Undersea Kingdom -- Serial

Rating:
Summary: Atlantis or Bust!
Review: A worthy competitor to Universal's "Flash Gordon", whichpreceded it in theatres by about two months, "UnderseaKingdom" begins with strange earthquakes on the ocean floor thatdraw the attention of kindly but doddering old ProfessorNorton. Norton finds a statue down there and immediately decides thatthe long-lost continent of Atlantis is to blame for the trouble. Heputs together an expedition that consists of himself, a naval officernamed "Crash" Corrigan portrayed, interestingly enough, by"Crash" Corrigan in a role he was evidently born to play, and ahandsome crew of sailors, misfits, stowaways and ...a liberatedlady-type reporter.

Well, to make 12 episodes short, Atlantis isindeed to blame for the seaquakes, as the nefarious Unga Khan seeks tooverthrow Sharad, High Priest of the Sacred City. Or something. Theyall look alike and the only real way to tell the difference betweenany of them is that (a) they all wear different silly hats, and (b)one of 'em looks just like Lon Chaney, Jr. In fact, it IS LonChaney, Jr., who, the narrative would've told us if it had beenpertinent, was hiding out at the bottom of the ocean because there'sno full moon down there. Although, believe it or not, there's cloudsand dust and horses. Don't ask.

Unga Khan is ready for the outsideinterlopers, however. He unleashes a plethora of perilous devices toentrap/enslave/murder our heroes (depending on the chapter), includinga giant magnet to capture the submarine, an army of Volkites,mechanical men who resemble port-o-potties with legs, and a death-raygun that looks like a vacuum cleaner and probably is. Best of all is aparticularly nasty-looking tank, to which Crash finds himself chainedand helpless as the machine is about to ram the wall of the SacredCity. In the chapterplay's best moment, Crash stoically shouts, "Goahead and ram!" rather than divulge whatever bit of informationKhan is after... I kind of fell asleep in that chapter.

Well, lotsmore really exciting stuff happens, although I can't remember whatjust now. Suffice to say that virtue triumphs in the end. As it alwaysdoes. Except in politics.

The supporting cast is fine, particularlyMonte Blue as Khan and C. Montague Shaw as Norton. As mentioned, thesilly hats are delightful; really, no kidding, you are going to comeaway from this serial remembering the hats which adorn virtually everyhead. Unless you were admiring all the really muscular guys wearingshort skirts, but that's none of my business. Oh, and the shoes arereally stylish and snazzy, too.

Rating:
Summary: Great, Beef-cake Extravangza!
Review: I'll shamefully confess that although I've always been an addict of Republic's fabulous serials, I brought this one primarily because of its exploitation of the macho male hero. Ray "Crash" Corrigan is simply fascinating to watch in all of his virile glory. This Adonis should have been one of the great stars but Samuel Goldwyn turned him down as the lead in his big-budget production of "The Hurricane" because he was too muscular! So, we got Jon Hall instead--who wasn't bad looking at all--but Crash was bigger and more muscular and moved with stunning beauty. Some of the other warriors in this serial are very easy on the eye, too, especially the one that Crash saves from death. If Crash had only come along when Italian muscle men epics were in vogue, he would have been the biggest of them all. So would Buster Crabbe, another stunning male beauty who was relegated to the backwaters of Poverty Row because he was considered a "physical" star--as adverse to the skinny types who prevailed through the 30s and 40s.

Rating:
Summary: Great, Beef-cake Extravangza!
Review: I'll shamefully confess that although I've always been an addict of Republic's fabulous serials, I brought this one primarily because of its exploitation of the macho male hero. Ray "Crash" Corrigan is simply fascinating to watch in all of his virile glory. This Adonis should have been one of the great stars but Samuel Goldwyn turned him down as the lead in his big-budget production of "The Hurricane" because he was too muscular! So, we got Jon Hall instead--who wasn't bad looking at all--but Crash was bigger and more muscular and moved with stunning beauty. Some of the other warriors in this serial are very easy on the eye, too, especially the one that Crash saves from death. If Crash had only come along when Italian muscle men epics were in vogue, he would have been the biggest of them all. So would Buster Crabbe, another stunning male beauty who was relegated to the backwaters of Poverty Row because he was considered a "physical" star--as adverse to the skinny types who prevailed through the 30s and 40s.

Rating:
Summary: Whips Flash Gordon any day.
Review: My favourite Republic serial - it's way over-the-top, bordering on camp in places and loads of fun! Superb stunts and effects for the time, non-stop action and a huge supporting cast of extras playing soldiers in chariots. What must the budget have been like for these things?
Also first class music. Listen closely and there's a bit of Liszt thrown in!

