HOLLYWOOD COWBOY DETECTIVES

HOLLYWOOD COWBOY DETECTIVES AND MORE.

If you're fans of those great old classic cliffhanger serials as I am, not to mention "B" westerns (okay, I wasn't crazy about this week's Romance on the Range, but I've enjoyed other flicks in the genre), then you might want to check out a whole series of books written by Darryle Purcell, such as Mystery of the Matinee Murders, Mystery at Movie Ranch, Mystery of the Hardboiled Hooter and Trail of the Bat Blasts, which is part of "The Man in the Mist" series.

These are all available on Amazon in inexpensive Kindle editions and in paperback.

The days of Pulp Adventure go on! 

PULP HEROES IN THE MOVIES

Victor Jory as the Shadow

PULP HEROES IN THE MOVIES.

Pulp magazines were called such because of the cheap paper they were printed on, and these digest-sized publications featured such heroes as The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Spider, The Black Bat, and several others in snappy, fast-paced, and often violent novels. Many of these characters influenced the comic book super-heroes who came later, such as Batman and Superman (for whom Doc Savage was a major influence). The Shadow and the Spider were take-no-prisoners vigilantes, with the Spider, in particular, always leaving behind a very high body count of bad guys with no benefit of trial or council -- still, they were generally trying to kill him at the time, and he ultimately saved many more lives than he took.

The three pulp heroes covered this week on Great Old Movies -- Shadow, Spider, and Doc Savage -- have endured far beyond the life of the pulp magazines whose adventures they graced. Over the decades since the thirties there have been radio shows, TV shows, cliffhanger serials, comic books, and theatrical movies devoted to the characters, and the original pulp novels have all been reprinted in paperback -- from such major publishers as Bantam Books and various smaller presses -- innumerable times. You can still thrill to the adventures of Doc Savage and his band of scientific and heroic assistants; the Spider with his blazing guns and truly fiendish antagonists; and the Shadow, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men and does his best to stamp it out. Generally the film versions of these stories can't compare to the original books, but some manage to come close.

NOTE: Shadow movies that have already been reviewed on this blog include The Shadow Strikes and The Invisible Avenger. 

THE SPIDER'S WEB

Iris Meredith, Warren Hull, Richard Fiske and Kenne Duncan

THE SPIDER'S WEB (15 chapter Columbia serial/1938). Directors: James W. Horne; Ray Taylor.

The Spider was a pulp character, a take-no-prisoners vigilante, who appeared in a great many action-packed, gruesome, and hard-hitting novels in the thirties. The Spider was actually criminologist Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull of The Green Hornet Strikes Again), and he was aided in his work by his fiancee Nita (Iris Meredith of Caught in the Act), and his associates Ram Singh (Kenne Duncan), Jackson (Richard Fiske), and even his butler Jenkins (Donald Douglas). Wentworth is good friends with Police Commissioner Kirk (Forbes Murray), who can't help but notice that Wentworth and the Spider are often in the same place at the wrong time. His suspicions of Wentworth often led to some tense sequences in the novels, and this situation develops at least once in this serial.

The Octopus contacts his men

The villain of the piece is a hooded man named the Octopus, who has a group of helpmates who all wear black robes. He is out to attack all transportation in his city and across the United States, not just for money but for power, and he doesn't care who dies when trains derail and terminals collapse. At one point he brings out a ray gun which can be used to bring down planes. Wentworth is planning to retire as the Spider and marry Nita when the Octopus begins his wave of terror, and love and marriage must wait until the threat can be eliminated. The Spider dons his mask and cape with the spider insignia and we're off ...

Lester Dorr and Warren Hull as "Blinky"

The Spider and his associates nearly die on several occasions. A cable lowering Wentworth and Nita from a skyscraper nearly plunges them to their deaths; a room in which several of the cast members are chained to a wall floods with water even as the Spider must contend with a deadly gas in another room; our hero is nearly bashed by a falling arc light and almost cut in two by an electric gate; and so on. Handsome Warren Hull is perfect as the less intense movie version of the Spider, and the other cast members are all quite adept. Hull is especially good when he impersonates "Blinky McQuade," an underworld character, so that he can mingle with other criminals. An amusing moment occurs when Hull has trouble getting his arm into the sleeve of his coat and ad libs "Can't see very well."  Byron Foulger plays a nice guy who is killed off rather early, and Lester Dorr [Hot Rod Gang] and Marc Lawrence are effective as members of the Octopus' gang.

Iris Meredith and Warren Hull

Columbia's The Spider's Web, while perhaps not quite on the level of the best of the Republic serials, is an exciting and worthwhile serial even if you aren't familiar with the pulp novels. One wishes that the climax, the final encounter between the Spider and the Octopus, which the viewer has sat through 15 chapters waiting for, wasn't so abrupt, and that the annoying musical score was much darker, given the subject matter. Otherwise, this is snappy stuff for devotees. Followed by The Spider Returns.

