IDENTITY UNKNOWN

Richard Arlen

IDENTITY UNKNOWN (1945). Director: Walter Holmes. Colorized version. 

A young amnesiac soldier who calls himself Johnny March (Richard Arlen of The Lady and the Monster) tries to find out what his true identity is. Johnny was one of four men who were holed up in a farmhouse in France that was besieged by Nazis. The other three men were killed -- their bodies burned beyond recognition -- but the Army doesn't know which of the four is "Johnny March." Johnny decides to pay a call on the relatives of all four men in the hopes he can discover who he actually is. (Oddly, all of the relatives have been notified that their loved ones are deceased even though the Army can't be certain that this is true!) During his journey Johnny meets a lovely young war widow named Sally (Cheryl Walker) and the two fall in love. But how can Sally be certain that "Johnny" doesn't already have a wife until he finds out who he really is?

Bobby Driscoll and Arlen

Identity Unknown is an interesting, episodic drama with good performances. The best segment is a sad one in which a little boy (Bobby Driscoll) is convinced that Johnny is his father come home from the war. There is a less effective interlude in which Johnny gets involved with a young man who works in a bookie joint. This features some "lovable" hoodlums who are too good to be true. A final segment has Johnny arriving at a home where the mother and father (Sarah Padden and Forrest Taylor of Manhunt of Mystery Island) are mourning their dead son. The picture is not perfect by any means, but it does effectively explore the pain and loss felt by those whose loved ones go off to war and never return. 

Verdict: Absorbing WW 2 drama that looks at the people left behind. ***. 

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 GOLDEN EYE

Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown

THE GOLDEN EYE (1948). Director: Willam Beaudine.

Someone takes a shot at Manning (Forrest Taylor of Manhunt of Mystery Island), an old friend of Charlie Chan's (Roland Winters), and realizes that his life is in deadly danger [uh oh!]. With Birmingham (Mantan Moreland) and Tommy Chan (Victor Sen Yung/Young) in tow, Chan goes out to a ranch and the adjacent Golden Eye mine near Mexico, which is inexplicably producing much more of the golden nuggets than expected. Bandaged like a mummy, Manning, who had an "accident" in the mine, is guarded over by a sinister nun (Evelyn Brent). Lt. Mike Ruark (Tim Ryan) pretends to be a dissipated playboy drunk so he can investigate things in secret. Other suspects and characters include Manning's daughter, Evelyn (Wanda McKay of The Monster Maker); her boyfriend, Talbott (Bruce Kellogg); grave Dr. Graves (Sam Flint); foreman Driscoll (Ralph Dunn of Confessions of Boston Blackie); and his wife, Margaret (Lois Austin). There's a gang with guns who are involved in gold smuggling and a brief cat fight with a "nun," Birminghman and Tommy are still amusing, but this is distinctly minor-league Chan. Tim Ryan really scores in his expert and entertaining drunk act.

Verdict: Only for devotees. **.

THE LOST PLANET

Michael Fox vs. Judd Holdren in Lost Planet

THE LOST PLANET (15 chapter Columbia serial/1953). Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet.

"What has he to offer a great scientist like me?"

Reporter Rex Barrow (Judd Holdren) and his photographer friend, Tim (Ted Thorpe), stumble into the mountain hide-out of the megalomaniac Dr. Grood (Michael Fox of Riders to the Stars), who is forcing Professor Dorn (Forrest Taylor of The Iron Claw) to enslave the inhabitants of another planet, Ergro, in order to take over Earth. Grood is assisted by the groveling Jarva (Jack George), who is like something out of the Three Stooges, on earth, and by portly Reckov (Gene Roth), on the alien world, while Dorn's daughter, Ella (Vivian Mason), travels to Ergro with the others. Grood is able to mind-control anyone he chooses, and has other weapons as well, and employs spaceships that take everyone from Earth to Ergro in a very fast and highly unscientific manner. There's also a cosmo jet, and a cartoon flying saucer. Late in the serial some earth men of rather ill repute try to take over Grood's operation, briefly join with him, and then switch sides again. Holdren is perfectly bland and adequate, and Fox is rather good as Grood, yet somehow he doesn't make the kind of memorable serial villain that, say, Charles Middleton does as Ming in Flash Gordon. Holdren and Roth were also in Captain Video, Master of the Stratosphere and the former starred in Zombies of the Stratosphere as well.

Verdict: Acceptable, silly sci fi serial. **.

THE IRON CLAW

THE IRON CLAW (1941). 15 chapter Columbia serial. Director: James W. Horne.

Set mostly in a creepy house and an abandoned mine, this has to do with a mysterious figure with an iron claw who stalks the members of the Benson family. There is no love lost between Anton Benson (Forrest Taylor) and his other brothers, and Anton's daughter Millie (Edythe Elliott) can do without most of the rest of her relatives as well. Anton's niece Pat (Joyce Bryant) can't believe that either he nor chief suspect -- and petty crook -- Roy Benson (Norman Willis) can be up to any mischief, but there's also Gyves the butler (John Beck), and hood Silk Langdon (Charles King) to contend with. Bob Lane (Charles Quigley) is a reporter on the case and Jack Strong (Walter Sande) is his photographer; there's also casey the Cop (James C. Morton) on the side of the angels.

This is an extremely entertaining, very fast-paced, skillfully done serial with a lot of exciting sequences. The flavorful, constantly bickering characters and the old house with all its secret panels add to the fun. Joyce Bryant is a great screamer, which is probably why they had her haul off and screech so often during the movie, as frankly Pat seems too feisty a gal to be screaming all the time. Pat gets into a tussle with tough customer Annie, who works for Silk and tries to hold her captive, at one point. One of the best cliffhangers has the good guys trapped in a tunnel in the mine by explosions and fire. The acting is more than adequate, but Forrest Taylor is really quite good as Anton, who knows a lot more than he's saying. Lee Zahler's score, with its ominous theme for the Claw, creates atmosphere and suspense.

Verdict: Whirlwind serial is a delight! ***.