PERILS OF NYOKA
(Dec 8, 2001)
From 1942, this is still another great Republic classic. (I suppose I could have started these reviews with tired, lifeless serials like PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO, but why not have fun first?) It has a terrific cast with a half dozen of my all-time favorite actors, a credible storyline, some really impressive sets and imaginative 'Perils', and finally, an epic-sounding main theme by Mort Glickman. This would go in the top dozen serials on my list.
PERILS OF NYOKA deals with the struggle for possession of another hot potato that everyone covets-- in this case, the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates, on which the ancient physician recorded his great medical secrets (including a cure for cancer). Not only are gold tablets valuable for their knowledge and the metal itself, they were hidden with a treasure. So it's not surprising to find the sinister Vultura and her gang of renegade Arbabs trying to seize the darn things. Vultura is played by the exotic Lorna Gray, who is a bit ripe looking for my taste but her sneering performance and long long legs have must have gotten many young boys in the audience a bit hot and bothered. (There's something about a Bad Girl...)
Vultura's main henchman is Cassib, played by the same Charles Middleton who made life interesting for Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy. Middleton has that sour, unhappy expression that makes his villainy as believable as the sort of old man who chases kids off his lawn. As if that's not enough, there's also the treacherous Torrini who poses as an ally of Nyoka. Tristram Coffin as Torrini gives an okay performance, just showing enough shiftiness to make his loyalty obviously doubtful to the kids in the audience. As good as Coffin was as a villain, I always wished he had done more heroic roles like his Jeff King in KING OF THE ROCKETMEN.
And as if THAT wasn't enough trouble for Nyoka to deal with, Vultura has a pet ape named Satan, who had never heard Diane Fossey's findings that gorillas are peaceful, gentle vegetarians. Satan was played by Emil Van Horn in a rather weak portrayal that doesn't seem to give much effort into moving like a real gorilla. And although you have to give 1940s film makers some slack with their robot and apes costumes, the way Satan's chest skin looks like shiny black rubber detracts from its credibility. This is where you have to crank your
suspension of disbelief up a few notches.
Whew! What a crew. Luckily, not only can Nyoka handle herself perfectly well, she has a partner in Dr Larry Grayson who is (for a physician) an astonishingly tough two-fisted sword-fighting gunslinger. My doctor's not like that. Clayton Moore is always convincing as hero or thug, and he seems agile and energetic enough to have been a stunt man himself. (At first, it seems a bit odd to hear that wonderful, familiar Lone Ranger voice coming from this character.) Moore goes through the serial in the classic Doc Savage outfit of riding boots, jodphurs and heavy white shirt, although this does not end up torn into tatters with the right cuff still attached.
Finally, Nyoka herself is completely likeable as a cliffhanger heroine. ("That Nyoka gal's got plenty of moxie.." one character explains.) Daughter of the missing Professor Gordon, she is well educated (one of the few who can translate the Tablets) but also completely at home in the saddle or jumping on a gorilla's back with a knife in her hand. I love Kay Aldridge's performance as Nyoka. She's serious when in danger, taking the 'perils' straight-faced but at the same time, she's obviously having a lot of fun when things are going well. It's very believable, not a grim warrior-woman sort of portrayal. Aldridge herself is appealing and gorgeous in her 1940s pin-up girl way-- her clunky culottes are not flattering at all (although admittedly practical for the situation) and she seems to be notably gifted under that big-game hunter blouse. Nyoka also seems to have two different accents going on, for some reason.
My copy of PERILS OF NYOKA is a re-issue titled NYOKA AND THE TIGERMEN, apparently because some of the Arab raiders wear striped robes. C'mon, that's stretching things a bit, Republic.
THE PHANTOM (1943)
(Dec 19, 2004)
This was a real treat for a life-long fan like me of the Ghost Who Walks. The low budget is obvious here and there, but then serials in general were produced on the bare minimum and they usually make up for it with plenty of action, suspense and a certain underdog mystique. The fact that THE PHANTOM takes place almost entirely in the jungle and a few ruins helps the illusion. More important (to me at least) than any extensive model work or huge explosions is that this serial brings our hero so accurately to the screen.
