STAR DUST

A waiting game: John Payne and Linda Darnell

STAR DUST  (1940). Director: Walter Lang.

Thomas Brooke (Roland Young) was once a leading man in silent movies but now is a talent scout for Amalgamated Pictures and his boss Dane Wharton (William Gargan). Brooke sends two hopefuls to Hollywood -- college football star Ambrose Fillmore, better known as "Bud" (John Payne), and singer Mary Andrews (Mary Healy) -- but he fears that Carolyn Sayres (Linda Darnell) is too young, Convinced she has talent, Carolyn goes behind Brooke's back and writes to Wharton on her own, therefore there are three new candidates for stardom who wait anxiously outside Wharton's office after filming their screen tests. It may be surprising which if any of the three will be offered a contract. 

"Secrets in the Moonlight:" John Payne sings 

Star Dust was loosely based on Linda Darnell's life, as she was also told she was too young to work in movies. The rest is pure fiction, of course. There are those who will tell you that Darnell wasn't much of an actress but I have to disagree, as she does some very good work in this and in other films. John Payne, one of the handsomest leading men in Hollywood, could actually sing and you can hear him doing a very nice rendition of "Secrets in the Moonlight." He also gives a smooth and charming performance. Mary Healy, who married Peter Lind Hayes, is a bit too odd-looking to be attractive and has a voice that is way too deep without being sexy. She is best-known for The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T. 

A face meant for radio? Mary Healy

Roland Young of Topper fame is splendid, as is Charlotte Greenwood as his colleague, the acting coach for Amalgamated's young hopefuls. Donald Meek scores as one of Young's rivals at the studio, as does Mary Beth Hughes as a contract actress, June Lawrence, who acts snotty with Carolyn and gets her comeuppance. George Montgomery plays an actor who has learned that the studio dropped his option, and Robert Lowery is another actor who came out to Hollywood and wound up just another bellboy. Jessie Ralph and Irving Bacon each have a couple of good scenes as, respectively, Carolyn's non-nonsense aunt and the clerk at a small college town hotel. At one point 21-year-old Bud gives a big smooch to 16-year-old Carolyn, which is not seen as anything significant in 1940 but today would get a guy arrested! (Payne was actually 28 and Darnell 17.) 

Verdict: Snappy and entertaining musical comedy with some basic truths about Hollywood. ***.  

THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND

Warren Oates and Ray Danton

THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND (1960). Director: Budd Boetticher.

After doing a dancing act with his partner, Alice, (Karen Steele), Jack Diamond (Ray Danton) manipulates his way into the camp of roaring twenties' mobster Arnold Rothstein (Robert Lowery) and even romances his woman, Monica (Elaine Stewart of Most Dangerous Man Alive). Rothstein christens Jack "Legs" and is somewhat amused by his rival's all-too-obvious ambition. As Jack becomes a competitor, as well as a murderer many times over, he also manipulates Alice into marrying him, to the consternation of the authorities who'd hoped for her help. Legs brags that he is unkillable -- but is that really the case? Legs Diamond is another film that takes a few facts about a legendary gangster and somehow manages to make the man's life more cliched and less interesting than it actually was. Although Ray Danton [I'll Cry Tomorrow] offers his customary charismatic performance, he is hardly perect casting -- what this needs is the almost manic energy of a Cagney. Robert Lowery [Batman and Robin] scores as Rothstein, and there's some good work from Steele; Stewart; Warren Oates as Legs' brother, Eddie; Joseph Ruskin as Rothstein's bodyguard, Moran; and Judson Pratt as Legs' associate Fats. Simon Oakland is the cop investigating Legs; Dyan Cannon is another bimbo; and Gordon Jones -- the second serial hero in the cast -- is an old Army "buddy" of Legs' who goes to work for him. The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond is not especially well directed and despite the subject matter even becomes boring after awhile. This is one of the few starring roles handed to Ray Danton, and it's a shame Warner Brothers couldn't have assigned him to a better picture, as he was certainly a dynamic figure. The following year Danton reprised his role of Legs in Portrait of a Mobster about Dutch Schultz, and David Janssen played Rothstein in King of the Roaring 20's, in which the character of Legs did not appear.

