (Herbert Rawlinson) and his girlfriend's father, Tom Merrritt, are murdered by bad guys. Merritt (Stanley Andrews) had hoped to use the new compound X to help cure infantile paralysis, but some foreign spies have more sinister purposes in mind. Lita Conway and Robert Kellard are Merritt's daughter and son, respectively, the latter of whom is a colleague of Dave King's. Richard Travis of The Man Who Came to Dinner and Missile to the Moon is another Mountie. Although the serial is at times quite rousing with plenty of fisticuffs, a major deficit is the lack of a great, intriguing villain. Memorable cliffhangers include an elaborate forest fire in chapter one; the lumber camp buzz saw in chapter three; and the train wreck in chapter five; among others. 

Verdict: Not special, but entertaining in spite of it. **1/2.