The Phantom Creeps

Bela a mad scientist with a giant iron robot, an invisibility belt, some sort of explosive discs that blows up when spiders go near them (I'll get back to you on that one), a treacherous sidekick and enough megalomania to run a fair sized media empire! All he needs to do in order to rule the world is get rid of the cops, some spies, and eventually the army. Will he succeed? He's hitting barriers right from the outset when his wife goes to rival Doctor Mallory and the next thing you know Bela's having to fake his own death using a tramp who vaguely looks him. As this is a condensed version of those serials they use to show back in the day (and I can still remember Flash Gordon getting shown in the early eighties) what you here is Bela getting into various scrapes every twenty minutes or so.

All he wants to do is rule the world, what's everyone's problem? In order to get there, Bela's going to have to employ that giant robot, use a secret laboratory with enough secret passages to fill a dozen Gialli, and put up with that damn sidekick who's always trying to scupper his plans. Things naturally lead to Bela flying about in a plane dropping those exploding discs on everyone, including the Hindenburg zeppelin! Not sure about that one.

For me, Bela works best when he's given the most insane material to work with (like being half Ape in the Ape Man or basically everything he does in Black Dragons), so I'm fairly happy with this one, as he goes invisible quite a lot, use a ray gun to knock people out, and generally portrays a soulless madman convinced of his genius (or genius, if you're posting anything on Youtube). I'm not sure if I'd be able to handle the full version of this mind you.

The special effects, I thought, were rather groovy too!

This film is a cannibalisation of a series of twelve episodes cut (not particularly skilfully) into just under 80 minutes. As such, there are some glaring holes in the storyline as Bela Lugosi portrays a scientist who has discovered a new meteorite element and is determined to convert it into a whole range of useful things including explosives; a deadly Z-ray, a lethal gas; an invisibility contraption; a machine that can heal wounds and... the most astonishing and hysterical looking Inca-esque robot you've ever seen - as he strives for world domination and to stay ahead of the investigating G men. It's a hoot, and should be viewed as such - for heaven's sake don't try to make sense of it - it's just there to be enjoyed.

The original serial was released in 1939 and consisted of 265 minutes. This thing was released in 1949 and was stitched together as a movie and the running time became 78 minutes. So, if you are wondering what the heck is going on and if it feels like something missing, there most certainly is something missing. I remember watching episodes of the serial and then I watched this and was like, what is going on!

The story, well a mad scientist and his henchman Monk that constantly betrays the doctor, but someone keeps his life are doing things! Making exploding spiders that creep up on you! Making giant robots who are not good at combat and turning things invisible! Meanwhile, Bob the officer is trying to piece things together while a woman reporter tries to get the scoop. There are spies who wear strange masks and an battle in the skies too, but a lot of things just seem to happen randomly due to the aforementioned editing.

Bela Legosi plays the made doctor and he is okay, does what he usually does in a film. It seems as if the lady reporter is not in this thing much at all, I remember seeing her more in the serial version. Just too many quick edits and jumps to new scenes really makes you scratch your head, but it all ends with a plane crash so at least that much is clear.

So, it is entertaining in a fever dream kind of way. I mean, you just get a snippet sometimes of a scene before it simply moves on. I am sure the full serial is a bit better as far as story, but a bit more boring too. I mean, they are not going to be cutting out the most entertaining set pieces, but probably more exposition and romance with the reporter. Still, they may have wanted to at least have this thing be a bit more coherent...

The Phantom Creeps (1949) is an edited down serial from 1939, a dozen episodes (total runtime: 4 hrs 25 minutes) chopped down to 78 minutes for broadcasting on TV; this goes a long way to explaining the messy and often incomprehensible plot, the numerous cheesy cliffhanger scenarios, the hokey performances, and the dated Flash Gordon-style scene transitions.

Bela Lugosi slums it as Dr. Alex Zorka, a scientist whose many inventions (a giant robot, an invisibility belt, a ray gun, and spiders that are controlled by small explosive discs!) are a threat to world safety. Out to stop him from selling his creations to the highest bidder are G-man Capt. Bob West (Robert Kent) and Lt. Jim Daley (Regis Toomey), aided by spunky reporter Jean Drew (Dorothy Arnold).

Although this severely truncated version obviously features the best bits of the serial, the choppy, repetitive nature of the story makes it a real challenge to sit through (although undoubtedly nowhere near as difficult as sitting through the whole 4 hrs 25 minutes). Despite the unforgettable sight of Lugosi bombing the Hindenberg from a biplane, this doesn't warrant a rating any higher than 3/10.

Edited-down serial which, science fiction disbelief aside, remains pretty lame by any reasonable standard, another in a long line of inept vehicles wasting the great Bela Lugosi's acting talent. Here he plays a demented scientist who, after inhaling a rare meteor gas, develops (among other things) a power source which can cure the world of its ills, or, destroy it depending on his mood. When his wife is killed in a plane crash, he elects to use his prowess to destroy those who sought to contain him, but is seemingly cornered at every turn by relentless G-men (Kent and Toomey).

Lugosi isn't as hammy as he's been known to get, more-so his endless array of inventions (giant headed robot, invisibility, magic potions, ray guns etc etc) becomes tired and clichéd very quickly. The cast has depth with Toomey and Van Sloan in particular, while vivacious blonde Dorothy Arnold has some sizable screen-time as a tenacious reporter.

The picture is frenetic, racing from one catastrophe to the next with much repetition and little in the way of sophistication. The climax seems hackneyed and unimaginative, with spy rings and stock footage of burning blimps and battleships apparently substituting for any coherent or realistic attempt at a conclusion. Even at eighty minutes (the original serial is listed as more than four hours), it's overlong and underwhelming.