The Phantom (1943 movie serial)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Phantom | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover of The Phantom |
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| Directed by | B. Reeves Eason |
| Produced by | Rudolph C. Flothow |
| Written by | Morgan Cox Victor McLeod Leslie Swabacker Sherman L. Lowe Lee Falk (character) Ray Moore (character) |
| Starring | Tom Tyler Jeanne Bates Kenneth MacDonald Ace the Wonder Dog |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  24 December 1943 |
| Running time | 15 chapters (299 min) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | The Adventures of Captain Africa (1955) original intent |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Phantom (1943) is a classic Columbia Pictures cliffhanger serial starring Tom Tyler in the title role. The serial is based on Lee Falk's comic strip The Phantom. The serial also features Jeanne Bates as the Phantom's girlfriend Diana Palmer, and Ace the Wonder Dog as the Phantom's trusty hound Devil.
In 1955, Columbia Pictures filmed a sequel to The Phantom [1], this time with John Hart in the lead role (Tom Tyler had passed away in 1954). However, due to licencing issues with King Features, the owner of the character, the entire serial was re-shot and re-named The Adventures of Captain Africa.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Young Geoffrey Prescott takes over the mantle of The Phantom, a seemingly immortal man, from his dying father, and must thwart the evil Doctor Bremmer's plans to find the lost city of Zoloz, where the doctor intends to build a hidden airbase. To find Zoloz, the Phantom and Bremmer are both searching for pieces of a map that will lead them to the secret city, which is hidden deep in the jungle.
As in all serials, the hero has to fight his way through a path of many dangerous traps and set-ups. Every episode ends with an exciting cliffhanger, where the hero finds himself in great danger.
[edit] Cast
- Tom Tyler as The Phantom/Geoffrey Prescott, The Ghost Who Walks
- Jeanne Bates as Diana Palmer
- Kenneth MacDonald as Dr Max Bremmer
- Joe Devlin as Singapore Smith
- Frank Shannon as Professor Davidson
- Guy Kingsford as Byron Anderson
- Wade Crosby as Long
- John Bagni as Moku
- Sol Gorss as Andy Kriss
- Ace the Wonder Dog as Devil
[edit] Chapter titles
- The Sign of the Skull
- The Man Who Never Dies
- A Traitor's Code
- The Seat of Judgement
- The Ghost Who Walks
- Jungle Whispers
- The Mystery Well
- In the Quest of the Keys
- The Fire Princess
- The Chamber of Death
- The Emerald Key
- The Fangs of the Beast
- The Road to Zoloz
- The Lost City
- Peace in the Jungle
[edit] Production
Like most serials, the film had a relatively low budget. In the serial, the Phantom's real name is Geoffrey Prescott, while in the comic strip, his real name is Kit Walker, due to the name "Kit" not having been used in the strip up to that point. Here, when covering his costume with a hat, dark glasses, and an overcoat so as to enter civilization unobtrusively, the Phantom tells Singapore Smith to call him "Walker."
Most of the serial was filmed in the Hollywood hills, which doubled as the African jungle.
[edit] DVD
The serial was released on a double-disc DVD by VCI Video in 2001 (reusing the cover box art from their previous VHS version), featuring a commentary track by writer Max Allan Collins as well as other special features. Much of the dialogue of one of the chapters had to be re-dubbed by new actors, because of sound damage to the original film.
A different DVD-edition was released exclusively for Australia in 2005, featuring a commentary track by Frew Publications editor-in-chief Jim Shepherd.
[edit] References
- ^ Review at [[New York Times]
- ^ Comic Book Marketplace #121, May 2005, Gemstone Publishing.
[edit] External links
- The Phantom at the Internet Movie Database
- The Phantom article at Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience
| Preceded by Batman (1943) |
Columbia Serial The Phantom (1943) |
Succeeded by The Desert Hawk (1944) |