Verdict: This study of an unrepentant sociopath should have been much sharper. **.

HOLLYWOOD CAVALCADE

Alice Faye and Alan Curtis

HOLLYWOOD CAVALCADE (1939). Director: Irving Cummings.

Michael Connors (Don Ameche) a brash wannabee director, talks new Broadway actress Molly Adair (Alice Faye) into going to Hollywood with him to have careers in silent pictures. They manage to become very successful with movie after movie. Michael thinks of himself and Molly as an unbreakable team, but the lack of romance in their lives causes Molly to do the quite sensible thing and marry her handsome co-star, Nicky Hayden (Alan Curtis of Good Girls Go to Paris). This starts Michael on a downward spiral, and eventually a tragedy results. Hollywood Cavalcade is a colorful look at the silent movie era with an attempt at a dramatic underpinning that doesn't quite come off. Alan Curtis' character is so under-developed (and comparatively unmourned) that he hardly exists, and Michael is too unlikable to be sympathetic, despite the obvious heartbreak he's undergoing. The performances are fine, with Faye [King of Burlesque] beautifully underplaying her very emotional sequences; Ameche [Guest Wife] is good if a bit less effective. Donald Meek is wonderful as a producer, and there are guest appearances by Buster Keaton. Rin Tin Tin Jr., and Al Jolson, who recreates a scene from The Jazz Singer. The other recreations of silent movies are all well done and mostly quite funny. Irving Bacon and Robert Lowery have small but well-played parts. The movie is said to be loosely inspired by the lives of Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett, who briefly appears as himself in the film.

Verdict: Glorious technicolor can't quite disguise the pic's deficits, but the film is entertaining. **1/2.

WESTERN PACIFIC AGENT

Kent Taylor

WESTERN PACIFIC AGENT (1950). Director: Sam Newfield.

Bill Stuart (Robert Lowery), a payroll agent for the Western Pacific railroad, is murdered by a hood named Frank Wicken (Mickey Knox). Agent Rod Kendall (Kent Taylor) investigates this murder as well as the death of an elderly railroad worker, also attributed to Wicken. Frank's father, store owner Joe Wicken (Morris Carnovsky of Cornered), suspects what his son has done, but loves him too much to turn him in. Kendall organizes a manhunt for the desperate Frank among the "bindlestiffs," or migrant workers who ride the rails, that doesn't end well. Western Pacific Agent is a minor film from Lippert that boasts a stand-out performance from Mickey Knox and a nice score from Albert Glasser. Kent Taylor [Gangbusters] is fine, and there are also small roles for Sheila Ryan and, unfortunately, Sid Melton [Lost Continent], playing a comedy-relief character who wears out his welcome almost immediately.

Verdict: Acceptable minor B movie but little more. **1/2.

HIGHWAY 13

Pamela Blake as Doris with Robert Lowery

HIGHWAY 13 (1948). Director: William Berke.

A series of mysterious accidents are plaguing a truck company, although the head of the outfit seems unconcerned. Another executive in the firm, Frank Denton (Michael Whalen), finds out that his wife's car has been driven off a cliff and feels he was the real target. Even an undercover detective (Steve Pendleton) hired to investigate comes to a bad end. Driver Hank Wilson (Robert Lowery), who is engaged to personable, pretty waitress Doris (Pamela Blake), is determined to get to the bottom of things. Other characters include Doris' uncle, known as "Pops" (Clem Bevans); his wife, Aunt Myrt (Mary Gordon); the trucking firm's personnel manager, Mary (Maris Wrixon of The Face of Marble); and detectives played by Lyle Talbot and Dan Seymour. Highway 13 could be dismissed as a typical minor "B"  thriller were it not for the fact that it has a good script, interesting characters and performances, and it isn't obvious from the first who the bad guys are. Pamela Blake [Ghost of Zorro] offers a very appealing portrait of the waitress Doris, Lowery is the stalwart hero, and Clem Bevans [Gold Raiders] pretty much steals the picture as the dyspeptic old Pops.

Verdict: Entertaining and suspenseful, with a few surprises and a satisfying wind-up. **1/2.