THE PHANTOM throws in an amazing amount of details faithful to Lee Falk's original canon. The Skull Cave has a treasure room and a vault containing the remains of earlier Phantoms in wall niches (true, the meager budget makes the sets less than overwhelming, but the thought is there). No mention of the Chronicles, though. Although he doesn't wear the Good Sign ring on his left hand, the Ghost Who Walks does have the Skull Ring on his right, and several times when he slugs a thug, the Sign of the Skull is shown in close-up on their faces. Very cool. At one point, a villain planning an impersonation even uses the classic phrase, "The Phantom is dead. Long live the Phantom," although this is normally spoken by the Bandar as the new Ghost Who Walks makes his first appearance. And the costume is right on target, much better than that odd body-art sort of tattooed look Billy Zane's uniform had (without the striped trunks). I do have to wonder why the heck the Phantom never thinks to strap his holsters down, though.
Our hero even makes a few appearances as "Mr Walker", in the classic disguise of white trenchcoat, hat, ascot and dark glasses. Although he is supposed to be "Geoffrey Prescott", a student at Melville University, the use of the Walker name is a nice touch. Who knows, maybe the Prescott handle was just an temporary alias while at college? He is referred to mostly the Man Who Never Dies, and only once or twice as the Ghost Who Walks (which tag I much prefer).
Devil is not even referred to as having some wolf blood, but is a straightforward dog... probably just as well, considering the use of a German Shepherd as a supposed wolf seldom convinces anyone. Playing Devil is Ace, "the Wonder Dog", and I have to say Ace has enormous charm. He's great in the action scenes, leaping on crooks with enthusiasm and bravely scaring away a crocodile; when he enters a room, he sniffs around for a second before returning to his master. And of course, he saves the Phantom's life several times. Once, he even figures out to drag a vine over to the Ghost Who Walks, who has clumsily blundered into quicksand. In the comics and novels, Devil is frankly a lot more help and less liability than most heroes' sidekicks, and I'm glad to see him shown so well in this serial. (Ace had a better career than many human actors, appearing in a dozen films starting in 1938, including THE MONSTER MAKER and another fine serial PERILS OF NYOKA.)
One benefit of the jungle setting is that we are spared the usual three or four chapter endings which have cars going off cliffs or planes crashing. There is a wee bit of creative editing to solve some of the cliffhangers, but generally, they're pretty fair and believable. The Phantom is at the bottom of a well as the gang pushes large rocks down on him, he's locked in a dungeon into which a tiger is released, the rope bridge he's wrasslin' a villain on breaks and falls into a deep matte painting errr ravine, he's trapped in a fur fumigating vault into which deadly gas is being sprayed, he's pinned under a descending portcullis. At one point he's tangling with a gorilla (who sure looks like Ray "Crash" Corrigan in that beloved ape suit), and I have to say the solution to that predicament is less than convincing. In fact, it stretches suspension of disbelief to the point of being painful. I would rather have seen the Phantom have tucked a poison dart in his belt from an earlier attempt on his life and jabbed the ape with it, but it's a bit late to give the screenwriters tips.
One amusing touch is that the thugs keep reporting that they've finally killed the Phantom after they seemingly see him destroyed, and when he just pops back up again for the eighth or ninth time, even the gangsters start to wonder if maybe there isn't something to this "immortal" business. Notice too that at least four of the bad guys shoot each other to death, either in an accidental cross-fire or at anger at being left behind while wounded.
If you have any idea where the heck this serial is supposed to be taking place, please let me know. I'm lost. It's a jungle setting that features lions (and tigers), there's a stuffed gorilla in one trader's office, the natives sure look to me like they're supposed to be South American (maybe Amazon tribes?) and yet a nearby remote city has a leader named "Tartar" who lives in a palace and dresses like some bizarre Central Asian tyrant. I give up. In the comic strip, Bangalla was originally in India (which I greatly preferred, as it gave the Phantom a nice assortment of cultures and locales to romp in, as well as providing plenty of pirates and bandits). At some point, it clearly became Africa and featured the Bandar pygmy tribes. This is not quite as novel, and I imagine there were some heated jurisdictional disputes with Tarzan.
