GHOST OF ZORRO

Clayton Moore as grandson of Zorro

GHOST OF ZORRO (12-chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon. Colorized version. 

Ken Mason (Clayton Moore), grandson of Don Diego Vega, the original Zorro, is in New Mexico after the Civil War where Rita White (Pamela Blake) hopes to build a telegraph line beginning in Twin Bluffs. Bad guys George Crane (Gene Roth) and Hank Kilgore (Roy Barcroft), along with a host of other desperadoes, fear that the telegraph will help bring law and order to the territory. Ken is importuned by his buddy, Moccasin (George J. Lewis), to ride as Zorro to combat the various schemes of Crane and the others, and this he does. Explosions, attacks by Indians working with Crane, wagons flying over cliffsides, and more will not keep Zorro and Rita from completing that telegraph line. 

George J. Lewis and Pamela Blake

A sort of sequel to Son of Zorro, this is a cut below that serial but still entertaining and frequently exciting. Marshall Reed and Tom Steele are two of the nasty gunsels, and the latter gets a bit more to do than usual. George J. Lewis proves his versatility, as he often played bad guys as he did in Federal Operator 99 and many others. Pamela Blake was in a number of serials as well as Daltons' Women with Lash LaRue, but in this production she is competent but lacks enough oomph. Cliffhanger serials aren't always logical, but I'm still scratching my head over a scene in chapter two in which Mason/Zorro, riding behind Rita in a wagon, jumps off his horse, climbs a cliff, and somehow manages to jump into said wagon which is now, impossibly, behind him. (If the wagon went around some kind of curve, the logistics of this aren't shown.) Still, Ghost of Zorro is fun.

Verdict: Probably not the last gasp for Zorro. **3/4. 

THE CRIMSON GHOST -- IN COLOR!

The Crimson Ghost in costume

THE CRIMSON GHOST (12 chapter Republic serial/1946). Directors: William Witney; Fred C. Brannon. Colorized. 

The Crimson Ghost, as he calls himself, is one of the members of a scientific committee and is employed by a foreign government. The Ghost is after a "cyclotrode," a device which can "instantly stop any electrically-controlled mechanism," which he uses more than once. His nasty helpmates include Ashe (Clayton Moore of G-Men Never Forget) and Bain (Rex Lease), and the Ghost also employs special collars that sap the will of victims, force them to commit criminal acts, and can even kill them from afar. Aiming to stop him are Duncan Richards (Charles Quigley of The Iron Claw) and his efficient assistant, Diana (Linda Stirling of The Purple Monster Strikes).  

Quigley and Stirling

The Crimson Ghost is a whirlwind Republic serial with a generally good musical score and reasonably adept performances. The true identity of the Ghost is kept secret until practically the final minute of the serial. There are some decent cliffhangers -- a room fills with poisoned gas; a rope is cut, causing Duncan to fall towards the street below; a car smashes into the wall of a boathouse etc. -- although virtually all of them are "cheats," with the characters always jumping out of the way in the last second. However, this doesn't matter as the furious fisticuffs, the extreme nastiness of the villain, and the sheer fun of the serial makes it a winner. As usual, the color adds a new, welcome dimension. 

Verdict: Can't keep that Ghost down! ***. 

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON

Commando Cody takes to the air!

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON (12-chapter Republic serial/1952). Director: Fred C. Brannon. Colorized. 

With their air running out and facing extinction, aliens on the moon, led by Retik (Roy Barcroft), decide to wipe out earth and take it over. To do this they send one man -- that's right, one man -- Krog (Peter Brocco) to our planet, where he enlists the aid of criminals such as Graber (Clayton Moore of The Lone Ranger), to commit acts of sabotage (which in retrospect are kind of pointless without an army to back it up -- however the Radar Men do have a deadly ray weapon).

Bakewell, Wallace, Towne

Up against the moon menace are Commando Cody (George Wallace) who flies through the air with his jet pack, and his associates Ted (William Bakewell) and plucky, brave Joan (Aline Towne), as well as an associate they report to, Henderson (Don Walters). For twelve chapters our intrepid trio try to get material and weapons from the Radar Men (flying to the moon in their own ship on two occasions), while Graber and his buddies try to wipe them out and destroy their rocket. The good guys face explosives, poison gas, ray guns demolishing their planes, automobiles going over cliffs, a flow of molten rock in a moon cavern, and so on in some exciting cliffhangers. While Radar Men from the Moon may not be an outstanding serial, it is nevertheless fast-paced, silly fun with a more than competent cast. Clayton Moore would eventually graduate from villain roles to serial hero. Footage from previous Republic serials, especially King of the Rocket Men,  is sprinkled liberally throughout this cliffhanger.  

