TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS

Harry Lauter and Aline Towne

TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS (12 chapter Republic serial/1954). Produced and directed by Franklin Adreon. Colorized.  

Tom Rogers (Harry Lauter of The Louisiana Hussy) is a trader in Asian territories who is willingly signed up by Major Conroy (Robert Shayne of The Neanderthal Man) to help ferret out a gang that is smuggling out weapons, including light bulbs containing a poison gas, to foreign agents who are arming rebel natives so as to turn their country into a satellite. Vivian Wells (Aline Towne of Radar Men from the Moon) is the feisty daughter of a doctor who was targeted by evil forces, and Mr. Barent (Lyle Talbot), is the representative of his country's forces and the chief architect behind Trader Tom's troubles. Victor Sen Yung is Wang, a friendly associate of Rogers. 

Lauter and Towne with Lyle Talbot

Barent's helpmates include the nasty Kurt Daley (Fred Graham of The Giant Gila Monster), the mute Gursan (an unrecognizable Tom Steele), the psychotic Gorth (Richard Alexander), the rebel leader (Richard Reeves), and others. Tom gets some help from Kahn (Jan Arvan), who is fighting off the rebel forces in his country. Tom and Vivian have to deal with landslides, being trapped on a sinking freighter, being trapped underwater with a cut air hose, a train collision, angry rebels with big knives, and so on. Tom thinks nothing of burning these would-be killers to death, and nearly falls off a cliff into the fire in chapter seven. In chapter six a killer is placed inside a mailbag so he can take care of the engineer. 

Vivian and Tom escape from one doom only to face another

A nice aspect of the serial is that Vivian is depicted as being just as brave, plucky, and competent as Tom. She is no mere decoration, but an important player in the story. Lyle Talbot gives his usual professional but utterly bland portrayal, as he usually did in these serials. Fred Graham, on the other hand, emerges as a very credible and distinctly unpleasant bad guy. Trader Tom of the China Seas is a late Republic serial, one that is much more down to earth than the studio's sci-fi and superhero cliffhangers. For many, that may be the serial's weakness, but it has to be said that Trader Tom is fast-paced and full of action, with plenty of interesting death-traps, and a charismatic lead performance by Lauter. 

Verdict: Decent, often exciting serial if perhaps not as much fun as others. **3/4. 

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. 

CANADIAN MOUNTIES VS ATOMIC INVADERS

William Henry and Susan Morrow

CANADIAN MOUNTIES VS ATOMIC INVADERS (12-chapter Republic serial/1953). Director: Franklin Adreon.  Colorized.

A group of foreign agents in Canada want to build bases from which they can launch rockets to destroy key American cites. Sgt. Don Roberts (William Henry of Uranium Boom) is unaware of this dastardly plot but wonders why some desperadoes are trying so hard to keep homesteaders from settling in a certain area. Don and reporter Kay Conway (Susan Morrow of Cat-Women of the Moon) face avalanches, overturned boards with spikes in them, trucks going over cliffs, cracking ice floes, and exploding boats before they figure out what's going on, and that a folksy, simple-minded tradesman in town is secretly a sinister agent named Marlof (Arthur Space of The Crimson Key). There are also appearances by Harry Lauter, Pierre Watkin, Hank Patterson, and Tom Steele, not to mention a couple of cute, mischievous bear cubs. 

Verdict: Acceptable if unspectacular cliffhanger serial. **3/4. 

THE MASKED MARVEL

The Masked Marvel (Tom Steele) drives into action!

THE MASKED MARVEL (12-chapter Republic serial/1943). Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet. Colorized. 

The Worldwide Insurance Company is being particularly hit hard by acts of sabotage committed by Mura Sakima (Johnny Arthur of The Ghost Walks) and his treasonous underling, "Killer" Mace (Anthony Warde) and others. When the head of Worldwide is murdered, his daughter, Alice (Louise Currie of The Crimson Key), is unaware that her late father's associate, Martin Crane (William Forrest of Spy Ship), is secretly working with Sakima. Four investigators come forward to help in the battle against Sakima: Jeffers (Richard Clarke); Morton (Bill Healy); Arnold (Rod Bacon); and Barton (David Bacon, no relation to Rod). One of these four is revealed to be the Masked Marvel at the very end, but throughout the serial the Marvel is actually played by stuntman Tom Steele. (Without the mask, Steele also plays one of Sakima's underlings, especially an assassin who stabs a cohort in the hospital before he can talk.)

Forrest, Currie and the 4 investigators

The Masked Marvel is one of the best Republic serials. Although there was at least one character in the comic books called the Masked Marvel, this one was invented by Republic studios. The business of hiding which of four men is the actual hero was borrowed from The Lone Ranger, as otherwise it seems a bit pointless. What matters is that Masked Marvel moves at a breathless pace, has one great action sequence after another, and features some highly entertaining cliffhangers: Alice placed beneath a freight elevator and about to be crushed; a truck that crashes through a warehouse wall; a bomb inside a briefcase that threatens everyone in the boardroom; the Masked Marvel using his wits and a clever rope trick to escape from another runaway truck; a thrilling business involving a hand car packed with explosives that is heading for a train carrying important war products. 