Tom Tyler is terrific in the title role. It's not just that he's an imposing muscular man who looks right for the part, he seems perfectly comfortable in that costume. Any sense that he was embarrassed or uneasy in the outfit and mask would have ruined things. (The same goes for his portrayal of Captain Marvel in that even more flamboyant outfit; Tyler always looked dignified and at ease even in tights and a cape.) The big guy may not have been a skilled actor ready to do a stage run of Arthur Miller, but for something like this, his sincerity and complete straightforwardness is exactly right.
He throws a mean punch, too, and it's noticeable that most of his opponents go down and stay down when the Phantom connects. There's not much of those five minute acrobatic slugfests the Republic serials were famous for (I enjoy them, too, but it's sure more impressive that the Phantom has some lasting effect with his punches.) Tyler is most effective in the scenes where he stalks his enemies in the jungle, pouncing on them from behind trees and bushes and leaving them out cold. (It sure looks to me like Tyler is doing a lot of the fights and stunts himself, always a nice touch.)
The rest of the cast are decent, as well. Frank Shannon (good old Hans Zarkov his own self) is okay as Professor Davidson, and Jeanne Bates is very likeable as his niece Diana Palmer (I've read that her name was changed to Davidson in the serial, but she's addressed as "Miss Palmer" consistently). The actress is pretty enough in a low-key way, like someone you might actually meet somewhere, and she has a pleasant voice, but she didn't make much of an impression on me. (I see she's listed as appearing in ERASERHEAD, but there's no way I'm ever going to watch that nightmare again.)
Adding the needed vile villainy is Kenneth MacDonald as Dr Max Bremmer, the jungle's most murderous surgeon. His long, deeply lined face and ominous voice are just right; he reminds me of what one of Charles Middleton's fictional sons might look and sound like. It was Dr Bremmer who was responsible for the assassination by poison dart of the rather aged Phantom we meet in the first scenes. Bremmer is not only after loot, he plans to use the lost city of Zoloz as a secret air base for some European nation (bringing up again the problem of where all these shenanigans are supposed to be taking place. Then there's Diana's fiancee Byron, a handsome dude who frankly seems from the start a bit untrustworthy to me.
The only area where THE PHANTOM doesn't really live up to its promise is that the plot is too mundane and too generic. Like a dozen other serials, everyone is racing back and forth to collect the pieces of a map that will show the location of a lost city where an immense fortune waits to be claimed. Bleh. I wanted to see the Phantom tackle a ring of pirates or an army of marauding bandits, the very reason his line was founded. This scavenger hunt gig was an okay plot that has worked well many times, but the Ghost Who Walks deserves a bigger and more imaginative challenge. Aside from that, though, THE PHANTOM joins my list of favorite serials.
Dir: B. Reeves Eason, who also gave us UNDERSEA KINGDOM and DARKEST
AFRICA (thanks, Mr Eason!)
THE PHANTOM CREEPS
(May 30, 2003)
From 1939, this was a 12 chapter Universal serial. The theme for the chapter openings and some of the incidental music were lifted from earlier Frankenstein movies, giving this chapterplay a suitably ominous feel. I sometimes had a feeling I was watching an especially lowbudget Universal B-picture. It was a nice little thrill to see Edward Van Sloan show up as a sinister foreign spy, since he's indelibly imprinted on my mind from FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA and THE MUMMY.
Bela Lugosi makes his final serial appearance here, as the extremely mad Dr Zorka, and he certainly gives the role both barrels, getting the most out every syllable. Now I have to admit that I've always disliked Lugosi, not as an actor but just because he gives the strong impression of having been a very unpleasant man. The guy was creepy, and not in a good way. So, since he has so much screen time in THE PHANTOM CREEPS and because there is no really memorable hero to oppose him, I didn't enjoy this serial as much as someone who likes Lugosi would. But that's just my own preference (I've never found Roger Moore likeable or amusing in the slightest, either; so I felt all the 007 films between DIAMOND ARE FOREVER and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS to be
uninteresting.)
