BLACKHAWK

Kirk Alyn and Carol Forman

BLACKHAWK (aka Blackhawk, Fearless Champion of Freedom/15 chapter Columbia serial/1952). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred F. Sears.

Having already played Superman twice, Kirk Alyn  was the perfect choice to play another DC Comics hero (albeit without actual super-powers), Blackhawk, who headed a team of international freedom fighters. The Blackhawk comic, beautifully drawn by Reed Crandell (who gets credit in the serial), and created by Will Eisner (who does not), had been published since the early 1940's. There were some changes made from the comic: the Chinese cook Chop Chop (Weaver Levy) was less caricatured, and Andre (Larry Stewart) was no longer French. Stanislaus, portrayed as a gruff, gray-haired middle-aged man in the comics, has an evil twin in the serial, and is played by Rick Vallin, The villainess is hard-as-nails Laska (Carol Forman), who is given an unflattering hairstyle and is in no way as glamorous as she was in other serials, such as her headliner The Black Widow. She reports to an unseen (but hardly unknown) "Leader," who keeps asking her to give more, more -- including her life -- to the "party." Laska's main henchman is Aller, played by serial regular Marshall Reed [Gunfighters of the Northwest]. When handsome Aller tires to get familiar with Laska -- "nice drivin', baby," he tells her -- she snaps, "The name is Laska!" Blackhawk is full of exciting cliffhangers, even if none of them are resolved in a clever manner -- Blackhawk simply rolls out of the way of several oil drums, or jumps out of a hay wagon that has caught on fire. In other sequences Stan is tied to a pole with a plane's propeller rushing towards him; Blackhawk's car is pushed onto the tracks just as a train arrives; fiery derricks topple like tenpins; a cartoon "flying saucer" hits our hero's plane; and Blackhawk's parachute fails to open so he has to ride piggyback on the shoulders of one of his comrades. Laska and her gang have several headquarters, all of which look exactly the same. Noting this, Blackhawk wonders about it and says, "they must have a reason for that." although it's never determined what it is (the budget was the reason, of course). Michael Fox plays one of Laska's confederates, and William Fawcett [Batman and Robin] is a scientist who has created a destructive ray machine. A lot of the action has to do with the theft and retrieval of "element X." Plenty of exciting fisticuffs in this.

Verdict: Blackhawk is a lot of fun. ***.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT

Keye Luke, Victor Sen Yung and Mantan Moreland

THE FEATHERED SERPENT (1948). Director: William Beaudine.

Charlie Chan (Roland Winters) and both of his sons, Lee (Keye Luke of The Green Hornet) and Tommy (Victor Sen Yung) -- their first time together in any Chan movie -- are down in San Pablo, Mexico with chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland). Two professors who were searching for the "ancient Aztec Temple of the Sun" have disappeared, but one of them, Scott (Erville Alderson), staggers out of the desert only to be murdered. This entry starts out well, but soon deteriorates into tedium despite hidden chambers in the temple, another murder, and the like. The biggest problem with The Feathered Serpent is that the identity of the mastermind behind the plot is revealed about halfway through the movie, dissipating all possibility of suspense. [The unmasking of an additional killer at the very end is too little, too late.] Carol Forman of The Black Widow is criminally under-utilized. Nils Asther [The Man in Half Moon Street] and John Livingstone play two younger professors. Beverly Jons is the nominal heroine and makes little impression. Keye Luke as Lee Chan had not been seen in a Charlie Chan picture for eleven years.

Verdict: Not much of a mystery. *1/2.

THE BLACK WIDOW (1947)

THE BLACK WIDOW (12 chapter Republic serial/1947). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred C. Brannon.

"Wait! Open the tunnels and we'll cremate them!" -- Sombra. 

Sombra, aka The Black Widow (Carol Forman),  heads a group of nasties who are out to take over America and are desperate to get their claws on a new rocket formula. Sombra takes orders from her father, Hitomu (Theodore Gottlieb), who appears in a special chair via molecular teleportation, and comes off more like a Yiddish comedian on the Borscht circuit than a world-class international villain. Two reporters investigate the Black Widow: Joyce (Virginia Lindley/Lee), who is experienced, and Steve Colt (Bruce Edwards), whose only experience is as a writer of detective fiction and who never misses a chance to be obnoxious and sexist with Joyce [true, he also saves her life on more than one occasion].  Forman [Federal Agents vs Underworld Inc.] who is Asiatic by way of Alabama, fairly drips with steely disdain and evil; Virginia Lee proves plucky and makes an acceptable heroine, but Edwards is utterly colorless as the alleged hero. Some of the cliffhangers in this are recycled, but there are nifty ones as well: Joyce, stuck in a crate, nearly tumbles out of an airplane, and is nearly beheaded by a falling pane of sharp glass. Then there's the old gag with a bomb in the car. The business with Sombra's henchmen using a gas to change the color of their car while in flight is clever. All in all this is a very entertaining Republic serial. Tom Steele and Ramsay Ames are also in the cast.

Verdict: Sombra will getcha if you don't watch out! ***.

BRICK BRADFORD

FRONT: Noell Neill, Kane Richmond and Rick Vallin

BRICK BRADFORD (15 chapter Columbia serial/1947). Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr.

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. **.