Verdict: Whatever its flaws, this is a fun serial. ***. 

ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES

Steve Darrell and Clayton Moore as Frank and Jesse James

ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES (13 chapter Republic serial/1948). Directed by Fred C. Brannon and Yakima Canutt.

After the events of Jesse James Rides Again, Jesse (Clayton Moore) is reunited with his brother, Frank (Steve Darrell). Although it is hinted that the men may have been up to nefarious doings in their younger days, all they want to do is go straight, and pay back some of their supposed victims, who were actually robbed by a phony Jesse James -- a man named Rafe (George J. Lewis). The James' boys think the answer to their troubles is a gold mine, but Amos Ramsey (John Crawford of Zombies of the Stratosphere), who covets the gold for himself, is working against them every step of the way. Jesse and Frank pretend to be the cousins of sympathetic Judy Powell (Noel Neill of Freddie Steps Out) and they also have banker Paul Thatcher (Sam Flint) on their side.

Clayton Morre and Noel Neill

Although as portrayed herein the James Brothers seem to come from an alternate dimension, Adventures of Frank and Jesse James is another exciting and well-done Republic western serial. There's a thrilling stage coach race in chapters five - six that seems like a blueprint for the chariot race in Ben-Hur, which is no wonder since Adventures' co-director Yakima Canutt helped stage both. Notable cliffhangers include a carriage flying off of a shattered bridge sans horses; a fiery explosion in a mine; Jesse caught beneath a falling plank with embedded nails; the Marshall (Gene Roth) about to see the boys' real signatures on a real estate deal; and Jesse and an assailant punching each other out and falling off a very high cliff. The uncredited, probably stock musical score for this is especially effective. 

Verdict: Another Western winner from Republic. ***. 

JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN

John Compton and Clayton Moore

JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN (13 chapter Republic serial/1947). Directed by Fred C. Brannon and Thomas Carr.

Jesse James (Clayton Moore of G-Men Never Forget) is on the run from the sheriff along with his buddy Steve Long (John Compton of The D.A.'s Man). Jesse feels his criminal activities have been highly exaggerated and Steve is completely innocent. With Jesse using a fake name, they come to a small town and bunk with an old farmer, Sam Bolton (Tom London)  and his daughter, Ann (Linda Stirling.) When the farm is attacked by a group of masked Black Raiders, Jesse and Steve help fight them off, and Jesse tells a grateful Ann who he really is. These seemingly inexplicable raids against farmers are engineered by James Clark (Tristram Coffin of King of the Rocket Men) and carried out by Frank Lawton (Roy Barcroft) -- they are after the oil that is under everyone's property.

John Compton with Roy Barcroft

In chapter one a riverboat blows up with Ann tied up on board. Chapter 12 features an exciting horse and carriage race between raiders and farmers as the latter try to deliver oil and the raiders try to stop them. The best cliffhanger occurs in chapter 7, when Ann is put inside a cage called a cotton compress and is nearly crushed to death. The performances are all good in this, the action is fast, the fisticuffs are furious, and the serial is fun. This was the first of three Republic serials featuring the character of Jesse James. The follow ups were The Adventures of Frank and Jesse James and The James Brothers of Missouri. 

Verdict: Action, thrills, and two handsome hunks! ***.  

G-MEN NEVER FORGET

Clayton Moore

G-MEN NEVER FORGET (12 chapter Republic serial/1948). Directed by Fred C. Brannon and Yakima Canutt.

Notorious criminal Vic Murkland (Roy Barcroft) escapes from jail and joins his gang at the sanitarium of Dr. Benson (Stanley Price). Murkland has come up with an ingenious plan: he has Benson surgically alter his face so that he looks exactly like Police Commissioner Cameron (also played by Roy Barcroft) and then changes places with him, keeping the real commissioner prisoner. This way he secretly keeps interfering with agent Ted O'Hara (Clayton Moore of Lone Ranger fame) and his very capable assistant, Detective-Sergeant Frances Blake (Ramsay Ames) as they try to stymie the plans of the missing Murkland and his chief gunsel Duke Graham (Gil Frye) and others.

