CAPTAIN KIDD AND THE SLAVE GIRL

Anthony Dexter and Eva Gabor

CAPTAIN KIDD AND THE SLAVE GIRL (1954). Director: Lew Landers. 

Captain William Kidd (Anthony Dexter) is convicted of piracy and sentenced to hang (as he was in real life). In this completely fictionalized story, Kidd's death is faked with the complicity of Lord Bellomont (James Seay), who hopes to eventually learn where Kidd's treasure is buried. To that end Kidd is given a new name and put on board a ship helmed by Captain Pace (the ever-uninteresting Lyle Talbot). Also on board is Judith Duvall (Eva Gabor) who was put there to report back to Bellomont. After an adversarial relationship, the two eventually become lovers, possibly because Kidd walks around with his shirt off through much of the movie. Eventually the two encounter Blackbeard (Michael Ross) and lady pirate Ann Bonney (Sonia Sorel). It's a question who will wind up with the treasure and if Kidd and Judith will ever make it back to England. 

Alan Hale Jr. with Dexter

Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl is fast-paced and amusing, with a dashing and adept performance by Dexter, who'd previously played Valentino and appeared in the trash-classic Fire Maidens of Outer Space. Gabor is better than expected, Ross [Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman] makes a blustering Blackbeard, and Sorel is quite effective as Bonney. It's fun watching Kidd turn Gabor into a galley slave early in their relationship, and even more fun watching Gabor and Sorel having a zesty "cat-fight." A hilarious scene has Kidd telling Judith to pretend to be his slave when she is wearing a fancy gown. Someone in the make up department had the lousy idea of painting a beard and mustache on Dexter's face instead of letting him grow one or using a fake beard with spirit gum -- in some shots it looks very strange. Alan Hale Jr. is excellent as Jay Simpson, a good friend of Kidd's who sticks with him to the bitter end. William Tannen also makes an impression as Steve Castle, a decided enemy of Kidd's, and smaller roles are played by William Schallert, Harry Lauter, Ken Terrell, and others who appeared in numerous B movies and serials. Although this movie was released in color, the only print I could find was black and white. 

Verdict: A sexy Kidd never hurts! ***. 

MYSTERIOUS DR. SATAN

Both in disguise, Copperhead (Wilcox) faces Dr. Satan (Ciannelli)

MYSTERIOUS DR. SATAN (15 chapter Republic serial/1940). Directors: John English; William Witney.

Just before the older man's death, Bob Wayne (Robert Wilcox) is told by Governor Bronson (Charles Trowbridge), the man who raised him, that his real father was once known as the original Copperhead, who fought for justice but was wrongly labeled a crook. Bob decides to don a mask and become the new Copperhead, so that he can fight the minions of the mysterious Dr. Satan (Eduardo Ciannelli). "Mysterious" is right, because we never learn why he calls himself Dr. Satan nor what his true identity is. (Similarly, the Copperhead disguise seems fairly unnecessary.) Satan is after a remote control device invented by Professor Scott (C. Montague Shaw), whose daughter, Lois (Ella Neal), is trapped in a diving bell with Bob when it springs a leak thanks to the diabolical manipulations of Dr. Satan. The nefarious Satan forces his men and others to wear explosive chest devices that keep them from getting out of line or escaping, and on several occasions employs a large killer robot to do his dirty work. Ciannelli [Johnny Staccato; Monster from Green Hell] is quite good as Dr. Satan, sneering his contempt without ever overacting or chewing the scenery. Wilcox, who was Diana Barrymore's third husband and companion-in-nightmare, was certainly good-looking and was not a bad actor, but he's not a good choice for a serial action hero as his performance lacks dynamism and is rather listless [even if one gives him the benefit of the doubt and imagines that he was trying to differentiate between Wayne and the Copperhead]. Ella Neal is adept and attractive, but the other woman in the cast, Dorothy Herbert, has little opportunity to do more than look interested or perky as reporter Alice Brent. Jack Mulhall [The She-Creature] and Ken Terrell [Indestructible Man] are also in the cast. One of the best cliffhangers has to do with a cell whose far wall begins closing in on our hero as Dr. Satan chuckles. This was originally conceived as a Superman serial, but the rights for that character went to Columbia studios instead; that studio took eight years to finally come out with a serial about the Man of Steel.

Verdict: Entertaining, but not in the class of the best Republic serials. **1/2.

THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS

THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1957). Director: Nathan Juran [as Nathan Hertz].

"A very exciting female -- she appeals to me."

