FEDERAL OPERATOR 99

Marten  Lamont and Helen Talbot

FEDERAL OPERATOR 99 (12 chapter Republic serial/1945). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Wallace Grissell; Yakima Canutt.

Master criminal Jim Belmont (George J. Lewis) who loves classical music but only seems to play "Moonlight Sonata," has a number of decidedly anti-social money-making schemes in which people are kidnapped, threatened, and even tortured for information. (The owner of a Stradivarius is told he'll have his fingers crushed if he doesn't hand it over!)  Fortunately special federal operative 99, Jerry Blake (Marten Lamont), is out to stop Belmont any way he can. In this he is assisted by the gun-carrying Joyce Kingston (Helen Talbot,) who is far more than a mere "secretary." Belmont also has a female helpmate, a sadistic creature named Rita (Lorna Gray of Exposed), not to mention a chief assistant named Matt Farrell (Hal Taliaferro). Jay Novello [Atlantis the Lost Continent], "Mr. Versatile," plays a crooked jeweler.

Joyce and Rita have at each other! 

In addition to some great fight scenes, the serial boasts some splendid cliffhangers: Joyce is nearly incinerated when she is locked in a cabinet; a car crashes through a high floor with Jerry out on a ledge; Joyce goes over a cliff in a runaway laundry basket etc. The best and most horrifying cliffhanger has Joyce tied up in an aircraft factory while a huge propeller moves inexorably down a track directly towards her. Rita is broken out of jail in a clever fashion, and has a cat-fight with Joyce, who simply throws her out of a truck! At one point nasty Rita even threatens a countess by holding a cigarette lighter near her face. What a witch! Of the players, British Lamont is appealing and plays well with the feisty Talbot. George J. Lewis plays with restraint but there are times you wish he was a little over-the-top; Lorna Gray is more on the mark. 

Verdict: Federal Operator 99 is a remarkably entertaining serial with lots of action and interesting incidents throughout. ***1/2.