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. ***. 

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.

THE VANISHING LEGION

"The Voice" confronts a cowering member of the Legion

THE VANISHING LEGION (12 chapter Mascot serial/1931). Directors: Ford Beebe; B. Reeves Eason.

"The Voice ... has spoken." 

Oil man "Happy" Cardigan (Harry Carey) has a certain time period to bring in a gusher but he finds this is difficult to do when he has to deal with raids on the oil fields by a group of men on horseback calling themselves the "Vanishing Legion." Then there's a mysterious character called "The Voice," who issues commands using a special transmitter and never speaks above a whisper. It is suggested that the Voice is actually one of the four directors of the oil company. Adding to the intrigue is a company secretary named Miss Caroline Hall (Edwina Booth), who may be an agent of the Voice, and may even have something to do with the Vanishing Legion. If that wasn't enough mystery, we have young lad Jimmie Williams (Frankie Darro) who is the only one who can ride a wild horse named Rex, and his father, Jed (Edward Hearn), who is wanted for murder. As the serial progresses, things get a little confusing with all the inter-relationships, and people turning out to be something other than you thought they were. Darro probably has more to do in this serial than anyone except maybe Carey, but he's billed after Carey, Booth and even "Rex, King of the Wild Horses." He gives an excellent performance and out-acts most of the adults, although Carey, Hearn and others are at least competent. Booth comically over-acts at times, but she's continually called on to suggest an alternating good gal and bad girl to keep the audience guessing which she might actually be, and generally she's both attractive and vital. Other prominent characters include Ashton (Philo McCullough), who may have some relationship to the man allegedly murdered by Jimmie's fugitive dad; the Sheriff (William Desmond), who at one point is suspected of being the Voice; and Hornbeck (Lafe McKee), Jed Williams'  lawyer. Although he does not actually appear in the serial, the voice of the "Voice" is supplied by none other than Boris Karloff, which not only adds some spookiness to the proceedings but neatly hides the identity of the actual villain. Two memorable cliffhangers in the movie involve Carey nearly getting trampled by a pack of wild horses, and Booth opening a door in a hallway and discovering that there's no room inside, just a quick path to the sidewalk far below.  Booth had very few film appearances but Carey was also in Beyond Tomorrow and had a notable role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

In the entertaining book Classic Cliffhangers Vol. 1  by Hank Davis, the author suggests that there's something "unnatural" in the (off-screen!) relationship between Frankie Darro, and the actor who plays his father, Edward Hearn. Davis seems to think that Hearn fondles Darro too much (but I watched the uncut movie and saw absolutely nothing over the top in the realistic displays of affection a father would show for a motherless boy whose whole world revolves around his beloved dad) and he is particularly disturbed by a scene in which father and son kiss on the lips. The kiss may seem to be held longer than necessary (and looking at it with 21st century eyes one might find it discomforting) but Davis neglects to inform the reader that this scene occurs at a highly emotional moment when both father and son are afraid they may never see each other again. To suggest that Hearn was getting off on it and is therefore a pedophile is patently unfair. This was a more innocent time period, and parents and children did kiss on the lips without anyone thinking it was automatically unnatural. The boy actually initiates the kiss and this is not the only time he does so, and given the time period especially, it doesn't seem that weird.  Davis also doesn't mention that in other scenes, such as when Jimmie thinks his father has been killed, "Happy" hugs the boy to his breast, strokes his hair, but there's no suggestion (and shouldn't be) that this makes actor Harry Carey a pedophile. I'm as repelled and outraged by child molestation as anyone else, but I don't think it's fair to label someone a pedophile based on a scene in a movie! There is nothing on the Internet to indicate any unnatural interest in children on Hearn's part; only that he was married and had a child. Hopefully I'm wrong, but it's almost as if Davis for some reason decided Hearn was gay and that therefore he must be a child molester! This would be especially bizarre as Davis spends a lot of time decrying the racist aspects of many of these old serials.

Verdict: Creaky but somewhat entertaining old serial, but not one of Mascot's best. **1/2.

