Mysterious Doctor Satan
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| The Mysterious Doctor Satan | |
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| Directed by | William Witney John English |
| Produced by | Hiram S. Brown Jr |
| Written by | Franklin Adreon Ronald Davidson Norman S. Hall Joseph F. Poland Barney A. Sarecky Sol Shor |
| Starring | Edward Ciannelli Robert Wilcox William Newell C. Montague Shaw Ella Neal Dorothy Herbert |
| Cinematography | William Nobles |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  13 December 1940 16 July 1954 1 October 2001 |
| Running time | 267 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $147,847 (negative cost: $147,381)[1] |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is The Copperhead, a masked mystery man secretly Bob Wayne.
The serial charts the conflict between the two as Bob Wayne searches for justice and revenge while Doctor Satan completes his plans for world domination.
It was directed by the legendary serial directorial team of William Witney and John English. Doctor Satan is played by Edward Ciannelli and Bob Wayne by Robert Wilcox.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Governor Bronson, who raised Bob Wayne from childhood after the death of his parents, is killed at the hands of a world-domination-seeking mad scientist called Doctor Satan. Fearing that his death might be at hand, however, as it has been for everyone else who had opposed the Doctor, the Governor first confides in Bob a secret about his past. Bob's father was really an outlaw in the Old West, who fought injustice while wearing a chainmail cowl and leaving small coiled copper snakes as his calling card.
Following his guardian's death, Wayne decides to adopt his outlaw father's "Copperhead" persona, donning his father's cowl. Doctor Satan, meanwhile, requires only a remote control device invented by Professor Scott to complete his army of killer robots and so gain all the power and riches he desires.
The Copperhead fights Doctor Satan, rescuing the Professor and others and preventing the Doctor from completing his plot.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main Cast
- Eduardo Ciannelli (credited as Edward Ciannelli) as Doctor Satan, mad scientist
- Robert Wilcox as Bob Wayne/'Copperhead'
- William Newell as Speed Martin, reporter
- C. Montague Shaw as Professor Thomas Scott, inventor of a remote control device for the military
- Ella Neal as Lois Scott, reporter and Professor Scott's daughter
- Dorothy Herbert as Alice Brent, Professor Scott's secretary
[edit] Supporting Cast
- Charles Trowbridge as Governor Bronson
- Jack Mulhall as Police Chief Rand
- Edwin Stanley as Col. Bevans
- Walter McGrail as Stoner, thug leader
- Joe McGuinn as Gort, a thug
- Bud Geary as Hallett, a thug
- Paul Marion as Corbay, a thug
- Archie Twitchell as Ross, airport radio operator
- Lynton Brent as Scarlett, a thug
- Ken Terrell as Corwin, a thug
- Al Taylor as Joe, a thug
[edit] Additional Cast
- Tom Steele as The Robot
[edit] Production
Mysterious Doctor Satan was originally scripted to be a Superman serial for Republic, but DC Comics withdrew permission based on changes Republic incorporated into their character's backstory. The material was subsequently reworked with the Copperhead standing in for Superman. The Copperhead's love interest, Lois, was not changed between these drafts. The plot has parallels with that of a comic book character that appeared the year before, Batman.
The Serial features the famous 'Republic Robot'. It first appeared in "Undersea Kingdom" (1936) and would appear again in "Zombies of the Stratosphere" (1952). It was parodied in the metafictional The Adventures of Captain Proton 'holo-novels' of Star Trek: Voyager as Satan's Robot.
Director William Witney considered this one of his lesser serials.
The Title of Chapter 5, "Doctor Satan's Man of Steel", refers to Doctor Satan's Robot (which is made of Steel), the actor inside the robot costume (Tom Steele) and the original intent of making a Superman serial ("The Man of Steel" is one of Superman's most famous epithets).
In 1966, Mysterious Doctor Satan was one of a number of Republic serials to be re-edited into continuous feature film format to fit a two-hour commercial television time slot. It was retitled Dr. Satan's Robot.
