FEDERAL AGENTS VS. UNDERWORLD, INC.

Dale, La Planche and Alyn

FEDERAL AGENTS VS. UNDERWORLD, INC. (12 chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

Professor Clayton (James Craven), the curator of the National Museum of Arts and Sciences, is kidnapped. Inspector David Worth (Kirk Alyn) and Laura Keith (Rosemary La Planche) investigate, unaware that another professor, Williams (Bruce Edwards), is in league with a foreign villainess named Nila (Carol Forman). Nila comes from the country of Abisthan, and covets a pair of solid gold hands with which she hopes to influence her followers; Williams already has one of those hands. She also intends to unite the American underworld into one group, Underworld Inc., that will rival the FBI for efficiency. To that end Nila has joined forces with gangster Spade Gordon (Roy Barcroft). The missing Professor Clayton may have his own agenda as well.

Carol Forman as the nasty Nila

Although some sequences could have used a little more oomph, Federal Agents is another fast-paced and entertaining Republic serial. Kirk Alyn plays the hero with a little more humor instead of square-jawed intensity. Craven, Barcroft and Forman are their usual evil selves, playing this kind of material with aplomb. Outfitted with a scar at one point, a burnoose at another, top stunt man Tom Steele plays multiple roles. Tristram Coffin [King of the Rocket Men] shows up as a shady lawyer, and Marshall Reed is also in the cast. Agent Steve Evans is played by James Dale; he had only a few credits, mostly in serials. This was the last theatrical work for former "Miss America" [1941] Rosemary La Planche, who was Devil Bat's Daughter, and had two TV credits, 12 years later.

James Dale and Kirk Alyn

Highlights of the serial include cliffhangers involving fires and collapsing ceilings; the hero nearly running over the heroine in chapter seven; and an exciting sequence in chapter ten involving two planes, a fire on board, and a mid-air collision. An odd moment occurs in chapter nine when the couple realize there's a bomb on the road ahead, but instead of simply applying the brakes to avoid disaster, they both jump out of the car! Oh, well! 

Verdict: Another fun and fast-paced Republic serial. ***