Bad guys: Forrest; Arthur; Warde

The furious, furniture-busting fisticuffs are fabulous, especially a fistfight between the Marvel and a gunsel in a warehouse. Louise Currie isn't much of an actress, but Johnny Arthur is a hoot as the nasty Japanese Sakima, spitting out his lines with an almost sublime contempt for everyone. Anthony Warde always scores as the cold-blooded chief hood who has no respect for human life or anything else. Other serial specialists who make appearances in this include Stanley Price of The Invisible Monster, Roy Barcroft of Manhunt of Mystery Island, and Ken Terrell of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and numerous cliffhangers. 

Verdict: Serial fans will love The Masked Marvel. ***1/4. 
 

FEDERAL OPERATOR 99

Lorna Gray and George J. Lewis

FEDERAL OPERATOR 99 (12-chapter Republic serial/1945). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Richard Cherwin; Yakima Canutt. Colorized. 

Two determined men are out to get one another. On on side is crime lord Jim Belmont (George J. Lewis of Radar Patrol vs. Spy King) -- with his female partner Rita Parker (Lorna Gray of Flying G-Men) -- and on the other is Jerry Blake (Marten Lamont), aka Federal Operator 99, who is out to stymie everyone of his schemes with the help of feisty "secretary" Joyce Kingston (Helen Talbot). Jim is supposedly a great lover of classical music, but the only piece he ever plays is "Moonlight Sonata." In addition to Rita, he's got Farrell (Hal Taliaferro) and other gunsels working for him, while Jerry has agent Fred Martin (William Stevens). 

Jerry (Marten Lamont) in disguise

Federal Operator 99 is practically a textbook case of how a cliffhanger serial should be handled. The actors play with enthusiasm, the stunt work and fight scenes (with virtually every stick of furniture being smashed) are excellent, there are several outstanding cliffhangers, and the exciting pace never flags. Poor Joyce is nearly cremated at one point, and has a huge propeller heading in her direction at another. Jerry is caught in a room with bars and fiery flame jets and engages in lively fisticuffs with Tom Steele (who plays several roles). There's a highly suspenseful business involving a bomb at a barn door. Joyce and Rita have a "catfight" in the cab of a speeding truck, with the former throwing the latter out on her keister. And there's a thrilling climax in an abandoned theater where our villains come to their richly-deserved fates. This version is colorized and eliminates the opening and closing credits of each chapter. Sometimes we see our heroes escaping a doom trap before we see the trap itself, but this is a minor problem.  

Verdict: Outstanding serial is great fun and even better in color. ***1/2.  

THE JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI

Robert Bice and Keith Richards as Frank and Jesse James

THE JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI (12 chapter Republic serial/1949. Director: Fred C. Brannon. 

Frank and Jesse James (Robert Bice of Captive Women and Keith Richards) only want to forget their past, go straight, and live their lives in peace. They are befriended by Lon Royer (John Hamitlon), a former member of the James Gang, and his daughter, Peg (Noel Neill), who are running a freight business in the town of Rimrock. Unfortunately, Ace Marlin (Roy Barcroft of Manhunt of Mystery Island), who is running a rival business, wants to obliterate the competition and murders Lon. Marlin's silent partner, who pretends to befriend the grieving Peg, is Belle Calhoun (Patricia Knox), who owns the general store. Frank and Jesse, masquerading as Peg's cousins, John Howard and Carroll, do everything they can to help Peg and her business, and counteract the increasingly violent and sinister actions of Marlin. 

Roy Barcroft and Patricia Knox

The James Brothers of Missouri is the third and last of the three Jesse James serials produced by Republic Pictures. Clayton Moore was Jesse in the first two serials, and while Richards is fine as Jesse James, Moore is still missed. Neill appeared in the previous serial, The Adventures of Frank and Jesse James, but she plays a different character this time. This is also true of Roy Barcroft, who is very adept in his villainy. Patricia Knox is also quite credible as a woman who seems to have a heart of gold but is really as nasty and manipulative as any hooker-hard gun moll. Lane Bradford [The Invisible Monster], Tom Steele, and Marshall Reed are familiar serial stalwarts who play various thugs in Marlin's employ. 

Keith Richards

The acting in this is fine, but Fred C. Brannon, who often co-directed these serials, proves that he has as assured a sole directorial hand as any other Republic fixture. The serial moves at a brisk pace and features some thrilling chase sequences, as well as cliffhangers in which Jesse is unconscious in the back of a runaway wagon, which blows up, and Peg is nearly scalded by acid. In this serial, Frank and Jesse are not anything like the real desperadoes, who were thugs, unrepentant criminals, and who even attacked and murdered civilian abolitionists. The story that they robbed the rich and gave to the poor like Robin Hood is also a load of crap. Keith Richards amassed nearly 200 credits, most of them on television or in bit parts in the movies. He played a drunken saloon patron in Jesse James Rides Again, then played Jesse himself -- a rare starring part -- two serials later. 