[edit] Chapter titles
- Return of the Copperhead (30 min 15s)
- Thirteen Steps (17 min 41s)
- Undersea Tomb (17 min 18s)
- The Human Bomb (16 min 42s)
- Doctor Satan's Man of Steel (16 min 54s)
- Double Cross (16 min 44s)
- The Monster Strikes (16 min 53s)
- Highway of Death (16 min 40s)
- Double Jeopardy (16 min 39s)
- Bridge of Peril (16 min 40s)
- Death Closes In (17 min 12s)
- Crack-Up (17 min 16s)
- Disguised (16 min 42s)
- The Flaming Coffin (16 min 45s)
- Doctor Satan Strikes (16 min 44s)
[edit] Cliffhangers
[edit] Cliffhangers
- Return of the Copperhead: Doctor Satan's henchman remotely blows up the experimental ship, with Lois and crew aboard, as ordered.
- Thirteen Steps: Copperhead is electrocuted in Doctor Satan's lab as he captures the Doctor and his thugs.
- Undersea Tomb: A depth charge explodes. The diving bell, containing Bob & Lois, cracks and begins to fill with water.
- The Human Bomb: Copperhead drives into a sheet of flames and his car explodes.
- Doctor Satan's Man of Steel: Copperhead is caught in the crushing grip of The Robot.
- Double Cross: Lois is bound and gagged, the door handle is rigged to electrocute the Copperhead if he attempts a rescue, and poison gas is set to be released by a timer.
- The Monster Strikes: Splashed acid burns The Robot's circuitry and sends it out of control. It topples a case of acid on itself and the stunned Copperhead.
- Highway of Death: Copperhead, fighting on the back of a truck, is knocked off the vehicle. Speed, pursuing in a car, runs him down.
- Double Jeopardy: An open can of gunpowder is knocked over when a fight breaks out in a mine. An escaping thug knocks a lit torch onto the trail which in turn sets off all the explosives.
- Bridge of Peril: During a chase across a gas works, Copperhead is knocked from a narrow beam by a block and tackle swung at him.
- Death Closes In: Doctor Satan drops the Copperhead through a trap door and activates a sliding wall in the cell beneath to crush him.
- Crack-Up: A passenger plane, controlled remotely by Doctor Satan, crashes into a mountain.
- Disguised: As the group rounds a corner, Joe the thug opens fire on them, and someone falls, shot.
- The Flaming Coffin: Copperhead hides in a box about to be delivered to Doctor Satan's new hideout. Doctor Satan suspects a poison gas booby-trap and has the still sealed box incinerated.
[edit] Solutions
- Thirteen Steps: Lois and the Copperhead jump overboard before the ship explodes.
- Undersea Tomb: Copperhead shoots out the controls and escapes by jumping through a window.
- The Human Bomb: Bob and Lois survive inside an air pocket within the diving bell.
- Doctor Satan's Man of Steel: Copperhead jumps away from the car before it explodes.
- Double Cross: Professor Scott deactivates The Robot with its control panel. The released Copperhead falls into the sea.
- The Monster Strikes: Copperhead enters through the window and rescues Lois from the cloud of poison gas.
- Highway of Death: Copperhead recovers in time and rolls aside.
- Double Jeopardy: Copperhead lies flat in the road so the car passes safely over him.
- Bridge of Peril: Copperhead dives into a shallow crevice for shelter from the explosion.
- Death Closes In: Copperhead catches the block and tackle as he falls, pulls himself to a walkway and continues the chase.
- Crack-Up: Doctor Satan leaves to escape the newly arrived District Attorney's Men. Copperhead shoots out the controls using a reflective object (possibly a cigarette case) to aim.
- Disguised: Bob's plane is the one that crashed, after he parachuted to safety.
- The Flaming Coffin: Professor Williams is the one shot by Joe, who is punched out by the Copperhead.
- Doctor Satan Strikes: Copperhead had already left the box when the delivery truck parked, substituting sacks of ore to maintain the box's weight.
[edit] References
- ^ Mathis, Jack (1995). Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8
[edit] External links
| Preceded by King of the Royal Mounted (1940) |
Republic Serial The Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) |
Succeeded by Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) |
| Preceded by King of the Royal Mounted (1940) |
Witney-English Serial The Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) |
Succeeded by Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) |