Verdict: Thrilling and action-packed. ***. 

THE SHADOW (1940)

Victor Jory as the Shadow

THE SHADOW (15 chapter Columbia serial/1940). Director: James W. Horne.

Criminologist Lamont Cranston (Victor Jory), who also masquerades as the underworld scourge the Shadow -- as well as Lin Chang, who owns a shop and is acquainted with many criminals -- is in a war with a mysterious figure known as the Black Tiger. Commissioner Weston (Frank LaRue), does not suspect Cranston of being the Shadow, but he's convinced that the Shadow and the Tiger are one and the same and is constantly trying to capture the former. The Black Tiger, who can make himself invisible, is one of a group of industrialists who are being targeted by the fiendish villain, who doesn't care how many lives are destroyed to achieve his goals.

Victor Jory as Lamont Cranston

Unlike in the terrible Rod La Rocque Shadow features, the pulp character returns to his roots in this excellent and exciting serial. Although the Shadow does not hypnotize people or display mystical powers as he does in the novels, he does dress up in a cloak and has two helpmates: his driver Harry Vincent (Roger Moore, not the British actor) and his secretary and assistant Margo Lane (Veda Ann Borg of Jungle Raiders). Victor Jory [The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady] adds some solidity to the serial with his strong portrayal of Cranston; Moore and Borg are professional and adept. Some of the more notable supporting performances include Jack Ingram [Terry and the Pirates] as the Tiger's chief lieutenant, Flint; Charles K. French as the nervous Joseph Rand; Constantine Romanoff as Henchman Harvey; and the ever-reliable Philip Ahn as Wu Yung, another of Cranston's helpful associates.

Victor Jory as Lin Chang

The Black Tiger (voiced somewhat over-dramatically by Richard Cramer) uses such weapons as a cigarette lighter with a miniature gun inside it, and a much bigger gun that fires rays that bring down airplanes. As for cliffhangers, there is a box-like trap that nearly shakes itself to pieces, almost dooming the Shadow; a descending freight elevator that nearly squashes Margo (and could not have been comfortable for actress Borg); and a laser-like beam that almost burns the hell out of Margo and Vincent. Interestingly, the Shadow does not manage to escape a number of death traps, but is fortunate to survive them anyway. Lee Zahler's musical score adds to the thrills.

Verdict: Another of Columbia's superior serials. ***1/2.

THE SPIDER RETURNS

The Spider in action! 

THE SPIDER RETURNS (15 chapter Columbia serial/1941). Director: James W. Horne.

When The Spider's Web proved successful for Columbia, a sequel came out with most of the original players reprising their roles. In The Spider Returns, Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull) has pushed aside his plans to retire and settle down with girlfriend Nita (how played by Mary Ainslee), so he can tackle a group of saboteurs out to destroy America's defense structure. The head of this group is a masked, unknown figure known only as the Gargoyle, but it later develops that he is one of the men whose industries are being targeted by the villain. 

The Gargoyle plots 

The Gargoyle has a number of schemes in play, the first of which is to secure some important government plans. Then the villain spends a lot of time sending out men to destroy his enemies, especially the Spider, Wentworth, and Commissioner Kirk (Joseph W. Girard). It is interesting that Kirk objects to the violent vigilantism of the Spider, but doesn't seem to mind that Wentworth, his alter ego (although Kirk is unaware of this), is always playing undercover cop despite his not being a member of the force. At one point in Kirk's office, Wentworth immediately countermands Kirk's orders to two police officers, who obey the former without hesitation! I mean, just who is the commissioner anyway? Of course the fact that Kirk seems to be bordering on senility at times doesn't help.  

O'Brien, Hull and Duncan

Warren Hull is energetic as Wentworth and the Spider, although -- as in the previous serial -- he is way too jaunty at times. In one chapter Wentworth mis-identities the wrong suspect as the Gargoyle, which ultimately results in the innocent man's death, but Wentworth doesn't seem the least bit embarrassed or regretful but as flippant as ever. Nita emerges as her own woman in the serial, not afraid to mock her lover if she thinks he's making a fool of himself, but otherwise being strong and supportive. Associates Jackson (Dave O'Brien), Ram Singh (Kenne Duncan), and Jenkins (Stephen Chase) aren't given that much to do, especially Ram, who seems to sit around looking bored most of the time when he isn't driving the car. 

Anthony Warde as "Trigger"

One very notable supporting player is Anthony Warde, who gives a very adept and flavorful performance as "Trigger.," the head man in the Gargoyle's gang. Warde played a similar role in King of the Forest Rangers and other serials and features. Warde has especially good scenes interacting with Wentworth when the later is in disguise as low-life "Blinky" McQuade -- on two occasions he tries to kill Blinky and winds up begging for his life. As for Blinky, although Hull does a great job portraying him, he is seen so often throughout the serial that he begins to wear out his welcome. 70-year-old Joseph W. Girard also gives a vigorous performance as the commissioner, although -- not to be ageist -- you can't overcome the feeling that he goes off to take a nap as soon as he steps out of camera range. 

