TIP OFF GIRLS

The cast of "Tip Off Girls"

TIP OFF GIRLS (1938). Director: Louis King. 

Joseph Valkus (J. Carrol Naish) is head of a criminal outfit that hijacks trucks. He uses a hard-boiled gal named Rena (Evelyn Brent of Holt of the Secret Service) to snare drivers on the road and in coffee shops, then -- boom! Valkus' secretary, Marjorie (Mary Carlisle), is at first unaware of what's going on, but later works with undercover agent Bob Anders (Lloyd Nolan) to trip up the gang. Working for Valkus are Red Deegan (Buster Crabbe of King of the Congo), Tom Benson (Roscoe Karns) and chief enforcer, Marty (Anthony Quinn). Tip Off Girls certainly has an interesting and adept cast and is fast-paced and reasonably snappy. The plot seems strictly poverty row, but this was actually released by Paramount. Or course Pierre Watkin is in the cast -- as he seems to be in every other movie ever made -- and is as utterly forgettable as ever. Anthony Quinn makes an effective tough guy but you wouldn't necessarily have suspected that much bigger things were in store for him in only a few years.

Verdict: Not bad little melodrama. **12/

SWAMP FIRE

SWAMP FIRE (1946). Director: William H. Pine.

The teaming of Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe as adversaries who come to blows is the chief selling point of this pot-boiler. Although Weissmuller is top-billed, probably because of his Tarzan films, the main character is actually played by Crabbe. Mike Kalavich (Crabbe) returns from  the war and back to the Louisiana bayou, where a lack of confidence interferes with his ability as a pilot to safely guide ships through the Mississippi river. People think he's lost his nerve when he makes a decision that costs him his cargo, but not human lives. Meanwhile Johnny Duval (Weissmuller) returns from combat duty to his home on the Delta and eventually comes into conflict with Mike. Mike, who joins the Coast Guard, is involved with Toni (Carol Thurston) but a spoiled heiress named Janet (Virginia Grey) has set her cap for Mike; she and Toni have a lively bitch-slap session and a hair-pulling match that is probably the highlight of the picture. Crabbe isn't bad in this, but as expected, the best performance comes from the always-vital Virginia Grey [Another Thin Man] . Pierre Watkin is also in the cast as Grey's father, but then Watkin seems to have been in virtually every other movie ever made and is competent but little else in all of them. Weissmuller and Crabbe also appeared together in the "Jungle Jim" film, Captive Girl.

Verdict: Two Tarzans and Olympic swimming champs face off but the results are less than spectacular. **1/2.

DRUMS OF AFRICA

Flash Gordon and Ming: Buster Crabbe and Charles Middleton

DRUMS OF AFRICA (aka Jungle Man/1941). Director: Harry Fraser.

William Graham (Paul Scott) comes to Africa with his daughter, Betty (Sheila Darcy of Irish Luck). William hopes to find the ruins of a lost city, while Betty is intrigued by Robert Hammond (Buster Crabbe), a doctor whom the natives call "Junga" (he does not, however, run around in a loincloth like Tarzan or Thun'da). Betty also has a fiance named Bruce (Weldon Hayburn), who is accompanying her father on his search for the "City of the Dead." Hammond is hoping to develop and mass produce a serum that can counteract a fever that threatens to break out and kill many people. Hammond is a friend of Betty's uncle, the "reverend" Jim Graham (Charles Middleton), who has a pet tiger he calls "Satan." The chief fun of Drums of Africa is in seeing "Flash Gordon" and his hated adversary "Ming the Merciless" cast as good friends [see photo]. The lost city is interesting-looking, and there's lots of shots of assorted wild life. The picture is basically a mish mosh, thrown together with lots of stock footage, but somehow it holds the attention and it's always great to see Middleton, even if his talents are greatly under-utilized in this. Vince Barnett makes an impression as the ill-fated guide, "Buckthorne." From Pictorial Films.

Verdict: Back lot jungle adventure is cheap but entertaining. **1/2.

KING OF THE CONGO

Buster Crabbe

KING OF THE CONGO (15 chapter Columbia serial/1952). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet and Wallace Grissell. 