THE PHANTOM EMPIRE

Autry with the evil queen

THE PHANTOM EMPIRE (1935) Directors: B. Reeves Eason; Otto Brower.

Gene Autry (radio singer Gene Autry) is host of a radio show with songs and dramatic serials called Radio Ranch, because it is, well, broadcast from a ranch. A group of "archaeologists" headed by Professor Beetson (Frank Glendon) suspect that there's radium on the property adjacent to the ranch, as well as the remains of a lost civilization, and want to get rid of Autry and his gang so they can proceed with their investigations; to this end they frame Autry for the murder of his partner. Frankie (Frankie Darro) and his sister Betsy (Betsy King Ross ), the children of the murdered man, are members of a teen group they call "Junior Thunder Riders" after some mysterious horsemen they encountered only once (who do indeed make a thunderous clamor when they ride); wouldn't you know these horsemen are actually called Thunder Riders in the underground world they come from, Murania, which is enclosed in a vast cavern 25,000 miles below the earth -- that can be reached by a elevator tube! Murania is ruled by a horrible queen Tika (Dorothy Christy), who seems to think her society is so much nicer and more advanced than the surface world, but is constantly ordering her slave-like soldiers put to death and even tries to kill Frankie and Betsy, two children, with a missile! (Better she should kill off the Thunder Riders, who apparently ride through the surface desert periodically and could easily lead people to the hidden entrance to Murania.) In the meantime, Murania's Lord Argo (Wheeler Oakman), who is supposed to kill off those who displease the queen in a lightning chamber, actually saves them so they can join his revolution, although he isn't much nicer than the queen.

The feature-length version of Phantom Empire was frequently shown on television when I was a boy and I have to say I didn't like it much even then. One can say it has a loopy charm, but whatever its assets it simply isn't very good. Autry isn't an especially dynamic leading man for an adventure sci-fi serial -- hard to believe that once upon a time he was a tremendous star --  although Christy, who was excellent as Stan Laurel's wife in Sons of the Desert, is at least somewhat forceful as the evil queen. Frankie Darro was always okay in this stuff, but while Betsy is cute, she was really a specialty horse rider and not an actress. The two morons Oscar (Smiley Burnette) and Pete (William Moore) are tiresome. The serial doesn't do much with the whole idea of what should be a fascinating underground city, and a sequence in which a disintegration weapon goes wild isn't very memorable (certainly not like a similar scene in Atlantis, the Lost Continent.) Watching Murania kind of melt is a mild sort of fun, however. Mascot made much, much better serials than this.

Verdict: Everyone should see this once and then completely forget it. **.

THE GALLOPING GHOST

THE GALLOPING GHOST (12 chapter Mascot serial/1931). Director: [B.] Reeves Eason.

This cliffhanger serial was built around the "talents" of famous football player, Harold "Red" Grange, who sort of plays himself, and that not very well. His off-screen nickname was -- you guessed it -- "Galloping Ghost." Red is a college football player [Grange was 28-years-old but looks in his forties or older] who is framed by crooked gamblers and tossed off the team of Clary University. His buddy, eh, "Buddy" (Francis X. Bushman Jr AKA Ralph Bushman) is secretly married to bad girl Irene (Gwen Lee) when players are supposed to be single, so he's an easy target of blackmail and is later hypnotized so he doesn't even know who he is. Red is eventually accused of murdering another player on the team. Buddy's sister Barbara (Dorothy Gulliver) has a yen for Red. Since we know who the chief bad guy is from the first there's little suspense, but there is a surprise concerning a sinister "cripple" who rather energetically weaves his way through the action and cackles maniacally at the end of each episode. The action is often cranked up like a silent movie. It's interesting that the cliffhanger at the end of the first chapter -- Red lets go of a parachute he's sharing with a gal and manages to land safely on top of another plane -- was later used more or less in more than one James Bond movie. Other good cliffhangers include a bit with a boat that's crushed between moving piers and a car in a garage that crushes downward on top of Red's prone body. This is a busy, not-terrible serial that suffers a bit from a primitive style and some pretty bad acting, although serial fanatics may enjoy it. Theodore Lorch as Dr. Blake and Tom Dugan as a stuttering cabbie are the most memorable members of the cast, and Gwen Lee isn't too bad, either. Lively theme music.

