The Phantom Creeps

To me, this 12 part serial seemed a touch cliche, but it was still quite enjoyable. If you are not a fan of the classic horror genre or of Bela Lugosi, you may wish to pass on this one, but if you like corny old Bela films, you are in for a REAL treat.

One point of interest to me was that I can't help but think George Lucas had watched this serial in particular when he was preparing for Star Wars. The title of the series is "The Phantom Creeps" with the first Episode being titled "The Menacing Power" (Phantom Menace anyone?) Additionally, the scrolling text of Star Wars seems to owe a lot to this serial right down to the usage of capitalization. You'll have to wait for Chapter 2 to get your first glimpse of how it's used- Chapter 1 has no foreward.

This is the first serial I've seen, though, so it's possible that the scrolling text is common with most serials.

In the 30's and the 40's,universal(like republic pictures)produced many serials(action films viewed in chapters)dealing with superheroes,outer space,mad scientists and war, In this 12 chapter serial released by universal in 1939, bela lugosi(famous for playing vampires,mad doctors and monsters)plays doctor zorka,a mad doctor who has discovered an atomic meteorite,he harnesses its power,he then decides to sell it to spies,when a reporter(dorothy arnold) and a government agent(robert kent)set out to stop doctor zorka from destroying the world with the meteorite,they must battle spies,doctor zorka's explosive mechanical spiders and a giant robot through 12 chapters to save the world!an impressive serial,an incredible performance from lugosi and the supporting cast,and plenty of special effects,also seen in this serial is edward van sloan(who plays jarvis the spy chief) who starred along with bela lugosi in universals dracula(1931)!

it's worth watching

This serial is really fun. I love the emoting of Bela Lugosi. He wants to rule the universe and, doggone it, nothing is going to stop him. There are many pitfalls along the way. One is the usual incompetent sidekick who can't follow orders worth a darn. Another is his inability to keep a low profile. He is always putting himself out there where someone is able to spoil his efforts. There are spies and government agents. His valuable meteor is stolen a couple of times but he quickly gets it back. There is one touching scene where he causes the death of his wife, but he quickly blames the government for her death. As with all serials, there are a series of cliffhanging endings to scenes and he always seems to come out unscathed. I have to admit I was actually pulling for him. The government agents are too boring to come out on top. You can't tell the spies from the government agents without a program. There is also this cool robot who suffers from the same infirmity of slow movement that seems to affect mummies in that other genre. It was interesting to see that it was Lugosi's character that caused the Hindenberg to burst into flame. He throws a little explosive dart at it from a plane. Who would have thought. Anyway, it's a lot of fun, it makes little sense, and at the end we feel a little cheated.

Another original serial with a different theme and another best because of Bela Lugosi who made it work. Plots in serials tended to be stale later on. This was an exceptionally good plot and well written for the cliffhanger serial age. Invisibility and one of the robot theme scripts added to the thrills. I always thought it emulated Joe Louis.

As with all such serials, THE PHANTOM CREEPS was intended to be watched in small doses, spread out over weeks and months. It was the short, 10-15 minute film that played before the main theater attraction.

As a feature, it's a mammoth, 4 hour-long marathon!

Still, Bela Lugosi is fantastic as the sinister Dr. Zorka. With his spider bombs, a belt that renders him invisible, and his killer robot, Zorka sets out to conquer the world.

Packed with explosions, fights, peril, and a general sense of anarchy, this series also has those wonderful "cliff hangers" and the obligatory rehash that's intended to get us all caught up on what just happened!

Great stuff...