Air Force captain Roger Drum (Buster Crabbe) is to complete a flight to South Africa under the identity of a spy who is to make contact with a subversive "mystery group." Drum crashes, and for a while has no idea who he is, but at first the "reds" see him as their comrade. Since Drum is able to peal a sacred gong he is heralded by the primitive, all-white "rock people" as the heroic "Thun'da," and runs around in a loincloth. Drum/Thun'da first appeared in a brief comic book series -- sub-titled "King of the Congo" -- before Columbia turned it into a minor serial with highly familiar elements. In addition to those nasty reds, who are after a radioactive mineral, there is a group of Cavemen ruled by the corpulent if powerful Kor (Rusty Wescoatt). There is a native princess named Pha (Gloria Dea) and a High Priest (William Fawcett) who wears a long, silly wig and can witness future events in his crystal ball! There's also a cute chimp who acts like Cheetah at times but is never given a name. There's a comical scene when henchman Andreov (Rick Vallin) is "tortured" by a lamp and headphones playing jazz! The best cliffhanger has Thun'da trapped in quicksand while nasty natives keep chucking spears at him and try to push a log away before he can grab hold of it and save himself. Crabbe has dark hair for this picture.

Verdict: Not one of the more memorable Columbia serials and Crabbe's last. **.

FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE

The wonderful Charles Middleton as Ming the Merciless

FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE (12 chapter Universal serial/1940). Directors: Ford Beebe; Ray Taylor.

The third and final Flash Gordon serial has a plague striking earth, leaving purple spots on victims' foreheads. This is caused by Ming (Charles Middleton) the Merciless' "death dust," which Flash (Buster Crabbe)  and his allies, Dale (Carol Hughes) and Zarkov (Frank Shannon), must stop or else. A cure for the death dust is Polarite, which can be found in the frozen kingdom of Frigia on Mongo. Flash has a few allies in the form of Queen Fria (Luli Deste of The Case of the Black Parrot) of Frigia; Prince Barin (Roland Drew of The Invisible Killer) of the medieval kingdom of Arboria; and Ming's daughter, Princess Aura (Shirley Deane). Aura has a handmaiden named Sonja (Anne Gwynne), who is secretly in league with the bad guys -- she and Dale have a "cat fight" in chapter ten. There are some decent cliffhangers, such as Flash falling into a bottomless pit in chapter one; an avalanche in chapter two; and the electrical ray in chapter four. We see more of Mongo's delightful giant lizards, one of whom snacks on a soldier (off-screen) in Ming's army. Crabbe and Shannon could have acted their parts in their sleep by now; Hughes [Meet the Boyfriend] is perhaps not as glamorous as Jean Rogers  but she's spunky enough. Byron Foulger, Roy Barcroft, Tom Steele, and Donald Curtis are also in the cast.

Verdict: Flash Gordon's last gasp, and not a moment too soon. **.

FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS

Kane Richmond and Buster Crabbe

FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (15 chapter Universal serial/1938). Directors: Ford Beebe; Robert F. Hill

When destructive winds buffet the earth causing mass disaster, Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe) heads to Mongo with Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon) and Dale Arden (Jean Rogers), but they discover that a deadly ray is trained on earth from Mars. On Mars, Flash discovers that old adversary Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton) has joined forces with Azura, Queen of Magic (Beatrice Roberts) -- known as "Her Magnificence" -- who is fond of turning anyone who displeases her into living clay. Flash and company take quite a while, nearly the entire serial, to finally turn off that ray, but along the way we see interesting sets, bridges made out of solid light, cloaks that allow people to fly through the air, and an underground tube through which Flash races in a speedy vehicle. Trick photography, as it used to be called, makes the clay people seem to come out of walls made of the same material (these sequences remind one of the rock people in the later Missile to the Moon) and there's a group of Forest People who are even more threatening. The cliffhangers aren't particularly special in this serial, although there is a disintegrater room sequence in chapter nine. With her hair short and brunette instead of long and blond, Jean Rogers is less of a sex object and comes off braver and more competent than in the original serial, but she doesn't look as hot. Beatrice Roberts [Love Takes Flight] is only acceptable as Azura, but Middleton again steals the show as the marvelous Ming. Flash is such a gentleman that at one point he actually apologizes to Ming: "I'm sorry I have to rough you up, Ming." Huh? Crabbe seems a little bored at times. Jack Mulhall, Anthony Warde and future Spy Smasher Kane Richmond [Haunted Harbor] are also in the cast, with Richmond playing an enemy soldier.

Verdict: Hearty hokum. **1/2.

FLASH GORDON

The "lobster-clawed dragon" has Flash in its clutches

FLASH GORDON (13 chapter Universal serial/1936). Director: Frederick Stephani.

