King of the Royal Mounted (serial)
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| King of the Royal Mounted | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | William Witney John English |
| Produced by | Hiram S. Brown Jr |
| Written by | Franklin Adreon Norman S. Hall Joeseph F. Poland Barney A. Sarecky Sol Shor |
| Starring | Allan Lane Robert Strange Robert Kellard Lita Conway Herbert Rawlinson Harry Cording Bryant Washburn Budd Buster |
| Cinematography | William Nobles |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  20 September 1940 (serial)30 April 1942 (film) |
| Running time | 211 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $136,686 (negative cost: $137,874)[1] |
| Followed by | King of the Mounties (1942) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
King of the Royal Mounted (1940) is a Republic northern serial based on the King of the Royal Mounted Comic strip directed by William Witney and John English.
Set and filmed during World War II, the story is about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police against Nazi spies after a new Canadian discovery, "Compound X".
A feature version, called The Yukon Patrol was released in 1942.
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[edit] Plot
| “ | Although the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are few in number, they successfully guard a vast dominion of the British Empire. From the United States border to the Arctic ice pack and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the red coat of the Mountie is the symbol of law and order and a promise that justice will prevail. To these gallant men, "King of the Royal Mounted" is respectfully dedicated. | ” |
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— Opening caption
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In World War II, the Nazis require a special mineral, Compound X, discovered in Canada. Although intended to cure paralysis, the Nazis have discovered that it can be used in magnetic mines to destroy the British fleet and blockade America to prevent it assisting the Allies. The Mounties discover this plot and work to defeat and capture the Nazi spies sent to obtain the ore. Sgt King's father is killed in the line of duty, saving his son from death on a circular saw, and leaving him to carry on the fight against the enemy.
The plot was described as "pure and simple propaganda" by William Witney.[2]
[edit] Cast
- Allan Lane as Sergeant Dave King
- Robert Strange as John Kettler
- Robert Kellard as Corporal Tom Merritt Jr
- Lita Conway as Linda Merritt
- Herbert Rawlinson as Inspector King
- Harry Cording as Wade Garson
- Bryant Washburn as Matt Crandall
- Budd Buster as Vinegar Smith
[edit] Production
Filming on King of the Royal Mounted took place between 18 June and 12 July 1940. The serial's release date is recorded as 20 September 1940, although this is more accurately the date that the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. A 68-minute long feature version, made by editing together material from the serial, called The Yukon Patrol was released on 30 April 1942.[1]
The budget for this serial was $136,686 but the negative cost rose slightly to $137,874 (a compartively small amount, just $1,188 or 0.9%, for a Republic serial compared to the average of $8,199.55, or 5.7%). It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1940. 1940 itself was the first year for Republic's overall spend on serials to decrease on the previous year ($648,064 in 1939 compared to $597,528 in 1940 for the same output).[1]
Director William Witney records that production of the serial was not pleasant. Although the interview for the leading man went well, neither Witney nor his partner John English subsequently had a high opinion of Allan Lane as a person or as an actor. The serial is only afforded three pages in the autobiography of his serial-years, in a chapter entitled "Two Duds and a Hot Water Tank".[2]
Filming took place on location, following a good weather forecast from a Doctor Krich at Cal Tech, at Big Bear Lake. The area had a log cabin settlement and a disguised dam (logs covering concrete) built by Paramount Pictures for The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936). The area also had the pine trees necessary for the Canadian setting.[2]
[edit] Chapter titles
- Manhunt (26 min 48s)
- Winged Death (17 min 6s)
- Boomerang (16 min 45s)
- Devil Doctor (16 min 45s)
- Sabotage (16 min 51s)
- False Ransom (16 min 42s)
- Death Tunes In (16 min 43s)
- Satan's Cauldron (16 min 40s)
- Espionage (16 min 43s)
- Blazing Guns (16 min 41s)
- Master Spy (16 min 50s)
- Code of the Mounted (16 min 40s)
[edit] References
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The references in this article would be clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. |
- ^ a b c d <ref>Mathis, Jack (1995). ''Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement''. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8</li> <li id="cite_note-witney-1">^ [[#cite_ref-witney_1-0|<sup>'''''a'''''</sup>]] [[#cite_ref-witney_1-1|<sup>'''''b'''''</sup>]] [[#cite_ref-witney_1-2|<sup>'''''c'''''</sup>]] Witney, William (1996). ''In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door''. (McFarland & Company) ISBN 0786422580</li></ol></ref>
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Adventures of Red Ryder (1940) |
Republic Serial King of the Royal Mounted (1940) |
Succeeded by Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) |
| Preceded by Adventures of Red Ryder (1940) |
Witney-English Serial King of the Royal Mounted (1940) |
Succeeded by Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) |