FASHION MODEL

Robert Lowery, Tim Ryan, Marjorie Weaver

FASHION MODEL (1945). Director: William Beaudine.

Not long after model Peggy Rooney (Marjorie Weaver of Great Alaskan Mystery) gets into a fight with rival Yvonne (Lorna Gray of The Perils of Nyoka), the latter is found strangled inside the fashion house where they work. Peggy is the first major suspect in the murder, but as more deaths occur, her boyfriend Jimmy (Robert Lowery) catches the eye of dogged Police Inspector O'Hara (Tim Ryan). There's also a missing broach that was given to the dead woman by her rather disinterested fiance, Davis (John Valentine), which engenders a frantic search for the expensive item by Duval (Edward Keane), head of the fashion house, and his employee, Madame Celeste (Dorothy Christy). Fashion Model is a comedy-mystery with a few chuckles, some cold-blooded characters, and an interesting if lower case cast. Tim Ryan could probably have played the role of the inspector in his sleep by now. Robert Lowery registers his usual suave charm, and Marjorie Weaver proves she's definitely no Lucille Ball. Nell Craig and Harry Depp [Black Magic] are fun as a bickering couple who are in the fashion house during the first murder, and Jack Norton nearly steals the picture as the tippling window dresser, Herbert. The most amusing sequence has Herbert trying to undress two mannequins who are actually Peggy and Jimmy in disguise. The ending is kind of nifty and well-done. Dorothy Christy was the evil queen in The Phantom Empire and also appeared in Sons of the Desert with Laurel and Hardy.

Verdict: It's not Blood and Black Lace but it has its moments. **.

MURDER OVER NEW YORK

Ricardo Cortez, Victor Sen Yung and Sidney Toler

MURDER OVER NEW YORK (1940). Director: Harry Lachman.

When Hugh Drake (Frederick Worlock), formerly of Scotland Yard and now with Military Intelligence, is found dead of gas poisoning, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) goes into [relative] action, while son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) kibbitzes. A strange man named Paul Narvo is involved in the murder plot, but even his wife, Pat (Marjorie Weaver of The Great Alaskan Mystery) -- from whom she ran away -- doesn't know who or where he is. Suspects and other characters include the butler Boggs (Leyland Hodgson); Inspector Vance (Donald MacBride); Drake's friend, Kirby (Ricardo Cortez); stockbroker Richard Jeffery (John Sutton); David Elliot (Robert Lowery), special friend of Pat's; the obnoxious Britisher Herbert Fenton (Melville Cooper); and Ralph Percy (Kane Richmond); who is involved with experimental aircraft that may be subject to sabotage. Junior Coghlan [The Adventures of Captain Marvel] has a nice bit as a club employee who helps Chan, and Shemp Howard [Brideless Groom] has an amusing turn as Shorty, who pretends to be the "Great Rashid." The exciting climax has many of the characters in a death-trap on a plane miles high in the air. With Richmond, Lowery, and Cortez in the cast -- as they were in many other Charlie Chan films -- this practically comprises the Charlie Chan Stock Company.

Verdict: Death-traps are always fun! ***.

CAMPUS RHYTHM

Reaction to a kiss: Gale Storm and Johnny Downs

CAMPUS RHYTHM (1943). Director: Arthur Dreifuss.

Joan Abbott (Gale Storm) sings on the radio for her sponsor, Crunchy Wunchy cereal, but she'd really rather go off to college. When her guardian, Uncle Willie (Douglas Leavitt), renews her contract without her knowledge, she takes off for Raleigh College by assuming the name of the sponsor's high-spirited secretary, Suzie Smith (Marie Blake). There she encounters the oh-so-serious editor of the campus paper, "Scoop" Davis (Johnny Downs); the dreamy, likable lover boy, Buzz (Robert Lowery); the weird if lovable Harold (Candy Candido); saucy, singing Babs (GeGe Pearson); and the venomous Cynthia (Claudia Drake of The Face of Marble), who's out to get her because she caught the eye of Buzz. In an attempt to find their wayward songstress, the sponsor holds a contest, and the funniest scene has to do with Uncle Willie traveling to Raleigh to find his niece and winding up in the hands of the law. The cast, led by a sparkling-as-ever Storm, is more than capable, and the film is pleasant. Babs sings "Oh, you character!" while Joan warbles "But Not You" to Buzz. GeGe Pearson has a nice voice and a lot of personality to go with her horse face; Candy Candido is the weirdest of novelty singers (and speakers) as his voice can go from falsetto to bass all within the same sentence. Both of them later did a lot of voice-over work for television and movies. John Duncan plays one of the fraternity boys; six years later he would team with Robert Lowery for the serial Batman and Robin, wherein he played the latter. The strange thing about this movie is that there's no fade out clinch between Storm and Downs, although it's intimated that they've gotten together again, but considering Scoop's behavior it's even more likely that they didn't. Downs [The Mad Monster] also starred in a movie called All-American Co-Ed, which is also known as Campus Rhythm, but it is not the same picture.