Verdict: Has its moments but mostly for serial completists. **.

BURN 'EM UP BARNES

BURN 'EM UP BARNES (12 chapter Mascot serial/1934). Directors: Colbert Clark; Armand Schaefer.

Race car driver "Burn 'Em Up" Barnes (Jack Mulhall) decides to seek other employment after his friend, a photographer, dies on the race track. He joins up with Marjorie Temple (Lola Lane) to form the Temple and Barnes school bus transportation company. Marjorie is unaware that there is oil on her property, which is why Lyman Warren (Edwin Maxwell) desperately wants to buy it and will stop at nothing to put her in the position where she needs to sell. Early in the serial Warren and his associate Drummond (Jason Robards Sr.) frame Barnes for vehicular homicide, but his young buddy Bobby (Frankie Darro) has film that proves his innocence -- naturally this film passes among many hands before the serial is through. At one point Barnes starts doing stunt work for a movie company [just when the serial begins running out of skimpy plot] with the bad guys still trying to kill him off via assorted accidents. The cliffhangers in this serial are generally well-done and quite credible with none of the "cheating" that often occurs in serials. Mulhall seems like a vaudeville entertainer who wandered into the wrong set and is a terribly obvious actor. Lane is lovely and reasonably competent, and Darro is just swell. Maxwell, Robards and Francis McDonald are credible enough villains, and Julian Rivero does the comedy relief as grease monkey Tony as well as anyone. This is not a terrible serial, but it's not on the top of Mascot's cliffhanger list to be certain.

Verdict: A lesser serial but not without some entertainment value. **1/2. 

THE MYSTERY SQUADRON

THE MYSTERY SQUADRON (12 chapter Mascot serial/1933). Directors: Colbert Clark and David Howard.

Down in San Juan, New Mexico, a "mystery squadron" led by an unknown villain called the Black Ace flies over an area where a dam is being constructed and performs acts of sabotage. Fred Cromwell (Bob Steele) and his buddy "Jellybean" (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) try to get to the bottom of this mystery and uncover the identity of the Black Ace, although both of them are accused of being the culprit at one point. Other suspects include Superintendent Collins (J. Carrol Naish) and Doc Flint (Robert Fraser), both of whom offer the most notable performances in the serial [although Jack Mulhall is also good]. There is a lot of urgent exclaiming by the cast members throughout the movie, and more running around than you've ever seen, but the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter aren't very memorable. Nonetheless, the serial is entertaining and does manage to work up some suspense over the identity of ... the Black Ace!

Verdict: Not one of the best but still fun. ***.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1933)

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1933). 12 chapter Mascot serial. Directed by Armand Schaefer and Colbert Clark.

Described as an “updated” version of the story by Alexander Dumas, this is an entertaining cliffhanger with John Wayne taking center stage and the “musketeers” pushed into a subordinate position. In a battle between members of the Foreign Legion and gunrunners, all but three members of the legion forces are wiped out. The last three are saved by the timely intervention of Lt. Tom Wayne (John Wayne) in his plane. This first scene is a little weird, as the “heroes” have absolutely no reaction to the sudden deaths of their colleagues (one who "steals" a cigarette from a fallen comrade is shot and killed himself a moment later) and indeed remain jaunty and insouciant as they stand there afterward with the bodies of fellow legionnaires presumably lying all around them. Smiling in the face of death and remaining cool and philosophical about warfare is all well and good, but these musketeers come off as callous idiots. In contrast, John Wayne shows genuine emotion and concern when his buddy Stubbs (Noah Beery Jr.) is shot in front of him. Lon Chaney Jr., billed as Creighton Chaney, appears briefly as a friend of Wayne's who is murdered, with Wayne becoming the chief suspect. The real culprit is the villain El Shaitan (The Devil), who is plotting an Arab rebellion against the Legion. Wayne's girlfriend, Chaney's sister Elaine (Ruth Hall), has a letter which will clear Wayne of murder charges, and naturally there's a lot of running after this letter as well as many shots of men fairly leaping onto horses. The Musketeers are played by Francis X. Bushman, Raymond Hatton, and Jack [The Clutching Hand] Mulhall.