Moore and Roy Barcroft

G-Men Never Forget has a more interesting story than many other serials, and some times almost plays like film noir. Moore makes a strikingly handsome and very effective leading man in this, and Ramsay Ames makes a better impression than she does in other productions. With this serial Roy Barcroft, who appeared in a great many serials, is given one of his best opportunities, and he's fine in a dual role. Premiere stunt man Tom Steele also has more to do than usual, not just as a stunt double but as one of Murkland's gang. Douglas Aylesworth is Detective Hayden, whom at one point O'Hara suspects of being in league with Murkland, a fatal error.

Moore and Ramsay Ames

There are the usual thrills and spills, chases and fist fights. An explosion in a tunnel unleashes a torrent of water that nearly swamps O'Hara and he is nearly electrocuted when his truck runs into high voltage wires and explodes. Just as a truck she's trapped in is about to go over a cliff, Frances uses her wits to narrowly escape the death trap. In a surprising development, our hero doesn't save the day when Murkland sabotages a ship and a large heavy piece of its frame falls from a crane and causes death and destruction -- although O'Hara doesn't get a scratch. (This might have been real footage of a shipyard accident, the use of which is in questionable taste if anyone was actually killed.) Co-director Yakima Canutt was a famed stunt man, bit actor, and stunt coordinator who was the second unit director for the chariot race in the 1959 version of Ben-Hur.

Verdict: Snappy, fast-paced serial with the added sex appeal of Moore and Ames. ***. 

THE CRIMSON GHOST

The Crimson Ghost played by ?

THE CRIMSON GHOST (12 chapter Republic serial/1946). Directed by William Witney and Fred C. Brannon. 

A masked figure called the Crimson Ghost is secretly one of the board members of a scientific society. Professor Chambers (Kenne Duncan) has invented the cyclotrode, the "most powerful offensive weapon in the world" and the Ghost can't wait to get his hands on it. The cyclotrode can neutralize virtually all forms of energy. The Ghost and his associates Ashe (Clayton Moore) and Bain (Rex Lease) enact various schemes to either steal the cyclotrode or make a duplicate, doing their best to loot armored cars and purloin some heavy water. Their efforts are stymied by Duncan Richards (Charles Quigley), who is not only a physicist himself but a security man. His associate Diana (Linda Stirling) proves an able helping hand on more than one occasion.  

Linda Stirling and Charles Quigley 

The Crimson Ghost is an exciting and briskly-paced serial, with lots of Republic's trademark furious fisticuffs and furniture-smashing battles. Our hero falls from a wire he's traversing in chapter three, almost succumbs to poison gas pumped into a locked room in chapter four, and apparently falls from a high window into an alley with a thud in chapter eleven. Chapter six is especially action-packed, featuring a plane crash, a battle by cliff side, and the explosion of a bridge. The Ghost is, as usual, an  utterly ruthless, amoral and sociopathic criminal and his henchmen are little better. Quigley makes a stalwart hero in this; Linda Stirling had more to do in earlier serials such as Zorro's Black Whip and The Tiger Woman, when she was the leading lady.  Quigley was in a number of serials and B movies. 

Verdict: Punches and thrills galore. ***. 

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON

Commando Cody takes flight!

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON (12 chapter Republic serial/1952). Director: Fred. C. Brannon. 

In the first appearance of "a new character," Commando Cody (George Wallace) -- actually a new version of the Rocket Man from King of the Rocket Men -- our hero uses his flying jet pack to take on moon men whose atmosphere is deteriorating and want to take over Mother Earth in a mass migration. The chief moon man is Retik (Roy Barcroft) and his chief confederate on earth is Krog (Peter Brocco). As incredible as it may seem -- but remember this is a serial -- the advance force to take over an entire planet with billions of inhabitants consists of one moon man and two -- count 'em -- two American gangsters named Graber (Clayton Moore of Lone Ranger fame) and Daly (Robert R. Stephenson). As for Cody, he also has two assistants: Ted (William Bakewell of All Quiet on the Western Front); and Joan (Aline Towne). More than once Cody flies to the moon in his rocket ship, once to reconnoiter and another time to get the Lunarium that the moon men use in their ray guns. 

Bakewell, Wallace, Towne

George Wallace is fine as Cody; in addition to a lot of film work Wallace was Mary Martin's leading man in the Broadway musical Jennie. The process work that shows Cody taking to the air is effective all these years later, and Stanley Wilson's score is consistently exciting. Our hero is trapped by molten lava at one point, and there is at least one exciting mid-air rescue. Some of the cliffhangers are recycled from King of the Rocket Men but used in different circumstances. 

Verdict: Snappy, fast-paced, and lots of fun. ***.