Girard, Ainslee, and Hull

There are some zesty fisticuffs and terrific cliffhangers in The Spider Returns. The floor of a room suddenly hangs down at an angle to reveal a fiery pit below. Wentworth is tied up and left on top of the tracks as an express train approaches. Testing a new experimental plane, Wentworth crashes, and surprisingly, doesn't manage to bail out but survives nevertheless. The best death trap has Wentworth, Nita and her Uncle (Charles Miller of Phantom of Chinatown) trapped in a room with fire on each end and spiked walls closing in from either side as the Gargoyle cackles. In the final chapters the serial builds up some considerable suspense over the true identity of the Gargoyle and whether or not his various dastardly plans will be stopped in time. 

Verdict: Despite a variety of imperfections, this is one of Columbia's very best and most thrilling serials. ***1/2. 

THE HURRICANE EXPRESS

John Wayne

THE HURRICANE EXPRESS (12 chapter Mascot serial/1932.). Directors: Armand Schaefer; J. P., McGowan.

Jim Baker (J. Farrell MacDonald), an engineer on the world's fastest train, the Hurricane Express, is killed when the express is deliberately sabotaged. Baker's son, Larry (John Wayne of McLintock!). is determined to uncover the identity of "The Wrecker," the mysterious figure who, with the help of his gang, is out to destroy the railroad for uncertain reasons. The suspects include Walter Gray (Lloyd Whitlock), who runs an airline; Howard Edwards (Tully Marshall), the head of the railroad; Frank Stratton (Edmund Breese), who escaped from jail after being falsely accused of robbing the railroad; Tom Jordan (Matthew Betz), a disgruntled former employee of the railroad; and others. Larry Baker teams up with Stratton's daughter, Gloria (Shirley Grey) to unmask the Wrecker and prove her father's alleged innocence. There's also a lot to do with a stolen gold shipment that everyone is fighting to recover. An interesting aspect of Hurricane Express is the way the villain uses highly detailed and convincing masks to pretend to be other people throughout the serial, not only confounding Larry, Gloria and the authorities, but confusing the audience at times as well. While this aspect is certainly suspect, it's amusing to note that the same "mask" business is currently used in the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible movies made many decades later (and it is still quite improbable that these masks would actually fool anyone). The cliffhangers in this are nothing that special, but we've got a runaway box car, a plane that catches fire and crashes to earth, and Wayne is nearly crushed by a descending and very heavy airplane part at one point. In general, the movie lacks the slick polish of Republic's serials, but it's generally fast-paced and entertaining, with a dollop of suspense pertaining to the identity of the Wrecker. It's funny how many characters in the serial jump to conclusions about the mastermind's identity when everyone is clued in to the fact that he wears masks and nothing could be certain about anyone. John Wayne did several serials for Mascot in the thirties, and gives a competent and rather charismatic performance. Armand Schaefer also directed Wayne in the serial version of The Three Musketeers.

Verdict: One express you might want to catch if you like these old cliffhangers. ***. 

CANADIAN MOUNTIES VS ATOMIC INVADERS

William Henry and Susan Morrow

CANADIAN MOUNTIES VS. ATOMIC INVADERS (12 chapter Republic serial/1953). Director: Franklin Adreon.

Sgt. Don Roberts (William Henry) of the Canadian Mounted Police and agent Kay Conway (Susan Morrow) team up to tackle a gang of spies who are planning to launch missiles against the U.S. from a remote base in Canada. First the spies do their best to get rid of people who want to settle in the very area where they want to build the rocket launchers, then shift their efforts in attempts to kill off Sgt. Roberts. To that end there are cliffhangers that employ avalanches, warehouse fires and explosions; and Roberts is both shot off the top of a cliff, and then knocked off another cliff when a car crashes into the spot where he's standing. The fight scenes in this serial are well-choreographed and exciting, especially a battle that occurs in the back of a careening pick-up truck. William Henry [The Thin Man] is solid as the Mountie, certainly essaying a different kind of role than he did in his earlier films. Susan Morrow [Macabre] is also good as Kay, who is handy with a gun when required and seems as diligent and brave as Roberts. Arthur Space [Panther Girl of the Kongo] is terrific as the villain, a foreign agent named Marlof who disguises himself as a simple-minded trapper named Ol' Smoky Joe -- he is particularly effective in this role. Hank Patterson, Harry Lauter (who appears so briefly I never noticed him), Tom Steele, Dale Van Sickel, and -- wouldn't you know it? -- Pierre Watkin appear in smaller roles.  One lively sequence has Roberts trying to stop a pack of wild dogs let loose by the bad guys from attacking a group of reindeer that are meant to be food for the settlers (those poor reindeer can't win either way!). William Henry began acting at a very young age and amassed 230 credits.