Verdict: Easy to take. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO

Cute couple: [Victor] Sen Yung and Iris Wong

CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO (1939). Director: Norman Foster.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) arrives in "the biggest little city in the world" after a hateful woman named Jeanne Bently (Louise Henry) is murdered in a hotel occupied by ladies awaiting their divorces. Sheriff Fletcher (Slim Summerville) is convinced that the culprit is Mary Whitman (Pauline Moore), whose husband, Curtis (Kane Richmond) ,was dumping her for Jeanne; Curtis knows Charlie and importunes him to intervene. Suspects and others involved in the case include Mrs. Russell (Kay Linaker), who owns the hotel; Dr. Ainsley (Ricardo Cortez of The Big Shakedown), who is the hotel's doctor; Wally Burke (Robert Lowery), who was jilted by Jeanne; Chief of Police King (Charles D. Brown); Vivian Wells (Phyllis Brooks), who despised Jeanne; a talkative cab driver (Eddie Collins); and the victim's ex-husband, Bently (Morgan Conway of Dick Tracy), who is hiding out in a ghost town. Meanwhile number two son Jimmy (Victor Yen Sung) is investigating/screwing up with the help of the dead woman's pretty maid Choy (Iris Wong). Toler, Yung and most of the cast are very adept, Summerville is terrific, and the movie is fun, if not necessarily one of the better Chan mysteries. This was followed by the excellent Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.

Verdict: Chan and company always amuse. **1/2.

WHEN THE GIRLS TAKE OVER

James Ellison and Robert Lowery

WHEN THE GIRLS TAKE OVER (1962). Director: Russell Hayden.

On the island of Hondorica, whose chief export is sugar, prime minister Henri Degiere (Marvin Miller) learns that his daughter, Francoise (Ingebord Kjeldsen), has been kidnapped by the Castro-inspired El Maximo Toro ["The Most Bull"] --  who is played by Robert Lowery --  and taken to his island. Francoise, a hellcat, is really Toro's lover, and it's all a plot to get some rifles from Degiere. Texas millionaire Longhorn (James Ellison) brings a bunch of women to Toro's island, and they shave his beard and somehow defeat him. Or something like that. Others trapped in this mess include Jackie Coogan, as Degiere's assistant; Tommy Cook [Missile to the Moon] as native Razmo; and Gabriel Dell [Junior G-Men] as Henderson, Toro's good right arm. Henderson has a pretty girlfriend named Melesa (True Ellison, James Ellison's daughter, who played Snow White in Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm).The music is okay but the attempts at satire are pitiful and the film hasn't got a single laugh.

Verdict: If only the girls had taken over! 1/2 star.

MCLINTOCK!

Stefanie Powers, Patrick Wayne, and John Wayne

MCLINTOCK! (1963). Director: Andrew V. McLaglen.

