Customer Reviews

Black Widow [VHS]

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fortunately, this serial is somewhat more than the sum of its parts. It includes some happenings that are quite unbelievable even by serial standards: A car that changes colors with the push of a button, while it's still under way; masks worn by the villain that make her look--and sound--exactly like several other women; and though the villain is clearly supposed to be Asian, her father Hitomu has a strong German accent.

And while we're on the subject of Sombra's father, Hitomu has to be the weirdest character ever in a serial. You wonder what directors Bennet and Brannon were thinking of. First, he appears through some sort of unexplained beam-me-up device from half-way around the world. Then, he looks like a clown in bouffant pajamas, all slunk down on his throne. This is a man who wants to take over the world?? He's played by Theodore Gottlieb, quite an amazing guy in his own right: Born to a wealthy family in Dusseldorf in 1906, held in Dachau until he agreed to sign over his family fortune for one Reichsmark, deported from Switzerland to Australia for chess hustling (!), where Albert Einstein, a family friend, helped him escape to the United States. Wow! He later became a comedian on late-night TV under the name "Brother Theodore" doing a stream-of-consciousness monologue he called "stand-up tragedy." Gottlieb is clearly the most interesting actor, and Hitomu the most bizarre character, in this picture. At least he makes it a memorable serial.

Carol Forman also does her bit to make it memorable, completely stealing the show from leading man Bruce Edwards and nominal heroine Virginia Lindley (aka Virginia Lee). "I like being the heavy," Forman once said. "Not everyone can be as convincing as I am." Convincing enough to become typecast in vixen roles, such as similar roles as the Spider Lady in "Superman" and as Nila, another homicidal femme fatale in "Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc.", leading to her unofficial title of Queen of the Serial Villainesses.

I'd have to say Bruce Edwards also helps make this serial memorable, as one of the very worst leading men ever to appear in a serial. He couldn't act a lick, but he did have one thing going for him--he bore a resemblance to Tom Steele, Republic's outstanding stunt man, who doubled him in the fights. It's nice to have talent, but it's even better to be lucky. I. Stanford Jolley ("The Crimson Ghost" voice only, "The Desert Hawk") was usually cast as the slick Western bad guy, but with the glasses he looks great as the weird scientist Dr. Jaffa.

The good thing about the dubious plot device of enabling Sombra to look like others through the use of those masks is that it enables the women in this film to show off their stuff. Three different actresses get to play Sombra pretending to be them, none better than the beautiful Ramsay Ames ("The Vigilante") as Steve Colt's secretary. It's a shame they couldn't have given her a little bigger part in this one.

As I said, this serial is more than the sum of its parts. I rank it as high as I do on the strength of it being so bizarrely memorable, not the least of which is the very last scene in the final chapter. Most serials end with all the good guys laughing about some inane comment, but this one ends with a hoot. The humor may have been unintentional, but I thought it was the funniest final comment I have ever heard at the end of a serial!

OK, so you've seen better acting. But that's not what you watch a serial for, is it? I like the 40's flavor and the furious activity. Lots of bizarre stuff in this one with exploding buildings and crashing cars aplenty. I especially enjoyed Carol Forman (the Black Widow) who slinked about as some sort of mystical queen--Madame Sondra.

Republic Pictures present "BLACK WIDOW" (1947) (180 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 13-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Bruce Edwards, Virginia Lindley, Carol Foreman, Anthony Warde & Ramsay Ames, relive those thrilling days week after week venue brought you to the theater, as you were mesmerized in your seat waiting for the final chapter ... exciting action within 13 episodes from the Republic Serials Factory, released in July 28, 1947, our plot line has Madame Sombra (Carol Forman), with the help of her Black Widow gang, embarks on a mission to steal America's top secret atomic weapons by eliminating her enemies with a deadly spider venom. Mystery writer Steve Colt (Bruce Edwards) & intrepid reporter Joyce Winters (Virginia Lee) stand in her way, Colt investigates the deaths of a group of scientists working on an atomic rocket development project, behind the killings is fortune teller Sombra, a spy from an Asian country intent on world domination, is she determined to pilfer the atomic rocket by luring workers from the project to her parlor and killing them with black widow spider venom when they refuse to cooperate ... the long and short of it, a solid professional piece of work with exciting cliffhanging episodes.