Verdict: Another fast-paced, utterly mindless, but very entertaining and action-packed Republic serial. ***. 

KING OF THE FOREST RANGERS

Larry Thompson and Helen Talbot

KING OF THE FOREST RANGERS (12 chapter Republic serial/1946). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred C. Brannon.

Professor Carver (Stuart Hamblen) discovers that there might be a treasure in the woods when he discovers an old Indian rug and a transparent map that can be fitted over it. He begins to buy up the property of the people in the woods, and uses force if they don't comply. His chief enforcer is the utterly nasty Spear (Anthony Warde), who isn't above killing and torturing anyone who gets in his way. Chief among his opponents are good guy Steve King (Larry Thompson) of the Forest Rangers and his staff, as well as the pretty and feisty Marion (Helen Talbot), who is handy with a pistol. The fisticuffs in this serial are amazing, with a let's-smash-all-the-furniture fight scene at least twice in every exciting episode, all ably choreographed by Tom Steele, who also plays one of the bad guys. Notable cliffhangers include: King engulfed in flames in an old cellar; a fight on a plane that ends in a crash; a platform of spikes crashing down on King; Marion about to be fed via conveyor belt into a pulp grinder; and King and Marion trapped in a pit where Spear and his cohorts throw flaming branches down at them, causing a conflagration. Larry Thompson is a likable and efficient hero; Helen Talbot is an attractive and equally likable second lead; and Anthony Warde [Roaring City] is completely convincing as the truly evil and loathsome Spear. Mort Glickman [King of the Mounties] has contributed some memorable theme music. This was really the only lead role for Larry Thompson, who did mostly uncredited small parts in various features.

Verdict: Really snappy and fast-paced Republic serial. ***. 

GOVERNMENT AGENTS VS PHANTOM LEGION

Walter Reed

GOVERNMENT AGENTS VS PHANTOM LEGION (12 chapter Republic serial/1951). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

"I'm a dead duck anyway, so I might as well take you along. " -- Duncan to opponent with murder on his mind.

The members of a trucking association, who have government contracts to deliver important supplies, are alarmed when their trucks are attacked and hijacked, the equipment stolen. Agent Hal Duncan (Walter Reed of Flying Disc Man from Mars) is assigned to track down the perpetrators with the help of assistant Sam Bradley (John Pickard). A complication is that one of the members of the association is secretly behind the robberies, and his two main henchmen, Regan (Dick Curtis of Terry and the Pirates) and Cady (Fred Coby of The Brute Man) report to him through a two-way mirror as he sits safe and unidentified in another office. The cliffhangers in this are of the standard "missing information" variety, but they are still effective: fire engulfs a mine car full of hand grenades and nearly blows Duncan to bits; an ore dump drops its contents on top of him; his parachute lands right on the tracks in front of an onrushing train; he gets trapped in a remote-controlled runaway truck; and -- best of all -- is nearly incinerated when a stream of gasoline is ignited and rushes down the highway towards his automobile! Walter Reed is not afraid to show panic and dismay on his face during these frightening moments. The other cast members are good, although Mary Ellen Kay as the nominal heroine displays little acting skill. Stanley Wilson's exciting score is a plus. Tom Steele and Arthur Space are also in the cast.

Verdict: Fun serial ***.

ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP

Linda Stirling and George J. Lewis

ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP (12 chapter Republic serial/1944). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Wallace Grissell.

Newspaper editor and publisher Randy Meredith (Jay Kirby of Rockin' in the Rockies) not only rails against the lawlessness of 1889 Idaho in his paper, but dresses up as the Black Whip to fight the bad guys. When he is murdered, his sister Barbara (Linda Stirling) takes over the role, and she proves to be mighty handy with a whip. The evil banker Hammond (Francis McDonald) is secretly leading a group of criminals who desperately want to prevent Idaho from becoming a state, which would interfere with their plans to enrich their own coffers. Barbara is helped by a secret government agent, Vic Gordon (George J. Lewis), who disguises himself as the Black Whip at one point to fool the crumb bums when they have almost figured out Barbara's secret identity. The one thing that's missing in this exciting serial is the character of Zorro, whose name is used for marquee value but who does not appear, although one could argue that the Black Whip is a variation on that character (along with many others, of course). Cliffhanger highlights include a wagon rolling over the edge of a cliff; Barbara being locked in a bank vault with a bomb that's about to go off; the bad guys ordering Barbara to "take off that mask!" or else they'll shoot Gordon; and especially the sequence when a whole mountain seems to come down on the cabin they're in, as well as a terrific bit when Barbara and Gordon are trapped in a mine with burning oil flooding towards them. Stirling was never a great actress, but she's more than competent for this type of material; Lewis has a certain degree of charm and ability; McDonald [Burn 'Em Up Barnes] makes an effective and oily two-faced villain, and Hal Taliaferro (who looks a bit and sounds a lot like Ben Johnson) is also good as his bad right hand, Baxter. Lucien Littlefield [Reducing] makes his mark as "Ten Point," the nervous little guy who works in the newspaper office. John Hamilton is one of the townspeople dedicated to ridding the town of the criminal element; Marshall Reed and Ken Terrell also have smaller roles. Zorro's Black Whip has a great climax with the gang attacking the town in an attempt to alter the election results, and loathsome Hammond is given a satisfying death scene. Zorro's Black Whip may not be a top-notch Republic serial -- and is quite short as serials go -- but it is exciting and entertaining. George J. Lewis played a villain in Federal Operator 99, and Taliaferro was his henchman. Stirling appeared in The Purple Monster Strikes and many other serials.