Verdict: The "heroes" in this weren't really heroes, but the serial is good and exciting western fun. ***. 

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. ***. 

GOVERNMENT AGENTS VS PHANTOM LEGION

Walter Reed goes into action

GOVERNMENT AGENTS VS PHANTOM LEGION (12 chapter Republic serial/1951). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

A board of trucking company owners is alarmed when their trucks, especially those holding important government materials that could be sold to a foreign country, are repeatedly hijacked. Hal Duncan (Walter Reed), one of the board members, is appointed a special agent to find out who is behind the hijackings. In this he is assisted by Sam Bradley (John Pickard) and their secretary Kay Roberts (Mary Ellen Kay). One of the board members is the secret mastermind behind the hijackings, and he employs persistent thugs Regan (Dick Curtis) and Cady (Fred Coby), among others, to carry out his orders. 

Mary Ellen Kay and Walter Reed

Government Agents vs Phantom Legion is full of the usual quota of thrills, fist-fights, car chases, fires, explosions and those famous cliffhangers, some of which are recycled from earlier Republic serials. A trail of fire pursues Hal in a narrow mine; he parachutes onto a train track just as an express train comes speeding along; dodges bullets fired at a boat he's on that then explosively collides with another ship; winds under an ore dump that unleashes tons of rock upon him; and plunges out of a high window. Driving along at gunpoint in chapter nine, he tells the gunsel pointing the weapon at him that "I'm a dead duck anyway, so I might as well take you with me" as he stamps down on the gas and careens towards a cliff! (Naturally, he survives).

Tom Steele

The mastermind in this speaks to his men from behind a mirror in a room adjacent to the one in which they receive their orders. Only minimal suspense is generated over his identity. Walter Reed is fine for this kind of material; he also starred in the serial Flying Disc Man from Mars. Although she amassed quite a few credits and is what they used to call a "cute trick," Mary Ellen Kay really doesn't appear to be an actress.  Stanley Wilson did the music and the Lydecker brothers provided the FX. Tom Steele is one of the stunt doubles and plays one of the bad guys. 

Verdict: Fun, fast-paced serial. ***. 

G-MEN VS. THE BLACK DRAGON

Nino Pipitone as Haruchi

G-MEN VS. THE BLACK DRAGON (15 chapter Republic serial/1943). Director: William Witney.

Haruchi (Nino Pipitone), the head of a Japanese society called the Black Dragons, is smuggled into the U.S.A. in a mummy case. There, with his deadly black raven at his side, he orders his henchmen. including Ranga (Noel Cravat), to commit various acts of sabotage, including setting fire to ships at sea. Haruchi is fond of sending men through a trapdoor to their doom, which comes at the beak and claws of his poisonous raven. His mission is to destroy the Occidental fools and take over the world for his people.

Rod Cameron as Rex Bennett

Haruchi's mission is imperiled by the brave actions of G-Man Rex Bennett (Rod Cameron), who is assisted by the equally brave British agent Vivian Marsh (Constance Worth) and Chinese agent Chang Sing (Roland Got). Vivian is as rugged and courageous as any man, throwing herself into battle at the drop of a hat and blasting away with a machine gun at one point. She is locked in a cabinet and nearly immolated in a room set on fire, affixed to a log heading towards a buzz saw, and tied to a chair with a huge spear aimed at her! As for Rex, he falls out of a skyscraper window, saving himself with a fire hose, crashes in a stolen robot plane, and nearly goes over a dam in a speedboat (a cliffhanger used repeatedly by Republic ever after). 

Constance Worth and Roland Got

Stalwart Cameron, feisty Worth and energetic Got are all fine in their roles. Nino Pipitone betrays his Italian accent now and then but offers a restrained and dignified -- if unexciting -- portrait of the nasty leader of the Black Dragons, but he is nevertheless effective. There is some astounding "choreography" in this as good guys battle bad guys in furious fights and their whirling dervish-like fisticuffs result in tons of smashed furniture -- nothing is unscathed! Mort Glickman's music score backs up every bit of action -- and there is a lot of it -- in a way that increases the thrills. I am not comparing director William Witney to Hitchcock, but there is a similarity in the brisk tight cutting of the film and a judicious use of close-ups. 

Made during WW2, the film understandably makes the villains either Japanese or Caucasian traitors, but there was a certain courage in having a Chinese-American actor playing one of the good guys. Born in San Francisco, Got appeared in 19 films but died much too young at age 32. Constance Worth was an Australian actress, and this was probably her largest role. The same is true of Nino Pipitone, as most of his roles were uncredited bit parts. The first chapter of this serial is entitled "The Yellow Peril" while chapter six is amusingly called "Death and Destruction!" of which there is plenty. Rod Cameron also played Rex Bennett in the serial Secret Service in Darkest Africa, which is not as good as this. Stuntman Tom Steele is not listed in the credits but he has two small speaking parts in the movie. Other familiar faces are John Hamilton, George J. Lewis, and Ken Terrell [Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman]. 

Verdict: Fast and furious, this is one of the most exciting Republic serials ever. ***1/2.