Be that as it may, Zorka is an archetypal villain, perfectly willing to destroy the world if he can't rule it. In addition to a lab absolutely jammed with sliding panels and secret doors, Zorka has enough cool gizmos to keep three or four masterminds active. There's an unknown element with explosive properties that he extracted from a meteorite; there's his windup little mechanical spiders* which blow up when they reach their target; there's his invisibility belt, which explains why he's called the Phantom as it leaves him just a vague blur of light.
And then there's his robot. The robot from THE PHANTOM CREEPS is instantly recognizable. Not because it towers over everyone, but because its oversized head is sculpted to look like a bad-tempered goon with fangs. What the heck. If a seven foot tall robot isn't scary enough, giving it a fright mask might help. Although Lugosi rants about how an army of these automatons will be an invincible killing force, he never gets around to constructing them and his sole robot seems oddly ineffective. In the exciting finale, the scowling machine strides past half a dozen soldiers; they open fire and he obligingly explodes into little scraps.
There isn't as much pugilism as in the classic Republic serials; Lugosi wasn't one to swap punches and do cartwheels, and slugging the robot would be a painful waste of time. Instead, Zorka and his discoveries (particularly the meteorite) are being sought by two opposing groups of spies, one from the US Army Inelligence and one from an unnamed foreign government (pssst! Germany). Throw in a sassy reporter named Jean Drew and Zorka's unwilling accomplice Monk (who does look a bit like the neurotic TV detective) and you have a lively mix. It's too bad that Lugosi overshadows his opposition so thoroughly, but his style of full blast acting just makes the other actors look like they're sleepwalking in comparison.
As a whole, THE PHANTOM CREEPS is good cheesy fun but I thought it was in questionable taste to show actual footage of the Hindenburg going down in flames, especially so soon after the event, just to show how far amok Zorka was running.
Dir: Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind
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*The repeated shot in the opening credits of the little mechancial critter had a strange charm. For some reason, I felt like cheering the gadget on: Brave little spider! Go get 'em!
THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES
(Nov 30, 2001)
From 1945, this Republic serial is a lot of flamboyant, slightly goofy fun. We're dealing here with a burly, formidable Martian (quite a change from the usual big-headed scrawny little aliens) who doesn't hesitate to start shooting a revolver or start trading punches. Roy Barcroft, one of the best known Western villains, does a fine job as the Purple Monster, speaking with a slightly odd intonation and playing it completely straight-faced. Even if he didn't have a disintegrator, he'd still be intimidating.
The Purple Monster IS in fact a monster (we have to assume his costume is purple). Not just because he's an advance agent for the coming Martian invasion, but because of his creepy power to turn phantasmal and enter a corpse, re-animating it with his mind in charge. As soon as he arrives on Earth, the Monster murders Dr Cyrus Layton (James Craven, also giving a good performance in a slightly tricky role) and uses his body for the rest of the serial. This is pretty gruesome. It's not dwelled on, but there's a corpse walking around here, controlled by an alien mind
and it could easily have been played for horror.
When the Monster re-solidifies into his normal body as circumstance allows, he leaves his victim sprawled conveniently in a chair. Pursuing the Purple Monster and his Earthling thugs, we find the two-fisted lawyer Craig Foster (played by Dennis Moore, competent but unmemorable Westerns veteran) and Layton's niece Sheila (the incomparable Linda Stirling.
People who complain about women being portrayed as helpless, cringing victims have obviously never read Pulps or watched cliffhangers. Sheila survives one death trap after another and thinks nothing of diving out of speeding cars or chasing a Martian spy. For once an explanation is given why the hero doesn't call in the police or Army to deal with this word-threatening menace-- the Monster is after the secret plan for the new jet plane he intends to return to mars in.
Scientific accuracy is not exactly in evidence here. Not only is it proposed that a jet plane (not a rocket) can fly out of the Earth's atmosphere and make a trip to Mars, but we're shown lovely cumulus clouds in interplanetary space. Well, that's part of the charm of this era and we shouldn't be too critical. Certainly it gives the serials and the drive-in flicks of the following decade much of their appeal.
