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| Richard Webb |
THE INVISIBLE MONSTER (12-chapter Republic serial/1950). Director: Fred C. Brannon.
A fellow who calls himself The Phantom Ruler (Stanley Price) has developed a formula which makes things invisible when they are coated with it. This includes the Ruler's cloak, which makes him invisible as long as he stays within a light beam generated by his special machine. His immediate goal is to get the materials for this formula, but his ultimate plan is to gather an army of invisible soldiers to help him take over the whole country. Determined to stop him are two insurance investigators (!), Lane Carson (Richard Webb of Hillbillies in a Haunted House) and plucky Carol Richards (Aline Towne of Radar Men from the Moon). Meanwhile the evil Burton (Lane Bradford of Zombies of the Stratosphere) and his associates are out to stymie them at every turn.
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| Stanley Price as the Phantom Ruler |
The Invisible Monster recycles some cliffhangers but is still a snappy, fast-paced and entertaining serial. Square-jawed Webb makes an effective hero and pretty Towne is his more-than-competent companion. As the main villain, Price doesn't chew the scenery and Bradford, as usual, makes a cold, non-nonsense sociopathic assistant. Others in the cast include Tom Steele as a henchman, Marshall Reed as a cop, as well as Roy Gordon as a doctor and John Hamilton as one of the foreigners forced to work for the Phantom Ruler (in positions he secures for them for his own nefarious purposes). Highlights of the serial include Carol nearly being flattened by a heavy vault door; Lane tied up in a handcar that is packed with explosives and sent hurtling towards a train; Carol and Lane pursued by a minecart full of coal oil that has been set on fire; and others. The fight scenes are lively and well-staged.
Verdict: Fast-paced fun! ***.
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