Verdict: This gal wields a mean whip! ***. 

DICK TRACY SERIAL (1937)

Fred Hamilton, Ralph Byrd and Kay Hughes

DICK TRACY (15 chapter Republic serial/1937). Directors: Alan James; Ray Taylor.

The famous cartoon strip character first appeared on the big screen in this Republic serial starring Ralph Byrd, who would be forever after identified with the character (although at least two other actors also played the role). In this cliffhanger Tracy matches wits with an unknown club-footed figure known alternately as the Lame One or The Spider, since he heads a so-called "Spider Ring" of criminals. With the help of the Lame One's twisted scientist ally Moloch (John Picorri), the Lame One operates on Tracy's brother, Gordon (Richard Beach), and turns him evil, as well as changing his features (he is then played by Carleton Young of Double Deal) so that even his own brother doesn't recognize him. Gordon and his associates fly about in a wide, stylish aircraft known as the Wing, and each week come up with another sinister scheme that Tracy manages to smash after nearly being killed. Tracy is a Federal agent in this and his main assistants are handsome Steve Lockwood (Fred Hamilton) and secretary Gwen Andrews (Kay Hughes of Radio Patrol), who is much more than a secretary and is a scientist who provides her boss with important information. We also have Mike McGurk (Smiley Burnette) and Junior (Lee Van Atta of Undersea Kingdom), who are meant to be comic relief but are more often merely tiresome. Byron Foulger makes an impression as a brave if terrified guy who goes up against the Spider to his regret. The Spider uses a ring to burn an insignia into the forehead of his victims, an idea also used by the famous pulp magazine character, also known as the Spider. Highlights of the serial include the Bay Bridge nearly being destroyed by sonic waves in chapter one; Dick's small boat nearly crushed between two huge ships in chapter three; Dick dropping from the bottom of one plane to land neatly into another far below in chapter four; and Dick being pulled underwater by a submarine because a rope has been tied around his ankle. By the time we learn the true identity of the Lame One, you'll probably have forgotten who the guy is! Dick Tracy is a long but entertaining serial, but the best was yet to come. It was followed by Dick Tracy Returns, Dick Tracy's G-Men, and the best of all, Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc.

Verdict: Nice intro to Dick Tracy on the big screen. **3/4.

DICK TRACY RETURNS

Charles Middleton as Pa Stark 

DICK TRACY RETURNS (15 chapter Republic serial/1938). Directors: John English; William Witney.

This follow-up to Dick Tracy has our hero (Ralph Byrd), an FBI agent instead of a cop, battling the vile villainy of Pa Stark (Charles Middleton of Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe) and his five evil sons, each of whom has a criminal specialty. Over the course of fifteen chapters, Stark and his gang pull off a bank job (in which new agent, Ron Merton -- played by David Sharpe -- is murdered on his first case); try to grab an important lens from an observatory; steal special government planes; get their hands on a dangerous torpedo boat; and work with a foreign agent named Boris Zarkov (Walter Mills). Tracy is joined by agent Steve Lockwood (Michael Kent), and gets help and sometimes interference from comedy relief Mike McGurk (Lee Ford) and young Junior (Jerry Tucker); Lynne Roberts is cast as Tracy's efficient secretary, Gwen. The highlights of this exciting serial include an unconscious Tracy being put in a car that's sent hurtling down the levels of a parking garage; Tracy being thrown out of a plane with a sabotaged parachute; a huge tower falling on a rooftop where Tracy and an enemy are in heated combat; and especially the thrilling sequence when two trains rush towards each other on the same track even as Lockwood is handcuffed to the top of one of the cars. Byrd is perfection as Tracy and Middleton is great as Stark. His "boys" don't get much of a chance to make an impression, with the exception of Ned Glass, who plays the trigger-happy "Kid Stark." Followed by Dick Tracy's G-Men and the superior Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.

Verdict: Byrd vs Middleton is a winning combination. ***. 

TERRY AND THE PIRATES SERIAL

Jeff York (aka Granville Owen) and William Tracy

The art of Milton Caniff

TERRY AND THE PIRATES (15 chapter Columbia serial/1940). Director. James W. Horne.

