PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS

PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS (15 chapter Columbia serial/1950). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Thomas Carr. 

On the paradise island of Talua in the south pacific post-WW 2, Kelly Walsh (Tommy Farrell) is bedeviled by the crew of a "phantom cruiser" that shoots at his boat and then disappears into thin air. Said cruiser has the ability to dive underwater while retaining the outward appearance of a boat instead of a submarine [this ability is so under-utilized that it's a wonder the serial even bothers with it.]. Kelly sends for his old Army buddy Jeff (Buster Crabbe), who has no interest in returning to the south pacific but suddenly finds himself besieged by passengers who must get to Talua, including Kelly's pretty blond sister, Carol (Lois Hall); Whitlock (Gene Roth), who turns out to be the governor of the island; and Castell (Tristram Coffin of King of the Rocket Men), an agent who is after a Nazi war criminal named Van Horsdorff who has hidden away millions of dollars worth of diamonds somewhere in the vicinity of Talua. The clue to the location of the diamonds may be inside a music box that plays "Three Blind Mice." It is revealed early on that Whitlock is corrupt, to put it mildly, and has some nasty confederates, especially Shark, captain of the phantom cruiser, who as portrayed by Marshall Reed with two day's growth of beard is one of the sexiest sociopaths to ever appear in a serial. Handsome Shark thinks nothing of gunning down associates with impunity before they can impart important information to the good guys. There are a couple of memorable cliffhangers, such as when a heavy stone block comes crashing down on a coffin inside which Jeff is hiding; and a great bit when Jeff battles a hood on a flat piece of wall that has just been torn off the side of the jail and is being dragged behind a speeding truck as it careens toward a cliff. Most of the characters in this, even some of the good guys, are rather shady and duplicitous, including Lamar (Stanley Price), Whitlock's secretary, and the Lotus Lady (Symona Boniface), who runs the general store and whose loyalties are ambiguous. Pirates of the High Seas may not be one of the classic serials, but it is entertaining if overlong at nearly four and a half hours. Crabbe may be a bit paunchy and middle-aged in this but he still delivers the goods, and the other cast members are generally equally adept.

Verdict: Worth a trip on the Phantom Cruiser. ***.

THE INVISIBLE MONSTER

THE INVISIBLE MONSTER (1950). 12 chapter Republic serial. Director: Fred C. Brannon.

A bad guy who calls himself The Phantom Ruler brings illegal aliens over to the United States, then forces them to do his bidding by threatening to report them. Richard Webb is the investigator called upon to battle the Ruler, along with a new female associate named Carol (Aline Towne). An interesting aspect of this serial is that Carol not only shoots with the best of them, but constantly proves that she is as brave and resourceful as the at-first patronizing Webb or anyone else. (While heroines were often brave and daring in serials, other females usually had decorative parts and had to be rescued.) The Ruler wears a black cloak and hood but his identity is revealed in the first chapter so it makes little difference; as played by Stanley Price he's especially colorless. He can turn himself and others invisible and wants to create a transparent Army to conquer the world. There are some good cliffhangers in this, including a fall out of a skyscraper, a car that crashes through the wall of a building's upper story, and a tense business with a handcar and a speeding train on the same track. Webb is fine as the stalwart hero and Towne is just great.

Verdict: Snappy, fast-paced, and a lot of dumb fun. ***.