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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fun fun fun,
By
This review is from: Manhunt in the African Jungle [VHS] (VHS Tape)
serials were never known for great acting, writing or much of anything else. However there are excetions to the rule, and this is one of them. The plot may not be the freshest, and the nazis are about as stereotypical as they come, but some of the ideas that the writers came up with are quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the fake German graveyard in Morrocco loaded with explosives. Also, predictable as every fight scene is, the stunt coordinators and cameramen went out of their way to let everything look just a little bit different (my dad's got about forty serials, and Manhunt has by far the best fights of any of them, it's also in the top five for most amusing cliffhangers). No other serial has the actors fighting at the camera (pardon the grammar, but there's no other way to put it). The sets are also quite remarkable in that a large number of items are placed around for the actors to use. Again don't be looking for a great story or good acting. Just sit back and enjoy what passed for gratuitous violence in the 1940s. It's definitely a winner.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Formulaic and uninspired but decent acting & special effects,
By Dean Carter (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Manhunt in the African Jungle [VHS] (VHS Tape)
If you want to study stock plots, standard characters and typical cliffhangers in Republic chapterplays, this is a good academic excesize. But it is a VERY mediocre example of Republic serials generally.... While ANYTHING from Republic's unit was better than 90% of the serials from other studios, SECRET SERVICE IN DARKEST AFRICA (the original title)was perhaps the beginning of the end of the Golden Age. All but three chapters are carbon-copies of one another: two 4-man fistfights (each beginning with Rex Bennet getting the pistol knocked out of his hand) per episode, one shot of the captive Sultan Ben Ali mocking his Nazi captors, a cross-country chase and an explosion at the end. Sure, these are the staples of serialdom, but here they are presented as "bones without flesh." For wartime Nazi-fighters in the serials, Spy Smasher (or any similar Whitney-directed outing) is a better choice.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You want action? You GOT action!,
By
This review is from: Manhunt in the African Jungle [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is the high point of Republic serials, with action and special effects like nothing I've ever seen.It's the fearless American agent matching wits with evil Nazi spies in Africa, and giving Hitler's cronies the kay-o! True, there are the sterotypical things that come with all serials. The uncanny ability for heroes and villains alike not to be able to hold on to a gun, Califonia doubling for every location on Earth (this time it's Africa, sans black folks), and frequent fights that you KNOW are gonna happen (usually because a cowboy Nazi spy was distracted and dropped his gun), and bad guys never seeming to get captured for good and all until the last chapter. But hey, that's half the fun! This one is impressive, and shows off the work of the famous effects wizards, the Lydecker Brothers. If you like serials, this one is action all the way!
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