In this cliffhanger version of the famous newspaper comic strip, young Terry Lee (William Tracy) goes off to find his father, Dr. Herbert Lee (John Paul Jones), with the aid of his buddy and his father's assistant, Pat Ryan (Jeff York, aka Granville Owen, of Li'l Abner). As they search for Dr. Lee, the two men find themselves embroiled in a conflict between an evil half-caste named Fang (Dick Curtis) and his followers, and the mysterious Dragon Lady (Sheila Darcy of Drums of Africa), who presides over her subjects in a cavern headquarters. Fang seeks to control all of the natives in the area, as well as the white settlers, and is after a treasure that he thinks Dr. Lee can lead him to. Lee is only interested in the scientific achievement of locating a lost race. Other characters include Forrest Taylor as Allen Drake, and Joyce Bryant as his daughter, Normandie -- both actors also appeared in The Iron Claw serial --  while Fang's despicable henchman, Stanton, is played by Jack Ingram. Connie, a diminutive Asian fellow, is charmingly played by Allen Jung -- and looks much less like a caricature than he did in the strip -- and the unfortunately-named Big Stoop is essayed by Victor DeCamp. During the fifteen chapters, Terry, Pat and the other good guys must contend with Fang's army of leopard men -- who wear hoods and striped robes -- as well as an agitated and nasty gorilla named Bobo (Jack Leonard). Pat is nearly beheaded by a High Priest (John Ince), Terry nearly eaten by gators, and both are endangered by walls that slowly move in to push them into a pit full of spikes. One of the best cliffhangers has the boys trapped in another pit that is rapidly filling with water.

Terry and the Pirates is a consistently lively, amusing, and exciting serial, but it is far below the level of the comic strip and much less serious. In the comic strip, the Dragon Lady is a beautiful Eurasian who heads a group of modern-day pirates, but in the serial she has been reduced to a fairly pretty white lady who rules a standard lost sect. At 23, William Tracy is far too old to play the boy Terry -- Jeff York was only five years older -- and has to compensate with some "gee willikers" expressions and a high-pitched screech when they are in trouble. Years later he played another recurring role in the Terry and the Pirates TV series. Dick Curtis is actually good as Fang, but unfortunately he is saddled with a voice characterization that makes him sound like an Oriental parody in a bad sitcom, Asian by way of the Borscht Belt. Jeff York is suitably handsome and heroic and more than competent as Pat. Lee Zahler has contributed a very effective score.

In the strip, writer-artist Milton Caniff -- who eventually left the comic to do Steve Canyon, for which he controlled the rights -- aged Terry until he became an adult and Pat Ryan's role was diminished and possibly eliminated. I don't know if Pat was actually Dr. Lee's assistant in the comic, and believe it is more likely that Terry was an orphan, with Ryan acting as his mentor.

Verdict: Frankly ridiculous at times, but also fun and fast-paced. ***. 

THE ADVENTURES OF SMILIN' JACK

Jay Novello, Tom Brown, Marjorie Lord, Rose Hobart

 THE ADVENTURES OF SMILIN' JACK (13 chapter Columbia serial/ 1943). Directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor. 

Columbia turned the popular aviation comic strip The Adventures of Smilin' Jack into a serial in 1943. In this exciting and action-packed cliffhanger,  Jack Martin (Tom Brown) is working in China just before the U.S. entry into WW2.  Mah Ling (Cyril Delevanti of The Night of the Iguana), the governor of Handan, a province of China in the Himalayas, knows the secret route of a passage into India which would be helpful to the allies. The Japanese group, the Black Samurais, a division of Axis Espionage, is anxious to get this secret as well. The Samurais are under the uneasy control of a German agent, Fraulein Von Teufel (Rose Hobart of Conflict), who is better-known to the allies as "Trudi Miller," a war correspondent. We learn early on in the serial that Trudi is a ruthless double agent, but neither Jack, his friend, Tommy (Edgar Barrier), nor his sister, Janet (Marjorie Lord), are aware of this. It seems that in every other episode the evil Fraulein is reminding Kageyama (Turhan Bey) that she is in charge of the Samurais despite the fact that she is German. Philip Ahn is Wu Tan, the loving aide to the elderly Mah Ling; Keye Luke is Captain Wing; and Sidney Toler is cast as the Chinese general, Kai Ling. The ever-versatile Jay Novello is a cast stand-out as the Japanese saboteur Kushimi, and David Hoffman [The Creeper] also scores as the weasel-like Blenker.  With his pudgy face and kind of geeky voice, Tom Brown is hardly perfect casting as the sleek, handsome Smilin' Jack, but his performance is okay, while Lord and Barrier are adept enough in somewhat pointless secondary roles. Rose Hobart, on the other hand, while lacking the viciousness and sensuality of Carol Forman of Black Widow, is quietly effective and quite venomous as the steel-hearted Fraulein, and pretty much walks off with the serial (even if she is saddled with a highly unflattering headpiece). At one point the Fraulein suspends Jack in a net in the water below a trap door, even as the tide comes in and sharp floating spikes rise up higher and higher toward his back. Tom also plunges out of a plane to find that his parachute won't open, and is locked into a leaky box that is thrown into the river. In two of the best cliffhangers, a clipper ship holding our hero and friends crashes into the ocean, letting in gallons of rushing water; and a Japanese sub with Jack and the others aboard is rammed by a huge ship that is also controlled by Jap agents. An amusing aspect of the serial is that Mah Ling seems to take forever to make up his mind to give up the secret of the Mandan route and comes up with one obstacle after another to prevent him from divulging it. With the participation of such actors as Hobart, Luke, Toler, Bey and others, Similin' Jack has a better and better-known cast for a serial than usual. 