The real highlight of THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (for me) is the unexpected twist when the villain communicates with his superior back on the Red Planet and requests that his assistant be sent to help him. This turns out to be the nubile Marcia (Marcia?!), who is attired in a slightly feminized PM suit, with a little skirt and skullcap (instead of the snakelike helmet). You have to wonder if the Purple Monster had something more than world conquest on his mind, although he acts completely businesslike around her. Mary Moore* plays Marcia, a somewhat hard-luck alien invader. She starts off okay, killing an Earthwoman so she can have a human body to walk around in, but things don't go well for her and she ends up being tackled by an enraged Shiela on the edge of a cliff. Well. In a Republic serial, you can bet that they won't both be walking away from that situation peacefully.
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*I can't find a cite for this, but I recall that when a young performer also named Mary Moore started to work, she was required to use her middle nameTyler, as this serial's Mary Moore (who was married to Clayton Moore at the time) was still on the active roster.
RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON
(Dec 14, 2001)
From 1952, this is one of the later Republic serials, and the stock footage is becoming more prevalent than the newer stunts, but it's still a lot of fun to watch. For one thing, the rocket suit from KING OF THE ROCKETMEN is just cool in itself and the flying scenes add some briskness and variety to the action. And instead of only dealing with a masked criminal or spy, our heroes must cope with the advance agents of an alien invasion.
RADAR MEN introduces Commando Cody, here played by likeable but uncharismatic George Wallace. It's strange that we're told almost nothing about this new hero. He's the owner and principal scientist of Cody Laboratories, apparently a small research foundation which has built a rocketship capable of travelling to the moon and back in (apparently) a few hours. The Cody lab has some sort of government contracts, as they deal with a mysterious Intelligence spook named Henderson (CIA? Defense Department? Who can say?) who gives them suggestions but not direct orders.
Henderson casually asks, "Is your flying suit still working?' as if it's no big deal. The fact that the rocket suit has not been mass produced implies that it can't be duplicated for some reason.
Perhaps Jeff King passed away after KING OF THE ROCKETMEN without leaving notes, and Cody obtained the suit but can't figure it out. It's also funny that this wonderful invention (a flying suit! think about it!) is just hanging in a corner of Cody's lab, the helmet sitting on a table. Personally, I would keep the thing locked up, especially since crooks seem to wander into Cody Labs with no pesky security checks.
The name of our hero is also kind of weird. It sure sounds as if Henderson first addresses him as "Commander" Cody, which might make more sense, but the opening credits are clear- it's Commando. Maybe he was in a Ranger unit during WW II seven years ago and the nickname stuck?! Certainly, for a research scientist, he's a two-fisted brawling sort of guy. Twice, he shoots a gun out of someone's hand. although he seems reluctant to simply drop enemy agents with a simple bullet in the ticker.
Earth is being menaced by a series of explosions and disasters which turn out to be sabotage committed by atomic ray blasts from the Moon. Advance Lunar agents are already on our little planet, working with mercenary Earthling criminals (talk about treason, these thugs are betraying more than their country!) With his rocket ship, Cody is able to buzz up to the Moon and back. So this serial has a new variety as some of the action occurs on both locales, with two different groups of opponents.
The ruler of the Moon is a guy named Retik, who turns out to be veteran villain Roy Barcroft, wearing the Purple Monster outfit from 1945's THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES. (Usually, Retik also has a loose robe over the tights, as Barcroft had gotten a bit more, well, solid over the years). If you saw the ending to the PM serial, you'll have a strong sense of deja vu as Retik hustles into his space ship with Commando Cody running to man that ray gun. Still, to be fair, if you were a kid in the bleachers in 1952, the Purple Monster would be only a vague memory from seven years earlier. Republic had no idea that we'd be watching these chapters in our homes fifty years later.
It's only speculation but the Purple Monster was an agent of Mars and I wonder if this serial was originally meant to deal with another Martian invasion. We're told that the atmosphere on the Moon is so thin and dry that the inhabitants can't survive outside. Cody and his sidekick have helmets with oxygen supply (presumably Cody has a tank as part of his back-pack set-up), but they don't have pressurized suits and go barehanded. Even in 1952, (hopefully) filmmakers realized that the Moon had no appreciable atmosphere. Oh, well. RADAR MEN FROM MARS would have sounded just as neat.