G. W. McLintock (John Wayne) is a wealthy cattle baron in a homestead awaiting statehood. His snooty estranged wife, Katherine (Maureen O'Hara), comes back into his life when their daughter, Becky (Stefanie Powers), comes home from college and Katherine is horrified to think that she may live with her hard-drinking father and his cronies. Katherine also isn't too crazy about the fact that G.W. has hired a pretty new live-in cook, Louise (Yvonne De Carlo), the mother of handsome new employee Dev (Patrick Wayne), who likes Becky but finds her a little spoiled like her mother. Meanwhile Becky dallies with nerdy Matt (Jerry Van Dyke) while Dev simmers. Will the situation with the battling McLintocks finally boil over or will true love win out in the end? McLintock! is way too long, but it has some funny sequences -- a mud slide and a drunken bit with a staircase -- although the gags are repeated too much and nothing is exactly on the level of the stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera. Still McLintock!  is basically amiable and entertaining, even if it has a very sixties sensibility and a subtext of sissies threatening to ruin the world [as opposed to big, tough John Wayne]. Wayne, already starting his trend toward ossification, is okay, Powers is quite good, O'Hara is very strong as the insufferable but uncompromising Katherine and gives one of her more memorable performances, De Carlo is fun, and Patrick Wayne proves no great actor but is acceptable. An interesting aspect of the picture -- when you consider that Wayne starred in several cliffhanger serials early in his career -- is that two of Wayne's enemies are played by other serial stars, Gordon Jones (The Green Hornet) and Robert Lowery (Batman and Robin). A sub-plot has to do with a contingent of Comanche Indians who are to be taken to a fort for what they see as charity when they only want the freedom to live and die as men. Although the movie seems to be pro-Indian, the social statements don't really fit comfortably into the piece as a whole. Mari Blanchard has a small role as a saloon  gal/hooker who comes afoul of Katherine.

Verdict: Not exactly a classic but one of Wayne's more palatable latter-day movies. **1/2.

DEADLY DUO

Marcia Henderson and Craig Hill

DEADLY DUO (1962). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

A down and out lawyer, Preston Morgan (Craig Hill), is hired by wealthy Lenora Spence (Irene Tedrow) to make an offer to her daughter-in-law, Sabena (Marcia Henderson of All I Desire): half a million bucks if she gives up all rights to her son, Billy (Peter Oliphant). Sabena has no intention of giving up her child, but her evil twin sister Dara (also Marcia Henderson) and her slimy husband, Jay (Robert Lowery of Batman and Robin) cook up a murderous scheme against the background of a studio lot "Acapulco." Tedrow is terrific as the no-nonsense Lenora, Lowery is suitably reptilian, and the others are competent enough if unexciting, and the picture holds the attention in the way of a cheap TV thriller. An interesting aspect of the film is that at first you get the impression that there are two different actresses playing the twins as the "double" business is handled quite well for such an inexpensive production. Marco Lopez makes an impression as the bellboy, Luis, who wants to show Preston the town. Henderson was also in The Hypnotic Eye and Le Borg also directed Bad Blonde, Voodoo Island, Weird Woman and many others. His surname was alternately spelled "Le Borg" or "LeBorg." Although this looks like a Bel-Air production it was actually made by United Artists.

Verdict: You can't go wrong with evil twins. **.

SAFETY IN NUMBERS [JONES FAMILY]

Lucy is comforted by her mother 

SAFETY IN NUMBERS (1938). Director: Malcolm St. Clair.

Mrs. Jones (Spring Byington) wins a radio contest as "best mother" after daughter Lucy (June Carlson) pens an essay about her. Meanwhile Major Jones (Jed Prouty) is nearly hornswoggled by some folks who say the town swamp contains mineral water with miraculous properties and want money to build a health spa on the site. On the romantic front, Jack (Kenneth Howell) falls seriously for a gal, Toni (Iva Stewart), who is already engaged to another, a situation which doesn't thrill her mother (Helen Freeman). The title comes from a speech Mrs. Jones has in which she mentions that the advantage of large families is that if one member is sad or in trouble, the others can pitch in and help -- there's safety in numbers. Robert Lowery [Batman and Robin] has a small role as a radio show host, and Cy Kendall is again the portly Chief of Police. Followed by The Jones Family in Hollywood.

Verdict: More than acceptable entry in the Jones Family series. **1/2

HOUSE OF HORRORS

Marcel (Martin Kosleck) admires his bust of the Creeper

HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946). Director: Jean Yarbrough.