Rating:
Summary: A little cheating, but spectacular.
Review: Special effects and set decorations make this definitely one of the best serials of all time. I do give it 4 stars rather than 5, because of the cheating in a couple of chapters. Especially one of the great chapter endings ever, Chapter 8, only to discover the cheating at the beginning of Chapter 9. Also a little more than usual carelessness...Corrigan is bare headed at the beginning of one sequence and is suddenly wearing the cumbersome helmet...A chariot and team of horses unexplainably is waiting right by where they need it... But hey, don't you expect a bit of that in serials?

It's the spectacle, developing plot, good acting that make this an important serial for your collection. Lots of familiar names in this one including Lon Chaney Jr., William Farnum, Monte Blue (as the villain), Smiley Burnette as the comic relief, Lee Van Atta as the feisty kid.

This definitely should be in your basic serial collection.

Rating:
Summary: Muscles In A Lost Civilization
Review: The Undersea Kingdom is a classic among serials. Ray "Crash" Corrigan is a handsome stud, who wrestles,tightropes, climbs, and fences his way to victory for 12 chapters. The special effects are slick and still look good today. Particularly impressive are the (attractive) submarine, and the unique Volplane airships. Additionally, the Vokite robots are interesting servants, rather than stereotypical "mean" mechanical men. Ray gun effects are well done too. The tank-like Juggernaut is a real vehicle with a turbine-like sound which is used to good advantage. Mixed in with all of this technology are horses, chariots and sword and bow and arrow-weilding soldiers! Though all of this takes place in the sunken world of Atlantis, there are trees, lakes and clouds everywhere! Nevertheless, this serial creates a unique "lost civilization" feeling of escapism. The costumes might seem outrageous, but help contribute to the feeling of isolation of this society. Also, the serial lacks contemporary frames of reference (such as cars and clothing styles) which keeps it timeless. As noted elsewhere, there is a lot of beefcake in the vein of early sixties Italian sword and sandal epics. Crash is surrounded by scantily-clad warriors and prisoners. (Check out the two gladiators under the chariot!) On the other hand, there is only one female lead. Billy, the boy, is a resourceful character aptly played by Lee Van Atta. He looks to be about nine years old, while his father, Professor Norton, looks to be about 80! My best reference for The Undersea Kingdom is that it is boisterously entertaining. And that's what it is all about. "Go ahead and ram!"

Rating:
Summary: Crash Corrigan vs. Unga Khan
Review: While it is true that there are better serials, this one is a fine sampling of early Republic chapter-plays.

Professor Norton has discovered the lost city of Atlantis, and learns that it is the source of mysterious deadly earthquakes. Naval hero Ray "Crash" Corrigan and his reporter girlfriend Diana join Norton in his rocket powered submarine to investigate the mystery at the bottom of the sea.

Along for the ride is young Billy, Norton's son, who idolizes the dashing and heroic Crash.

When they arrive in the undersea city, Norton and Diana are quickly captured by Unga Khan, evil ruler of Atlantis. Khan uses his Transforming Ray to weaken Norton's mind and make him Khan's slave! His plan is to have Norton build rockets powerful enough to lift his war tower to the surface of the sea, so Khan can capture the world with his atom guns.

Corrigan eventually earns the trust of the Atlaneans in the Sacred City, and tries to rescue Norton and his sweetheart.

The co-director of the serial, 'Breezy' Reeves Eason, served as second unit director on the silent epic "Ben-Hur" (1925), most notibly on the famous chariot sequence. No wonder this serial is full of chariot chases and races!

Lon Chaney plays one of Unga Khan's henchmen, as Captain of the Black Robes. Smiley Burnette is along as unecessary and annoying comedy relief. The youngster who plays Billy also played Junior in some of the Dick Tracy movies.

There is some silliness with the costumes; Sharad, the leader of the Sacred City, looks like a low-rent Bishop, and Crash's helmet looks like it came from a hood ornament. Crash's costume is kind of silly-looking, too, with fish-scale shorts. The bad guys wear lightning bolts on their heads, which actually look pretty good for soldiers in an atom-powered army.

The Volkites are the coolest thing about the serial. They are the original walking trash can robots, similar to the ones that appear in the Captain Proton segments of Star Trek Voyager.

The real question is why Unga Khan has all of the technology, while the Sacred City has none. And why does Khan attack with horses and archers, when he has technology like the Volkites, atom guns, and aircraft. And let's not even ask why a domed city under the sea can have day and night.

The Roan print is great, as usual. They include lobby art and the serial's history with production notes. The interactive menus are nice, too. Each chapter is shown in a "reflecting plate" (what the bad guys call their TV communicator screens).

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