Verdict: Fairly entertaining, with a generally fast pace and some exciting moments. **1/2.

THE MIRACLE RIDER

THE MIRACLE RIDER (1935). 15 chapter Mascot serial. Directed by Armand Schaefer and B. Reeves Eason.

In this “modern-day” Western serial, the comparatively bland Tom Mix is cast as Texas Ranger Tom Morgan, who comes up against Zarnoff (Charles Middleton), who wants to scare the Indians off a reservation because it holds a mine with an explosive ore. Zarnoff uses a airship to try and convince the Indians that a deadly “Firebird” is on the loose. The ore is used to make formula X49, which is employed to create a fire-causing beam of destruction. Not even the great Middleton can save this dull serial that is poorly edited and lacks suspense. The only good thing about it is the snappy theme music that opens each episode. Joan Gale plays Ruth; Bob Fraser is Black Wing, and Jason Robards is Carlson.

Verdict: Below the level of most other Mascot serials. *1/2.

THE LOST JUNGLE

THE LOST JUNGLE (1934). Mascot Serial Feature version [approx. 71 minutes]. Directed by Armand Schaefer and David Howard.

This is the feature-length version of the serial starring the real Clyde Beatty playing himself. While not any kind of Tyrone Power or Laurence Olivier, Beatty was an attractive fellow with an ingratiating manner, and he plays in this stuff about as well as many another serial hero. Clyde's girlfriend Ruth (Cecilia Parker) is hoping he'll propose before she has to go off with her father, Captain Robertson Edward LeSaint), on a voyage to the south seas. “He's different from other men,” she tells her father because she fears Clyde is more comfortable with animals than he is with women. When Ruth and the others wind up shipwrecked on a jungle island, Clyde goes to the rescue on a dirigible that falls apart in mid-ocean. Eventually he also winds up on the “lost island” of Kamor, which also has a lost underground city as well as a treasure. Sharky (Warner Richmond), a jealous associate of Clyde's, consistently causes trouble for everyone, as does a man-eating tiger they call Sammy [how anyone can have affection for a beast that slaughtered several crew members is never explored]. Clyde brings along his publicity man Larry (Syd Saylor) for comedy relief, and comes across a vital little Mickey Rooney in an early sequence. Although one can tell that this feature version leaves out a lot of plot details and possibly some exciting scenes, there's little in this that will make most viewers want to seek out a full-length version of the serial, although one is available on DVD.

Verdict: It doesn't look like one of Mascot's better entries. **.

FIGHTING MARINES

FIGHTING MARINES (1935). 12 chapter Mascot serial. Directed by B. Reeves Eason and Joseph Kane.

Grant Withers and Adrian Morris star as a Marine corporal and sergeant who come up against a saboteur named the Tiger Shark who works out of Halfway Island. Ann Rutherford, who is nearly unrecognizable from her gig as “Polly Benedict” in the Andy Hardy series, plays the love interest, although there ain't much romance in this serial. The Tiger Shark is after a gyro-compass [“designed to aid blind flying”] invented by Rutherford's brother. The Tiger Shark wears goggles and a black leather aviator's outfit and flies an auto-gyro – he's certainly more striking and heroic in appearance than either of the potato-headed heroes. The opening sequence with the Marines fighting pirates on Halfway Island is busy but dull, and the rest of the serial, alas, isn't much better. Aside from a well-done sequence involving a closing, crushing wall, the cliffhangers are pretty lame and there are far too many flashbacks. This is a mostly by-the-numbers serial that fails to sustain suspense even though the identity of the villain is withheld until the very end. Mascot did some pretty good serials with John Wayne as star, but Fighting Marines is a major disappointment.

Verdict: Several hours of your life that you can't get back! *1/2.