Starving artist Marcel De Lange (Great Old Movies' favorite Martin Kosleck) is about to commit suicide in despair when he stumbles across an injured man known only as the Creeper (Rondo Hatton). The Creeper had already committed a series of murders, snapping people's spines, and is presumed dead. Marcel uses the Creeper to get revenge on his enemies, especially the acidic critic Holmes Harmon (Alan Napier), who has no tolerance for the abstract. The main suspect in Harmon's murder, however, is commercial illustrator Steven Morrow (Robert Lowery of the Batman and Robin serial), who was to be the target of his venom in the critic's latest column. Another critic, Joan Medford (Virginia Grey), happens to be Morrow's girlfriend and a champion of De Lange's macabre sculptures. But when she gets too close to figuring out De Lange's deadly secret ... This is a snappy and suspenseful horror thriller, well-directed by Yarbrough, and with an excellent performance from Kosleck, and good back up from Hatton [who thinks his bust is "pretty"], a highly vivacious (perhaps too vivacious considering the goings-on) Grey, and a more than competent Lowery and Napier. Howard Freeman also scores as another art critic, Hal Ormiston, who participates in a scheme to catch the murderer. The beautiful model Stella is played by Joan Shawlee and Lt. Brooks is Bill Goodwin. House of Horrors is an unofficial sequel to the modern-day Sherlock Holmes film The Pearl of Death, in which Hatton also played a Creeper who breaks spines. Oddly the opening credits of Horrors "introduce" Hatton as the Creeper. There were plans to make a series of Creeper films and turn Hatton into a horror star, but the poor fellow, who suffered from acromegaly due to exposure to poison gas in WW1, passed away before House of Horrors opened. Kosleck's most famous part was in The Flesh Eaters. Yarbrough directed She-Wolf of London and many, many others.

Verdict: Highly entertaining horror flick. ***.

CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE

Charlie Chan (Toler) meets Ming the Merciless (Middleton)

CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE (1940). Director: Eugene Forde.

When Inspector Duff (Montague Shaw) comes to tell Chan  that he needs his help in finding a strangler who has already claimed several innocent lives, Chan (Sidney Toler) only seems to turn his back for a minute and Duff himself becomes the next victim! Since Duff had narrowed the identity of the mysterious strangler to one of several passengers on a cruise ship, Chan joins the cruise and tries to ferret out who the killer might be. The suspects include: Dr. Suderman (Lionel Atwill), who doesn't seem to hold Chan's abilities in high regard; Susie Watson (Cora Witherspoon of The Bank Dick), a spirited high-society dowager; her playful friend James Ross (Don Beddoe); Professor Gordon (Leo. G. Carroll); wealthy Gerald Pendleton (Leonard Mudie); dreamy Dick Kenyon (Robert Lowery) and his pretty gal, Paula (Marjorie Weaver); the gloomy religious fanatics Mrs. Walters (Claire Du Brey) and her husband (Charles Middleton); and others. Jimmy Chan (Victor Yen Sung) is along for the ride as well. The cast consists of old pros who know just how to play this amusing, suspenseful material. Toler is in top form, Sen Yung as charming as ever, and Atwill, Middleton, Mudie and Witherspoon are all in fine fettle. It's worth the price of admission just for the scene when Toler confronts Middleton and you realize that Chan is having a chat with Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon! This has a good mystery plot with a few surprises as well.

Verdict: Utterly delightful! ***.

THE MYSTERY OF THE RIVERBOAT

Mantan Moreland and Robert Lowery

THE MYSTERY OF THE RIVERBOAT (1944). 13 chapter Universal serial. Directors: Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor.

After Dr. Hartman (the ubiquitous Byron Foulger), who has discovered a new fuel, is murdered, Steve Langtry (Robert Lowery) discovers that a group of men --headed by Clayton (Arthur Hohl) -- are out to cheat his father out of some land he owns, although he doesn't know why. For 13 chapters these men and Langtry and his pals try to outwit each other. Most of the action centers of the riverboat Morning Glory, which is operated by Captain Perrin (Oscar O'Shea) and his daughter Jenny (Marjory Clements). Entertainers on the riverboat, who get mixed up in the action, include Celeste Elstree (Marion Martin), who sings several numbers, and dancer Jug Jenks (Eddie Quillan), who is a character. The boat's porter is the delightful Napoleon (Mantan Moreland) and Lyle Talbot is cast as one of Clayton's henchmen. The best scenes have to do with the cracking of the levee and the subsequent flood, and a bit with a runaway bus with several people aboard. The Mystery of the Riverboat has a number of interesting elements, none of which quite jell with the others. 5 years after this, Lowery played Batman in the serial Batman and Robin.