Under Spencer Gordon Bennet (Director), Fred C. Brannon (Director), M.J. Frankovich (Associate Producer), Franklin Adreon (Screenwriters), Basil Dickey (Screenwriters), Jesse Duffy (Screenwriters), Sol Shor (Screenwriters), Mort Glickman (Original Score), John MacBurnie (Cinematographer), Cliff Bell Sr. (Editor), Sam Starr (Editor), Fred A. Ritter (Art Director), John McCarthy Jr.(Set Decorations), James Redd (Set Decorations) ------ the cast includes Bruce Edwards (Steve Colt), Virginia Lindley (Joyce Winters), Carol Forman (Sombra), Anthony Warde (Nick Ward), Ramsay Ames (Ruth Dayton), I. Stanford Jolley (Dr. Z.V. Jaffa), Virginia Carroll (Dr. Ann Curry), Gene Roth (J.M. Walker (editor), Sam Flint (Prof. Henry Weston), Tom Steele (Bard), Dale Van Sickel (Bill), LeRoy Mason (Dr. Godfrey), Forrest Taylor (Bradley (gang lawyer), Ernie Adams (Blinkey), George Chesebro (J. Carter (film developer), Carey Loftin (Spike, Cargo Plane Thug), Ted Mapes (Slade (thug in truck), Jack O'Shea (Cornwall Co. foreman), Stanley Price (Filmore Hagen), Ken Terrell (Mendoza (lab tech in cave), Robert J. Wilke (Cab Driver), Bud Wolfe (Guard #1 on Cargo Plane)... take note raven-haired Carol Forman's main claim to fame is the fact that she was one of the first villainesses in serials ... this serial is no exception, every episode is loaded with action that is fast-moving, plus the usual well-staged cliffhangers, repeatedly outstanding fist fights, and a number of car chases, and an excellent supporting cast of Republic serial and western-film veterans ... great stunt work by the Republic stunt personnel Tom Steele (stunt double: Bruce Edwards), Dale Van Sickel (stunt double: Anthony Warde & Stanley Price), Bud Wolfe (stunt double: Anthony Warde) --- don't leave the theater until the final chapter ... another winner from the vaults of Republic Serials --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.

BIOS:
1. Bruce Edwards
Date of birth: 8 October 1914 - Los Angeles, California
Date of death: 20 September 2002 - Thousand Oaks, California

2. Carol Forman (aka: Carolyn Sawls)
Date of birth: 19 June 1918 - Epps, Alabama
Date of death: 9 July 1997 - Burbank, California

3. Spencer Gordon Bennet (The Serial King) (Director)
Date of birth: 5 January 1893 - Brooklyn, New York, New York
Date of death: 8 October 1987 - Santa Monica, California

Special footnote, Spencer Gordon Bennet, was known as the "King of Serial Directors" he directed more film serials than anybody else, Bennet first entered show business as a stunt man, when he answered a newspaper ad to jump from the Palisades of the Hudson River while wearing a suit for the serial film Hurricane Hutch. The gig at that time paid $1 per foot he had to fall ... Bennet made his directorial debut in "Behold The Man" (1921), but made his serial directorial debut in with "Sunken Silver" (1925), Bennet would keep making serials, as well as B westerns features, until the very end of the genre, directing the very last two made in the United States, "Blazing the Overland Trail" (1956) and "Perils of the Wilderness" (1956). After the serials ended he directed a handful of features, his final directorial credit with "The Bounty Killer" (1965) with Dan Duryea, Bob Steele, Buster Crabbe, Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, I. Stanford Jolley Richard Arlen and Rod Cameron, which was also the final film to feature noted cowboy star Gilbert "Broncho Billy" Anderson ... when Bennet died in 1987, his tombstone was engraved "The Final Chapter" ... over his long career Bennet directed over a hundred serials including "Atom Man vs Superman" (1950) serial, "The Adventures of Sir Galahad" (1949), "Batman and Robin" (1949), "The Tiger Woman" (1944), "Captain Video" (1951), and numerous western serials. Among his western B-features were his long running "Red Ryder" series, featuring Don "Red" Barry, Wild Bill Elliott and Allan Rocky Lane during the '40s.

4. Fred C. Brannon (Director)
Date of birth: 26 April 1901 - Louisiana, USA
Date of death: 6 April 1953 - Los Angeles, California
[Special footnote, "King of the Rocket Men" has a truly amazing mid-air chase in one of its early
chapters, ending with a startlingly realistic piece of stunt work as the rocket man flies in pursuit of
a plane, Brannon also directed episodes of the "Commando Cody" (1953) television series]

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)
5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)
8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)
9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)
11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)
13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author: Trail Talk), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author: The Real Bob Steele) as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 180 min on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (5/30/1995)

When viewing the 13 lame chapters of "The Black Widow" (1947), it is apparent that the Golden Age of Movie Serials has ended. How could the reliable professionalism of Republic Pictures take such a nosedive? Except for the villainy of Carol Forman in the title role, "The Black Widow" offers few thrills or surprises. Instead, the producers rely on its catalogue of Republic stock footage to create a "new" chapterplay. The cost-cutting is painfully obvious throughout - made worse by a largely unappealing cast. Do not judge the art of movie serials by this fiasco.