In this serial based on the Alex Raymond "cartoon strip," the earth is threatened by another planet rushing toward it on a path to destruction. Flying to this planet, Mongo, with Professor Zarkov (Frank Shannon) and lovely Dale Arden (Jean Rogers of The Second Woman), Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe) encounters Emperor Ming (Charles Middleton of The Town Went Wild) and his horny daughter, Aura (Priscilla Lawson). The original menace of two planets colliding is solved right off the bat, but now Flash and his friends have to deal with a variety of friendly and not-so-friendly Mongo inhabitants, as well as giant, man-eating lizards and a terrible fire dragon with lobster-like claws. Ming is also determined to make Dale his bride, while Aura is equally smitten with Flash and hates Dale, whom he prefers. Prince Thun (James Pierce) is king of the lion men while the obese King Vultan (Jack "Tiny" Lipson) rules the winged Hawkmen. (One can't imagine how Vultan would ever be able to get off the ground!) Flabby-armed and pot-bellied Prince Barin (Richard Alexander) claims to be the rightful ruler of Mongo. An "octosac" is merely an octopus that battles a shark (in footage later used in The Beast from 20,00 Fathoms and probably dozens of other films). There are some exciting scenes and death traps in the serial, such as a electric torture device in chapter six, a tank that fills with water and then an octosac; and a splendid, lengthy sword fight between Flash and Barin in chapter eight. The dragon does double-duty, first appearing in chapter two before becoming a fire-breathing variation in a later chapter. It's interesting that the flying ships of Mongo greatly resemble the design of Arkov's own spaceship, but why on earth does the scientist wear hot pants throughout the serial! The acting is more than acceptable, with Crabbe quite good in fact, and Middleton wisely underplaying instead of chewing the scenery as a lesser actor might do. There are interesting sets and some creative art direction, but some of the supporting players may have you scratching your head All told, however, Flash Gordon, despite its variable pleasures, is not that great a serial.

Verdict: A generally fast pace helps put the absurd material over and much of it is fun. **1/2.

CAPTIVE GIRL

Skipper the dog and Tamba the chimp

CAPTIVE GIRL (1950). Director: William Berke.

In this third Jungle Jim movie, our hero (Johnny Weissmuller) crosses figurative swords with another former Tarzan, Buster Crabbe [The Sea Hound], this time playing an evil treasure hunter, Barton. Jim also has to deal with a female Bomba, a young lady named Joan (Anita Lhoest), who has been living on her own in the jungle since the murder of her parents, becoming a blonde goddess known as "the wild girl of Lake Bekonchi." Jim not only has to track the gal down -- she has a tiger for a pet -- but save her and others from the evil medicine man, Hakim (John Dehner of Please Murder Me), who wants to kill Chief Mahala (Rick Vallin of Escort Girl) so he can take over the tribe. The climax takes place at the sinister Lagoon of the Dead, where maidens have been sacrificed and skeletons and gems lay about the lake's bottom. While this is not quite as good as it sounds, I must admit that Captive Girl is peculiarly entertaining, much of this having to do with the animal antics of Jim's dog Skipper, his chimp Tamba, and even the crow [or raven] called Koko. Tamba and Skipper are a real cute duo, always cuddling and playing with each other ( in fact, one could say that they are better actors than most of the humans). An extremely bizarre sequence late in the movie has a huge horde of angry monkeys attacking Hakim and his men, presumably called upon by Tamba to do so. Even stranger is the sight of wild tigers in Africa! Padded with entertaining stock footage that sometimes blends in smoothly with the new scenes and sometimes doesn't.

Verdict: Seriously weird at times but strangely compelling. **1/2.

SHE HAD TO CHOOSE

Isabel Jewell and Regis Toomey

SHE HAD TO CHOOSE (1934). Director: Ralph Ceder.

Sally Bates (Isabel Jewell) makes her way to Hollywood and a hopefully better life, but would have wound up sleeping in her car were it not for the kindness of Bill Cutler (Buster Crabbe), who runs a food stand with his mother (Maidel Turner of State of the Union). Bill develops feelings for Sally, although he already has a girlfriend in wealthy, snooty Clara (Sally Blane). However he has a rival for Sally's affections in Jack Berry (Regis Toomey of Shopworn), who loves to drink and party. In the meantime, Bill's mother turns out not to be quite as nice as she at first seems. Jewell [The Seventh Victim] is an appealing performer, the other cast members are fine, but She Had to Choose becomes increasingly ridiculous and melodramatic. The funniest scene -- intended to be dramatic -- is when Sally rips off a dress she is wearing [unbeknownst to her it belongs to Clara] after an altercation and runs out of a nightclub in her slip. And things get more ridiculous after that! One assumes the title has to do with which man Sally will choose, as she really isn't given any other "choices" in the movie.