Verdict: Decidedly one of the better Universal serials. ***. 

SHE-SERPENTS VS THE FORCES OF THE DRAGON WITCH

SHE-SERPENTS VS THE FORCES OF THE DRAGON WITCH 12 chapter Mascot serial. (1938). Director: Bebe Ford.

It is not widely known that during her early career Bette Davis actually starred in a serial for Mascot studios. She plays Mona Flare, the leader of an all-girl gang of crime-fighters who are out to stop the violent antics of a mysterious woman known only as the Dragon Witch. Mona and her "she-serpents" wear slinky outfits that make them resemble slithering snakes. The nominal hero of the film is Bob Steele, who plays a detective, Guinan, who wishes the ladies would lay off and let him handle the Dragon Witch and her sinister forces. Of course Guinan has to be rescued by the women in virtually every chapter. Davis seems to be having a lot of fun, and there are clever stunts and some exciting sequences. The final chapter has a major fight between Mona and the Dragon Witch in which even the walls come tumbling down. Miriam Hopkins also appears as an aggressive reporter who may or may not know more about the Dragon Queen than she's saying.

Verdict: Bette rules the roost! **1/2.

CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT

Dave O'Brien as Captain Midnight

CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT (15 chapter Columbia serial/1942). Director: James W. Horne.

Captain Albright (Dave O'Brien) also uses the costumed and masked identity of Captain Midnight, although everyone seems to know the two are the same. He is aided by his buddies, Ichabod or "Icky" (Guy Wilkerson) and the spunky Chuck (Sam Edwards). A scientist named John Edwards (Bryant Washburn) has invented a special range-finder weapon that he hopes to sell to Washington, but the nefarious Ivan Shark (James Craven) and his gang want to get their hands on it first. Captain Midnight and his own gang, including Major Steele (Joseph W. Girard) and Edwards' daughter, Joyce (Dorothy Short), have their hands full trying to stay alive, outwit Shark and either keep the invention out of Shark's hands or get it back once he's stolen it. Shark also has a daughter named Fury (Luana Walters of Shadow of Chinatown), who helps her father and bosses around his henchmen.

There are some terrific cliffhangers in this serial. In chapter three Midnight finds himself trapped on a plane without a parachute and a cockpit rapidly filling with deadly gas. Midnight is nearly cut in half by a buzz saw in chapter four, and most of the supporting players are nearly crushed by moving walls with electrical charges in chapter fifteen. There is an excellent business with a water tank death trap in a cage inside Shark's HQ in chapter six, and even wilder is a fire pit in chapter ten in which Midnight is trapped on a revolving platform above the flames even as a huge block descends from above. Fury and Joyce have a brief tussle in chapter five. O'Brien is fine in the lead and the others are okay, but James Craven [The Purple Monster Strikes] really steals the show with his portrayal of the nasty and determined Ivan Shark, who is also a master of disguise, causing lots of problems because of it throughout the serial. Lee Zahler's music is right on target. O'Brien and Short appeared together in Spooks Run Wild.

Captain Midnight was adapted from a popular radio show (it became a TV series in the fifties). When this serial became equally successful, it was decided to turn it into a comic book -- in which the character can fly without a plane, unlike the serial -- which was published by Fawcett and lasted nearly seventy issues.

Verdict: Humor, frenetic action, and a fast pace add up to one very entertaining serial. ***.

SPY SMASHER

Kane Richmond

SPY SMASHER (12 chapter Republic serial/1942). Director: William Witney.

Jack Armstrong (Kane Richmond) discovers that his identical twin brother, Alan, is secretly the heroic Spy Smasher. The nefarious Nazi Mask (Hans Schumm) wants to flood the U.S. with counterfeit currency, and that's just one of his schemes, which keep SS hopping through this serial's 12 action-packed chapters. The Mask has a "batplane" which can rise straight up into the stratosphere, and an electric ray gun that can knock airplanes out of the sky. Spy Smasher, which was based on the very popular Fawcett comic book, is full of exciting cliffhangers: SS in a mining car loaded with grenades with a fiery conflagration ahead of him and a steel door in front (1); a torpedo room that floods with water (3); a descending frieght elevator that nearly squashes our hero (5); a conveyor belt with rapidly spinning and deadly blades (6); another mining car that heads directly for a fiery doorway; and others. Our hero appears to die in the penultimate chapter, and someone in his uniform is indeed dead. The serial is full of furious fisticuffs and superior stunt work, and the locations are wisely chosen.

