| Man with the Steel Whip | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Franklin Adreon |
| Produced by | Franklin Adreon |
| Written by | Ronald Davidson |
| Starring | Dick Simmons Barbara Bestar Dale Van Sickel Mauritz Hugo Lane Bradford |
| Cinematography | Bud Thackery |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 19 July 1954[1] |
| Running time | 12 chapters (167 minutes)[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $172,794 (negative cost: $174,718)[1] |
Man with the Steel Whip (1954) is a Republic Movie serial. It uses considerable stock footage from previous Republic serials "Zorro's Black Whip", "The Painted Stallion" and "Daredevils of the West". As with any serial from the 50s, it is not considered to be one of the best examples of the format. It uses the standard plot of an illicit "land grab" coupled with a new spin on the Zorro story (as Republic wished to use old stock footage from their Zorro serials but had since lost the licence for that property).
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In a version of a standard western plot, the saloon owner Barnett wants the land under the local Indian Reservation for its gold deposits. In order to drive off the people living on the reservation, he forms a gang to attack the local ranchers and frame the Indians. Rancher Jerry Randall opposes him using the legendary masked identity of "El Latigo", friend to the Indians.
Man with the Steel Whip was budgeted at $172,794 although the final negative cost was $174,718 (a $1,924, or 1.1%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1954.[1]
It was filmed between 2 March and 22 March 1954 under the working title Man with a Whip.[1] The serial's production number was 1938.[1]
Man with the Steel Whip used stock footage from all of the previous Zorro serials produced by Republic Pictures. The result of this is that the costume and body shape of the hero, El Latigo, keeps changing between scenes, even becoming female in scenes taken from Zorro's Black Whip (1944).[2][3]
The serial contains many mistakes, such as Nancy (Barbara Bester) occasionally referring to the character Jerry Randall as "Dick" (Richard Simmons' real name), which were either not noticed or not considered worth correcting before release.[2]
Special effects by the Lydecker brothers.
Man with the Steel Whip's official release date is 19 July 1954, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]
This was followed by a re-release of The Phantom Rider, re-titled as Ghost Riders of the West, instead of a new serial. The next new serial, Panther Girl of the Kongo, followed in 1955.[1]
| Preceded by Trader Tom of the China Seas (1953) |
Republic Serial Man with the Steel Whip (1954) |
Succeeded by Panther Girl of the Kongo (1955) |