Verdict: Don't choose this movie. *1/2.

PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS

PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS (15 chapter Columbia serial/1950). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Thomas Carr. 

On the paradise island of Talua in the south pacific post-WW 2, Kelly Walsh (Tommy Farrell) is bedeviled by the crew of a "phantom cruiser" that shoots at his boat and then disappears into thin air. Said cruiser has the ability to dive underwater while retaining the outward appearance of a boat instead of a submarine [this ability is so under-utilized that it's a wonder the serial even bothers with it.]. Kelly sends for his old Army buddy Jeff (Buster Crabbe), who has no interest in returning to the south pacific but suddenly finds himself besieged by passengers who must get to Talua, including Kelly's pretty blond sister, Carol (Lois Hall); Whitlock (Gene Roth), who turns out to be the governor of the island; and Castell (Tristram Coffin of King of the Rocket Men), an agent who is after a Nazi war criminal named Van Horsdorff who has hidden away millions of dollars worth of diamonds somewhere in the vicinity of Talua. The clue to the location of the diamonds may be inside a music box that plays "Three Blind Mice." It is revealed early on that Whitlock is corrupt, to put it mildly, and has some nasty confederates, especially Shark, captain of the phantom cruiser, who as portrayed by Marshall Reed with two day's growth of beard is one of the sexiest sociopaths to ever appear in a serial. Handsome Shark thinks nothing of gunning down associates with impunity before they can impart important information to the good guys. There are a couple of memorable cliffhangers, such as when a heavy stone block comes crashing down on a coffin inside which Jeff is hiding; and a great bit when Jeff battles a hood on a flat piece of wall that has just been torn off the side of the jail and is being dragged behind a speeding truck as it careens toward a cliff. Most of the characters in this, even some of the good guys, are rather shady and duplicitous, including Lamar (Stanley Price), Whitlock's secretary, and the Lotus Lady (Symona Boniface), who runs the general store and whose loyalties are ambiguous. Pirates of the High Seas may not be one of the classic serials, but it is entertaining if overlong at nearly four and a half hours. Crabbe may be a bit paunchy and middle-aged in this but he still delivers the goods, and the other cast members are generally equally adept.

Verdict: Worth a trip on the Phantom Cruiser. ***.

THE SEA HOUND

Buster Crabbe as Captain Silver

THE SEA HOUND: Daredevil Adventures of Captain Silver (15 chapter Columbia serial/1947). Directed by Walter B. Eason and Mack Wright.

Captain Silver (Buster Crabbe), who appeared both on the radio and in comic books, sails into adventure on his boat the Sea Hound, along with his pals Tex (Jimmy Lloyd) and Jerry (Ralph Hodges). Ann Whitney (Pamela Blake) is searching for her father (Milton Kibbee), who disappeared while searching for Spanish galleon treasure. Silver and his cronies not only have to contend with the "dreaded killers of the jungle," the Ryack tribe, who use lassos to strangle people, but assorted bad guys [including Rick Vallin] who would like the gold for themselves. Highlights include the "man-eating vine" in chapter five; the boulder that rolls off a cliff in chapter seven; our hero nearly being boiled alive in hot springs in chapter eight; and being tied to water wheels in chapter nine. Sea Hound has its exciting moments to be sure, but it's still on the tame and mediocre side.

Verdict: Anything with a man-eating vine in it can't be all bad. **1/2.

SEARCH FOR BEAUTY

Ida Lupino and "Buster" Crabbe

SEARCH FOR BEAUTY  (1934). Director: Erle C. Kenton.

"Baby, come to Mama!"

Larry Williams (Robert Armstrong) and Dan Healy (James Gleason), with the help of Jean Strange (Gertrude Michael), try a new con by putting out a "health" magazine and hiring above-board Olympic winners (Ida Lupino and "Buster" Crabbe) as editors to make it all look legitimate. Before long the editors are clashing with the publishers, who confuse a fitness mag with something a little bit racier. There's a search for perfect male and female physical specimens to work at a health farm, where Williams and company find they must adhere to the strict regimen along with all of the other guests even though they'd rather drink and watch pretty gals dancing on tables. The film is ful of risque dialogue and attractive performers -- and the lead actors are all swell -- but this pre-code movie ultimately doesn't amount to much.

