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3.0 out of 5 stars
Standard Republic Serial but with Jean Dean, May 24, 2005
This review is from: Radar Patrol Vs Spy King [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Radar Patrol vs Spy King" is your standard late 40's Republic Serial. It is composed of 12 "High-Voltage Episodes" and stars Kirk Alyn-the king of Saturday matinée serials and the first screen Superman. Why Alyn got so much work is a bigger mystery than anything found in his serials-he had no special talent and his appearance was not exactly leading man quality. Maybe his family was financing these things.
Unlike many of these serials, "Radar Patrol vs Spy King" does not feature any exotic locations (it looks like they used the same southern California valley used for "Lassie" and "The Real McCoys") or any exciting apparatus. Radar (apparently still an exciting idea in 1949) is the focus the espionage in this story. Plus the bad-guy, (played quite well by John Merton), has some kind of hokey looking ray gun. Assisting the Radar Patrol is Anthony Warde who also did a good job as Killer Kane in the Buck Rogers serials.
One interesting thing is that the writers based much of the plot on the concept that it was possible to trace a radar beam back to its source, an idea that would eventually prove to be the major vulnerability of tracking systems.
The best reason to watch this is the presence of Jean Dean as the heroine. Dean was a former Vargas model (for his redheads) and Esquire calendar girl of limited thespian talent but breathtaking beauty. Although she has a lot of screen time the director uses her almost entirely in wide shots and there are few good close-ups of her face. Why they would cast her and then not use her to their best advantage is a puzzle but it probably has something to do with the cheap way these things were actually produced. Most scenes were filmed once as wide master shots. Then a small fraction of the action was filmed closer and cut into the master. They could knock out a lot of stuff in a short time doing it this way.
Watching Jean Dean closely revealed some other stuff about the production method. Although the story takes place over about a two-week period, Dean wears the same plaid suit for 90% or the serial. During this time she jumps out of a moving car (twice), a speeding truck, and an airplane. She is in several fights and is knocked around many times. That suit really takes a beating but it looks fine at the end. The same goes for the other actors. This was not because of a lack of money for wardrobe. At each location they shot everything for all 12 episodes at the same time. Much of this stuff was interchangeable and limiting each actor to one outfit minimized one type of continuity issue during the editing process.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
"Radar Patrol Vs Spy King" (1950) ... Fred C. Brannon ... A Republic 12 Chapter Serial", January 21, 2007
This review is from: Radar Patrol Vs Spy King [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Republic Pictures present "RADAR PATROL VS SPY KING" (1950) (167 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 12-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Kirk Alyn, Jean Dean, George J. Lewis, Eve Witney & John Merton, 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 12 episodes from the Republic Serials department, released in January 1950, the plot line follows this path, when saboteurs threaten America's radar defence network, a Federal Agent aided by a research assistant battle the sinister Baroda and his evil henchmen, will agent Chris Calvert and Joan Hughs research scientist stop them ... the once fabulous Republic Studio serial machine turned out true masterpieces of action during the late 30s and early 40s ... remember this serial from the Saturday double features at our neighborhood theater ... 12 breathtaking chapters come across with all the gusto Republic Studios has to offer.
Under Fred C. Brannon (Director), Franklin Adreon (Associate Producer), Royal K. Cole (Screenwriter), William Lively (Screenwriter), Sol Shor (Screenwriter), Stanley Wilson (Original Score), Ellis W. Carter (Cinematographer), Cliff Bell Sr.(Editor), Sam Starr (Editor) ------ the cast includes Kirk Alyn (Chris Calvert), Jean Dean (Joan Hughes), Anthony Warde (Ricco Morgan), George J. Lewis (Lt. Manuel Agura), Eve Whitney (Nitra), John Merton (John Baroda), Tristram Coffin (Franklyn Lord), John Crawford (Sands), Dale Van Sickel (Truck Driver/Henchman Lentz), Tom Steele (Henchman Ames/Henchman Gorman), Eddie Parker (Dutch/Herb/Malloy/Heavy), Roy Barcroft (Police Dispatcher (voice), Carey Loftin (Cave Heavy), David Sharpe (Laundry Heavy), Duke Taylor (Henchman Link), Ken Terrell (Tami, the mechanic), Bud Wolfe (Oil Company Office Thug) ... great stunt work by the Republic stunt personnel David Sharpe (stunt double: George J. Lewis ), Tom Steele (stunt double: Anthony Warde & Kirk Alyn), Dale Van Sickel (stunt double: Kirk Alyn, Anthony Warde and George J. Lewis) --- 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. Kirk Alyn (aka: John Feggo Jr.)
Date of birth: 8 October 1910 - Oxford, New Jersey
Date of death: 14 March 1999 - The Woodlands, Texas,
Special footnote, Kirk Alyn was an American actor, best known for being the first actor
to play Superman on screen, in the 1948 film serial "Superman", and its 1950 sequel
"Atom Man Vs. Superman", starring in some similar comic book-type serials
"Daughter of Don Q" (1946), "Federal Agents Vs. Underworld Inc" (1948),
"Blackhawk" (1952) Alyn shared a very short cameo with his serial co-star, Noel Neill,
as the parents of the young Lois Lane in the 1978 feature film, "Superman: The Movie".
Kirk Alyn had been Grand Marshal of the Metropolis, Illinois Christmas parade and
Annual Superman Celebrations several times.
2. Fred C. Brannon (Director) ("The Black Widow" (1947)/Serial)
Date of birth: 26 April 1901 - Louisiana, USA
Date of death: 6 April 1953 - Los Angeles, California
Second 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.The Lost City (Kane Richmond, William Stage Boyd & George Gabby Hayes)
16.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
17.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
18.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
19.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
20.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
21.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
22.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
24.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
25.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
26.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
27.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
28.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
29.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) 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: 167 mins on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (5/30/1995)
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