Kane Richmond [Stage Struck] makes just about the perfect serial hero: square-jawed, handsome, imposing, and looking great in his uniform instead of silly. He strikes just the right note as both Jack and Alan. Marguerite Chapman [Man Bait] hasn't that much to do as the nominal heroine/love interest, but Tristram Coffin [Up in the Air], as usual, is notable as a cameraman and quisling secretly working for the Mask. Hans Schumm may not go down in history as one of the more memorable serial villains, but he's effective enough in the part. The music is attributed to Mort Glickman, who bowdlerizes Beethoven's 5th symphony to create some rousing and classy theme music.

Verdict: One of the best of the Republic super-action serials. ***

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. ***.

DRUMS OF FU MANCHU

Henry Brandon as the Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

DRUMS OF FU MANCHU (15 chapter Republic serial/1940). Directors: William Witney; John English.

Taking its cue from the feature-length film starring Boris Karloff, The Mask of Fu Manchu, this serial is also loosely based not on Sax Rohmer's "Drums of Fu Manchu" but rather his "Mask of Fu Manchu." In both film and serial Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) is out to get certain artifacts from the tomb of Genghis Kahn that will give him the power to conquer all Asia -- in the serial's case it is a sacred scepter. To that end there is a lot of back and forth dallying over not only the scepter, but the "kardac segment," a piece of a tile that will lead to the location of the tomb. Fu's chief adversary, as in the books, is Sir Dennis Nayland Smith (William Royle), with assistance from Dr. Petrie (Olaf Hytten of Detective Kitty O'Day) and young Allan Parker (Robert Kellard of Escort Girl), whose father was murdered by Fu. Other characters include Professor Randolph (Tom Chatterton); his daughter Mary (Luana Walters); Fu Manchu's loyal assistant, Loki (John Merton of Radar Patrol vs Spy King), who actually has fangs; and Fu's daughter, Fah Lo Suee (Gloria Franklin). One carry over from the novel "Drums of Fu Manchu" is the way one hears the nerve-wracking sound of beating, steadily louder drums whenever someone's doom is approaching. Fu, who is more sadistic than in the novels, employs gelatinous darts; a cage with rats inside of it (known as "the gates to paradise"); a fire-branch trap that threatens to snap Allan in two; and a deadly gas in Kahn's tomb. Especially memorable cliffhangers include two trains about to collide in chapter one; the attack of a kind of octo-squid in a watery chamber below Fu's HQ in chapter two; a pendulum that nearly cleaves Allan in twain in chapter four; a jeep that sails over a cliff during a fight with Arabs in chapter eight; a deadly heat device from the sun's rays that nearly frizzles Mary in chapter nine; and a whole ceiling of stalactites that comes crashing down on the good guys in chapter ten. There's a little too much running about the desert in the final chapters, and the score is mediocre. This is not necessarily top-drawer Fu or a top-drawer serial, but it is good and entertaining. Once you get used to the odd voice Henry Brandon affects for Fu, he is quite effective.

Verdict: Great fun to watch Fu Manchu carry out his diabolical manipulations -- always with class. ***.

THE MANY FACES OF HENRY BRANDON

Edge of Darkness

HENRY BRANDON (1912 - 1990). Born Henry Kleinbach in Berlin.

I always got a kick out of watching the evil Barnaby in Laurel and Hardy's Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers), but little did I realize when I was a child that the actor playing the old wretch was only 22 at the time -- and that the actor, Henry Kleinbach, was also Henry Brandon, who appeared in a great many movies, starred in The Drums of Fu Manchu, and was one of those versatile actors, along the lines of Jay Novello, who got so lost in the role that he, unfairly, never became quite famous.

Anything -- and I mean anything -- you'd like to know about Brandon has been exhaustively covered on the web site Poseidon's Underworld, and you can read about Brandon, his life and career right here. (You can even learn about his strange connection to Judy Garland!) Loads of photographs, too!

Babes in Toyland as Barnaby

 Other Brandon appearances were in Doomed to  Die, The Land Unknown, Jungle Jim, Tarzan's  Magic Fountain, Captain Sindbad, Secret Agent  X-9, and even Auntie Mame, among many others.  (Notice how in virtually every one of these I  refer to "the incredibly versatile Henry  Brandon!")

 Brandon also did TV, appearing on everything  from Bourbon Street Beat to Kolchak.  the Night  Stalker.

Lady Godiva of Coventry

The Searchers