RAIDERS OF GHOST CITY

Wanda McKay, Joe Sawyer, and Dennis Moore

RAIDERS OF GHOST CITY (13 chapter Universal serial/1944). Directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor. 

Near the end of the Civil War an organization of Confederate spies is actually the front for gold thieves operating out of Oro Grande, California. But even these desperadoes are being double-crossed by a couple of Prussian agents who need the gold so that they can buy Alaska! Trying to thwart their efforts is Captain Steve Clark (Dennis Moore) of the U.S. Secret Service, aided by Idaho Jones (Joe Sawyer), a Wells Fargo detective, and Cathy Haines (Wanda McKay), a Wells Fargo county agent. 

Lionel Atwill and Virginia Christine

Their main antagonists are Erich von Rugen (Lionel Atwill of Captain America) and the deliciously ruthless Countess Elsa von Merck (Virginia Christine of Three Brave Men), who doubles as a saloon singer named Trina Dessard. They report to a Count Manfried von Richten (Emmett Vogan of Docks of New Orleans). Regis Toomey is Captain Clay Randolph, a legitimate rebel who doesn't realize what the others are up to and only wants the gold to aid the war effort.

Moore, Christine and Sawyer

Westerns have never been my favorite serial genre, but I must say that Raiders of Ghost City -- the title refers to a ghost town not far from Ora Grande -- has made a believer of me, for this is quite well-made, with an especially flavorful screenplay. In cliffhanger sequences a runaway stage coach falls into a river, and Steve is trapped in a cave with rapidly rising water. Chapter eight features a thrilling, expertly-edited chase scene with an entire gang in pursuit of Idaho. The first and tenth chapters have the best cliffhangers: an uncoupled car begins rolling backwards towards disaster during a frantic fist fight; and Idaho is nearly drawn and quartered by Modoc Indians in a very suspenseful sequence. The four main players are all excellent and the supporting players are well cast. 

Verdict: Very exciting, well-made, and well-played Columbia serial. ***1/4. 

THE BLACK RAVEN

Old pros: Charles Middleton; George Zucco

THE BLACK RAVEN (1943). Director: Sam Newfield.

"He's suffering from rabid delusions aggravated by a moronic mentality." -- Amos.

Amos Bradford (George Zucco), once known as the criminal the Raven, now runs an inn called The Black Raven. On a dark and stormy night he gets a variety of guests, many of whom have some ulterior purpose. Mousy Horace (Byron Foulger) is running away with $50,000 in embezzled money. Winfield (Robert Middlemass) is a crooked political boss whose daughter, Lee (Wanda McKay), wants to run off with the man she loves, Alan (Robert Livingstone of Borrowed Wives). Mike Bardoni (Noel Madison) is another crook, and Whitey Cole (I. Stanford Jolley) is an escaped con who's out to get vengeance on Amos. When someone gets murdered -- the first death of several -- the Sheriff ("Charlie" Middleton) is called in and matches wits with the acerbic Amos. While it's fun watching Zucco and Middleton working together, The Black Raven is a forgettable picture. Glenn Strange, who played Frankenstein, is cast as the half-wit handyman Andy, and is fine. Zucco [Fog Island], Middleton [Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise] and Foulger are also excellent.

Verdict: Another cheap PRC timepasser. **.

ROARING CITY

Hugh Beaumont and Richard Travis

ROARING CITY (1951). Director: William Berke.

"You couldn't find an ingrown toenail if it was on your left foot." -- O'Brien to Bruger.

Hugh Beaumont had played private eye Michael Shayne in several films when he was cast in another, briefer series playing another tough P.I., Dennis O'Brien; Roaring City is the second of the three films. O'Brien is hired by a manager to place bets against his own boxer, who doesn't take a dive as expected and winds up murdered. Suspected of the crime, O'Brien convinces Inspector Bruger (Richard Travis) of the San Francisco police department that someone else is the guilty party. In the second of two stories, Irma Rand (Joan Valerie of Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum) hires O'Brien to pretend to be the husband of a friend, Sylvia (Wanda McKay), whose hood boyfriend, Rafferty (Anthony Warde) is back in town and looking for trouble. In both cases, O'Brien winds up in dutch because his clients are as shifty as any bad guys, and O'Brien seemingly won't say no when there's money concerned. Roaring City comes off like two TV episodes spliced together. The acting is sufficient, with Warde [The Masked Marvel] especially vivid as the nasty Rafferty. Edward Brophy [Romance on the Run] also makes the most of his role as O'Brien's pal and assistant, the professor. There's too much narration. From Lippert pictures.

Verdict: Watchable, but ultimately quite dull. **.

STAGE STRUCK (1948)

Kane Richmond and Audrey Long

STAGE STRUCK (1948). Director: William  Nigh.

Benny Nordick (John Gallaudet of Docks of New Orleans) who runs a night club and a acting school racket, murders hopeful Helen Howard (Wanda McKay) because she knows too much about his sleazy operation. Nick Mantee (Kane Richmond) helps Nordick cover up the crime and becomes his partner. Ignoring the advice of Lt. Williams (Conrad Nagel of All That Heaven Allows) and his assistant Sgt. Ramey (Ralph Byrd), Helen's sister Nancy (Audrey Long)  takes it upon herself to go undercover at Nordick's school. Dodging persistent passes from Mantee and suspicious glances from Nordick, she tries to find out what she can. Stage Struck is a passable Monogram entry with an interesting cast, most of whom were down on their luck. Lt. Williams' reason for being tough with Helen after she learns of her sister's murder makes no sense, and his piousness gets a little tiresome as well. The leads are fine in this cheap production, and Anthony Warde, Pamela Drake and Evelyn Brent [Holt of the Secret Service] have smaller roles and are equally effective. I've no doubt that acting and modeling schools that are more interested in taking gullible people's money than helping their careers still exist in every major city. Richmond and Byrd, of course, were major serial heroes. Richmond amassed over 100 credits, but this was his last film; he retired from movies to work in the fashion industry. Byrd did a few more films and died rather young in 1952.

Verdict: Distinctive Nagel, Byrd and Richmond help put this over. **.

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 MONSTER MAKER

THE MONSTER MAKER (1944). PRC. Directed by Sam Newfield.

Odd but reasonably attention-holding thriller in which J. Carroll Naish plays Markov, a scientist whose experiments with acromegaly have macabre and chilling results. On the run with the pretty assistant Maxine (Tala Birell) who loves him unconditionally, he spots a beautiful woman (Wanda McKay) who greatly resembles his late daughter. In an event that borders a bit grossly on the incestuous [an aspect that the script doesn't really delve into and which the production code would probably never have allowed it to], Naish falls in love with the woman and wants to marry her. Her father, a famous pianist (Ralph Morgan), strenuously objects and Naish deliberately infects the man with fast-acting acromegaly, making him hideously deformed and almost insane, and of course, putting an end to his brilliant musical career. The make up is very good but the stock musical score adds nothing to the picture. Naish is as good as ever – it might be said the unpleasant movie wastes his talents – and Birell also plays the lovelorn, devoted, but jealous gal-pal to the hilt. Glenn Strange appears in the small role of a giant. This strangely disturbing little movie is no classic but it has its moments.

Verdict: Small-scale but interesting. **1/2.