| Manhunt of Mystery Island | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Spencer Gordon Bennet Yakima Canutt Wallace Grissell |
| Produced by | Ronald Davidson |
| Written by | Albert DeMond Basil Dickey Jesse Duffy Alan James Grant Nelson Joseph Poland |
| Starring | Richard Bailey Linda Stirling Roy Barcroft Kenne Duncan Forrest Taylor Forbes Murray Jack Ingram Harry Strang |
| Cinematography | Bud Thackery |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 17 March 1945 (serial)[1] 2 January 1956 (re-release)[1] 1966 (TV)[1] |
| Running time | 15 chapters (219 minutes (serial)[1] 100 minutes (TV)[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $167,912 (negative cost: $182,388)[1] |
Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945) is a Republic Movie serial. It was the thirty-sixth serial produced by Republic (of a total of sixty-six) and the first released in 1945.
It is the penultimate 15-chapter serial to be released by the studio. The year 1945, the end of the Golden Age of Serials,[2] was the last in which Republic released any 15-chapter serials, the remainder being either 12- or 13-chapters in length.
In 1966 footage from the serial was edited together into the 100-minute film Captain Mephisto and the Transformation Machine.
Contents |
A mad genius seeks to conquer the world, using a Transformation Machine to disguise himself as "the legendary" pirate Captain Mephisto. To do so, he kidnaps Prof Forrest, resulting in his daughter Claire Forrest, with Lance Reardon, coming to the rescue.
Manhunt of Mystery Island was budgeted at $167,912 although the final negative cost was $182,388 (a $14,476, or 8.6%, overspend).[1]
It was filmed between 16 October and 18 November 1944 under the working titles Mystery Island and Manhunt.[1] The serial's production number was 1496.[1]
Manhunt of Mystery Island's official release date is 17 March 1945, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]
The serial was re-released on 2 January 1956 between the similar re-releases of Dick Tracy's G-Men and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival in 1955.[1]
Manhunt of Mystery Island was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to Captain Mephisto and the Transformation Machine. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.[1]
| Preceded by Zorro's Black Whip (1944) |
Republic Serial Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945) |
Succeeded by Federal Operator 99 (1945) |