Verdict: If only there were more solid laughs and a better story. **.

RED BARRY

RED BARRY 13 chapter Universal [Filmcraft] serial (1938). Directors: Ford Beebe; Allen James.

"In the home of a friend it is too early for suspicion. In the home of an enemy, it is always too late."

This snappy serial is based on a King Features comic strip, and an interesting device has each chapter's recap told via comic panels. Red Barry (Larry "Buster" Crabbe) gets involved in a case regarding some valuable stolen bonds, against the wishes of the police commissioner (an excellent William Gould), who prefers his own man handle matters. Wing Fu (Cyril Delevanti) wants the bonds to buy needed planes for Chinese forces, while Russian dancer Natacha (Edna Sedgewick) insists that the bonds were wrongfully taken from her father. Others tied up in this case include intrepid reporter "Mississippi" (Frances Robinson); theater owner Mannix (William Ruhl); Wing Fu's son (Philip Ahn), an intelligent man who masquerades as the pidgin-English spouting "Hong Kong Charlie;" foppish if brave detective Valentine Vale (Hugh Huntley), the commissioner's favorite; and the sinister Qoung Lee (Frank Lackteen), who is also trying to get his hands on the bonds. The best cliffhanger has our hero tied to a bureau with a vial of explosive tottering on top as would-be rescuers, unaware of the danger, try to break through the wall behind him -- watch out! Crabbe is perfection in the title role, the other cast members are swell, the theme music is memorable, and the serial has a good plot full of interesting twists and characters. The very talented Philip Ahn gives another noteworthy performance.

Verdict: Buster is more than a "Flash." ***.

DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI

DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1937). Director: Robert Florey.

When her father is murdered and she herself is nearly killed by members of a gang who smuggle in illegal aliens (and sometimes just dump them out of a plane's cargo bay when the law gets too close), Lan Ying Lin (Anna May Wong) decides to go undercover as a dancer to track down the leader. Also on the villains' trail is agent Kim Lee (Philip Ahn); the two eventually team up due to the desperate circumstances they find themselves in. This interesting, if minor, suspense film is bolstered by fine acting, not only by the leads but by a very talented supporting cast: Anthony Quinn has a small role as a nasty pilot; Charles Bickford is a member of the smugglers who runs a seedy nightclub. Larry "Buster" Crabbe is perhaps more interesting than usual as a mustachioed, sneering brunet and J. Carrol Naish is as excellent as ever as his superior, Barden. Evelyn Brent makes an impression as a neurotic gal who's jealous of Bickford's attentions to Wong, and (Ms.) Cecil Cunningham all but steals the picture as Mary Hunt, who befriends Anna and her father but has some secrets of her own. Wong and Ahn make a good team, but further pictures detailing their adventures never materialized; too bad.

Verdict: Engaging thriller with some very good sequences. **1/2.

BUCK ROGERS

BUCK ROGERS (1939). Directors: Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind.

Colonel Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe) and his young pal, Buddy ( Jackie Moran) wind up frozen in suspended animation after a dirigible crash and wake up five hundred years later in the 24th century. [Neither Buck nor Buddy have any reaction to the fact that everyone they know, including all of their loved ones, have died many decades in the past.] There they learn that organized crime has taken over and the world is run by the nasty – and rather colorless -- “Killer” Kane (Anthony Warden). Earth is trying to form an alliance with the “oriental” people of Saturn, but the Saturnians are afraid Buck and his buddies, including Lt. Wilma Deering (Constance Moore), are their enemies and that Kane is a benevolent leader [you would think that his nickname of “Killer” might have given them a clue!] -- and so on. The good earthlings live in a mountain lair known as Hidden City, which Kane is always trying to find the entrance to, and there are mindless, milling creatures called Zugs. There are some impressive matte paintings in this, but the cliffhangers are generally uninspired and often cheat, and the climax is completely unexceptional. This isn't as much fun as the Flash Gordon chapterplays and Kane is certainly no Ming the Merciless! The plexiglass land car or monorail is an asset, as are the art deco sets and ships. The serial features a transporter that disassembles and reassembles individual atoms to move people from place to place many, many years before Star Trek came up with a more sophisticated version of the same idea. The acting is competent, Crabbe is suitably heroic, Moore, pretty and Jackie Moran is a likable and plucky youngster.

Verdict: Okay, but not exactly a must-see. **.