Scientist Steve March (John Agar) goes with associate Dan Murphy (Robert Fuller) to Mystery Mountain for some experiments and discovers a hitherto unknown tunnel -- and exploring it encounters the evil Gor from planet Arous. Gor is an intergalactic criminal as well as a ghostly disembodied brain of substantial size who takes over March's mind and then tries to take over the world. Although Gor terrorizes the military and several representatives of world governments by frying enemies and bringing down airliners, there are some compensations: March's girlfriend, Sally (Joyce Meadows), notices that Steve has become a much more passionate kisser. The Brain from Planet Arous is like a fifties horror/sci fi comic book story and just as silly. But it's also extremely entertaining and features a whopping good lead performance from John Agar, who really seems to be having a ball threatening everyone with his evil eye beams. There are also solid performances from the supporting cast, including Meadows and Fuller, as well as old stand-bys Thomas Browne Henry and Ken Terrell. Meadows was primarily a television actor, as was Fuller, although he also appeared in What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? with Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon in 1969. 

Verdict: As evil brain movies go, this one is a winner. ***.

THE PERILS OF NYOKA

THE PERILS OF NYOKA (1942). 15 chapter Republic serial. Director: William Witney. 

This is a rousing, well-done cliffhanger serial that's supposed to take place in a desert land but looks more like sunny California. Who cares -- if you want logic, look elsewhere. Nyoka (Kay Aldridge) is on a search for her father, and for the Tablets of Hippocrates, which are supposed to impart the secrets of banishing all ills from mankind. Looking for the tablets for her own evil purposes is Vultura (Lorna Gray, pictured), whose henchmen include Charles "Ming the Merciless" Middleton and Tristram "Rocket Man" Coffin. However, Aldridge has hunky Clayton Moore of Lone Ranger on her side so she's not complaining. In the meantime, Gray shows off her shapely legs in her revealing costumes. Vultura has Satan, the dumb, hokey gorilla to aid her, while our heroine has Jitters , an adorable monkey, and Fang, a German shepherd, to help her out. Highlights include Satan literally bringing the house down by smashing at some pillars; Vultura putting Nyoka to the rack; a bit with some descending spikes; Nyoka suspended over a fire pit by her own father; a swinging pendulum that nearly cuts a bloody swathe through Nyoka; and -- best of all -- a thrilling bit with our lass being blown out of a tunnel and off of a cliff by a sudden wind storm! Vultura and Nyoka have some great cat-fights in every other episode. Ken Terrell of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman also has a small part, as he frequently did in these things. Ditto for William Benedict. Highly effective musical score and a great theme. NOTE: This was rereleased as Nyoka and the Tiger Men; it was not a sequel. 

Verdict: Great fun! ***.

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (1945). Directed by Spencer Bennet and Fred Brannon. 

A man from Mars who is inexplicably known as the Purple Monster (Roy Barcroft) lands on Earth and literally takes over the body of Dr. Cyrus Layton (James Craven). He does this by dematerializing into a phantom form and simply sitting down in Leyton's body. He hopes to steal Layton's scientific devices -- especially a jet ship launching rocket -- for use in a planned Martian conquest of Earth, and by becoming Layton leads good guy Craig Foster (Dennis Moore) and Layton's niece Sheila (Linda Stirling), on a merry chase. The Purple Monster Strikes is snappy and fast-paced. There are some exciting cliffhangers involving a ladder dangling high over the ground, a pit that fills with water, a car in an auto shop that smashes rapidly downwards towards Moore, and spiked cell bars that threaten to impale Moore as he goes to use the phone (he uses his ingenuity to escape this trap). There's a zesty "cat-fight" between Sheila and Martian Bitch Marcia (Mary Moore) in chapter 12, and the fisticuffs are even more furious than before in chapter thirteen. Tom Steele is one of the thugs, and even Ken Terrell, butler Jess from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, has a small role, as he usually did in these things. 

Verdict: The cast serves up this zany stuff with relish. ***.

INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN

INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN (1956). Director: Jack Pollexfen.

Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney Jr.) isn't having a very good day. Arrested for a payroll robbery and murder, his two partners in the crime roll over on him and his own lawyer is the mastermind of the plot. However, things look up after he's executed, when his body is delivered to a scientist, Professor Bradshaw (Robert Shayne), who is trying to find a cure for cancer. For some reason Bradshaw treats Benton's corpse to an electrical process that inadvertently brings the dead man back to life -- mute. With super-strength and invulnerability to bullets and what-not, Benton proceeds to go after the ones who done him wrong. Max Showalter is the detective on the case, and Ross Elliott is the Lawyer, Paul Lowe. Ken Terrell, who played butler Jess in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, is one of Benton's victims. The cast is professional enough, and Chaney -- although he only speaks in the opening sequence -- gives one of his better, more intense performances. Marian Carr is very appealing as the dancer, Eva Martin, who once befriended Benton; she was also in Kiss Me Deadly. Marjorie Stapp makes an impression as a woman whose boyfriend is murdered by Benton right in front of her. (She was also in The Monster that Challeneged the World -- as was Showalter -- Daughter of Dr. Jekyll, and other genre films.) Joe Flynn of McHale's Navy has a small role as Shayne's assistant. Elliott was a busy actor of the period and appeared in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Albert Glasser's dramatic score is a definite asset to the picture. The narration is unnecessary but there is a good use of locations. Exciting climax in the sewers.

Verdict: Entertaining, taut little thriller. ***.