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| FRONT: Noell Neill, Kane Richmond and Rick Vallin |
Kane Richmond stars as the comic strip sci fi hero in this disappointing serial from Columbia. In an early use of the teleportation that later become a major component of Star Trek, a scientist creates a dimensional doorway that manages to transmit people to the moon, where there appears to be a war between two sects. Brick is accompanied by his pal, Sandy (Rick Vallin). In a weird alliance, Earth gangsters join up with some of the moon aliens to try to get their hands on a weapon that can intercept and destroy missiles. In a couple of chapters, the boys wind up traveling through time and encounter pirates seeking treasure. In other words, this serial is all over the lot and never quite gets a handle on anything. Pierre Watkin is a professor and Linda Leighton [aka Linda Johnson] is the daughter who doesn't get much to do. Noel Neill shows up later in the serial as a gal involved with the aforementioned pirates. Serial Queen Carol Forman also doesn't get to do much in her few appearances as Queen Khana of the moon. There are a couple of decent cliffhangers: a fall off a cliff into lava in chapter four; and a batch of acid that spills and flows towards an unconscious Brick.
Verdict: Not one of the more memorable serials. **.
Isn't this the serial that 3 chapters were written independently by 3 different writers so not only no 2 are the same they're not even connected? Serials are great for insomnia because they go on for hours they're white noise & you can drift off without missing anything, going to have to try this 1 again...
ReplyDeleteI think with the better serials it can be disconcerting if you drift off because you suddenly realize you don't exactly know why the characters are doing what they're doing, even if it's simply the bag guys trying to get the secret formula from the good guys and vice versa. The best serials are lively enough to keep you awake.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I've been able to follow the plot of any serial ever, like most James Bond movies from Moore on. Like The Big Sleep, where NO ONE including the writer (& wasn't it Raymond Chandler?) could explain one of the murders - perfect sequel to Rosencrantz & Gildersleeve are dead, who killed Sean Regan?
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