Verdict: Entertaining if minor-league mish mash. **1/2.

BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949)

BATMAN AND ROBIN 1949 15-chapter Columbia serial. Director: Spencer Bennet. 

Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (John Duncan) cross wits and figurative swords with a criminal mastermind known only as the Wizard. The suspects for his real identity are numerous: the grumpy old Professor Hammil (William Fawcett) who seems to be crippled but can attach himself to a certain energy device; Dunn, the skulking private eye (Michael Whalen); radio announcer Barry Brown (Rick Vallin), who always seems to know what everyone is up to ahead of time; or Carter (Leonard Penn), Hammil's unctuous butler. [The Wizard's voice appears to be dubbed by Gerald Mohr.] The relatively colorless Jane Adams plays photographer Vicki Vale, who has a crooked brother named Jimmy. Lyle Talbot plays Commissioner Gordon. The Wizard employs such devices as a remote control machine that can stop cars and trains in their tracks, and another machine that turns him invisible to wreak more havoc. Robert Lowery makes an okay Batman/Bruce Wayne, and 26-year-old John Duncan is fine and credible as an adult Robin. The near-operatic theme music is also quite memorable. 

Verdict: Suspenseful and fun. ***.

THE MONSTER AND THE APE

THE MONSTER AND THE APE (1945). 15-chapter Columbia serial. Director: Howard Bretherton. 

Professor Franklin Arnold (Ralph Morgan) has made a robot from the material of a meteor which he calls "metaligan." Unfortunately, the evil Ernst (George Macready), who pretends to be a good guy, wants the robot and the meteor and everything else he can get for himself. Fighting against the evil Ernst are Kent Morgan (Robert Lowery of Batman serial fame) and Arnold's decorative daughter, Baba (Carole Mathews). Ernst not only has a passel of gunsels to help him, but a big ape named Thor (played winningly by Roy Corrigan) as well. We learn very early on that Ernst is a bad guy and it's just as well, as Macready's very distinctive voice would have given it away anyway. Caught in the middle of everything is Arnold's lab assistant, Flash (Willie Best of My Little Margie). [While Best is forced by the script to play the stereotypical "nervous negro," at least his gifted comic acting shines through in spite of it.] There are some good cliffhangers, such as a pit with closing walls in chapter eight, and an electro-death in chapter ten. This is not a bad serial, but by no means one of the best. Lee Zahler's score certainly helps. Morgan also appeared in the serial Gangbusters. 

Verdict: Perfectly entertaining if unspectacular. **1/2.

THE MUMMY'S GHOST

THE MUMMY'S GHOST (1944). Director: Reginald LeBorg.

In this sequel to The Mummy's Tomb, the town of Mapleton is having more problems with Kharis, the Living Mummy, who is still alive and up to trouble. Even High Priest Andoheb (George Zucco) is somehow still alive, and this time sends Yousef Bey (John Carradine) to take up where his last emissary left off. Inexplicably, the town's museum is displaying the mummy of Kharis' beloved, Ananka (although Steve Denning never actually found her in The Mummy's Hand) and Bey and Kharis are out for vengeance on those who committed this desecration -- or something like that. What really matters are the still creepy scenes of Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) shuffling around and strangling infidels. Barton MacLane is Inspector Walgreen, who does his best to stop Kharis, and Robert Lowery is the boyfriend of Amina (Ramsay Ames), the woman who -- very conveniently -- turns out to be the reincarnation of Ananka. Lowery later played the Caped Crusader in the Batman and Robin serial. The decorative Ames doesn't have to do too much acting, but even the little she's required to do is somewhat beyond her. The music (by Frank Skinner, with some themes probably by Hans Salter) does a lot of the work. This has a surprisingly downbeat ending. Followed by The Mummy's Curse.

Verdict: There's life in the old mummy yet! **1/2.