The Phantom

Columbia Pictures was infamous for making infamously bad serials. However, in the early to mid-1940's, they also made some good serials. One of these was called 'The Phantom.' Here are some of the things that make this serial so good:

1. Tom Tyler in the title role. He projected a strong and quietly heroic screen presence, and was athletic enough to look good in the Phantom suit. He is believable in the fight scenes. Superhero suits look good in comic strips, but usually on the screen they look completely stupid. Tom Tyler, a former champion weight lifter, could pull it off. He was also a decent actor. Totally serious, but never camp or inadvertently goofy. I rate him as being almost as good as Buster Crabbe, as far as serial heroes go. Definitely head and shoulders above Kirk Alyn or either of the poor guys that played Batman in the serials. 2. Good fight scenes. 3. Ace the Wonder Dog, playing 'Devil,' the Phantom's dog (in the comic strip, Devil was a wolf, but trained wolves were more expensive). All the great heroes each have certain gimmicks, trademarks, special weapons, etc. Such is Devil for the Phantom, and the idea of the hero being aided in a fight by a big dog is a cool idea. Devil definitely makes the fight scenes more interesting and believable here. 4. Good cliff hangers. 5. Staying reasonably faithful to the original source material. Although taking some serious liberties regarding the comic strip from whence it was inspired, this serial still retains the spirit and appeal of the Lee Falk's creations. Rightly so, the Phantom is a cool character, and should be treated with a little respect.

And now, a short commentary regarding racial stereotypes: in my mind, it has always been problematic that in the comics, the Phantom is an unelected pale-skinned person holding a high degree of authority for a large group of darker-skinned persons. To be fair, the Phantom was created in the 1930's, when there was a lot of overt racism in the U.S., when Lee Falk and most of his readers wouldn't have had anyone to point out this inequity. And to be fair, Lee Falk's representation of African tribes, though entirely fanciful, was much less derogatory than that of Edgar ('Tarzan') Rice Burroughs or of any mainstream Hollywood movie.

Which brings us back to this serial. While all the action takes place in the jungle, there are no positive indications as to whether this jungle is in Africa, South America, Asia, the Canary Islands, or southern Albania. Nor is there any coherent racial representation regarding the natives of this imaginary region. Many were played by Caucasian actors, some by Native Americans (an unbilled Jay Silverheels played a small role), as well as actors of other ethnicities. Overall, their skin color is not much, if any, darker than the Phantom's. Also, the characterization of the natives in this serial, while often fitting an unflattering stereotype, is much less offensive than you see in Tarzan and Jungle Jim films of the same era.

The plot involves a lost city called Zoloz, which is an allusion to the Lost City of Z, which is a fabelled ancient lost city in South America, for which several real-life explorers lost their lives in quest of. It was never found, so someday maybe you may go looking for it. Perhaps you will find the Phantom as well.

All in all, I would recommend this for serial fans, film buffs, and admirers of the Phantom.

"The Phantom" is one of the better serials released by Columbia Pictures. It benefits from the casting of Tom Tyler in the lead role. Tyler had previously played a comic book hero in "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" (Republic-1941) and was physically suited for the role. Tyler kept himself in good shape and didn't look out of place in the Phantom costume. Although he primarily played in westerns, ironically, it is for these two serials that he will probably be best remembered.

The "run through the jungle" story has Professor Davidson (Frank Shannon) and his daughter Diana (Jeanne Bates) searching for the Lost City of Zoloz and the hidden treasure therein. Their efforts are being thwarted by Singapore Smith (Joe Devlin) who wants the treasure for himself. Kindly Dr. Bremmer (Kenneth MacDonald) an apparent foreign agent, is trying to destroy the peace among the natives, which had been controlled by the Phantom, to build a secret air base.

Geoffrey Prescott (also Tyler) who is Diana's fiance succeeds his father as the Phantom when the older man is murdered. Even though the Phantom wears only a small eye mask to cover his face, in true serial tradition, no one including Diana is able to recognize him.

Over the course of the 15 chapters, the Phantom escapes death from explosions, poison gas, avalanches, a collapsing rope bridge etc. etc. With the help of his trusty dog Devil the Phantom is able to overcome the villains and again bring peace to the jungle.

Although the serial gives billing to only Tyler and Bates there are several other familiar faces (other than those already mentioned) in the cast. Ernie Adams plays Rusty, the Phantom's ally, Dick Curtis a Tartar Chief and Anthony Carouso, George Chesebro, Wade Crosby, Edmund Cobb, I. Stanford Jolley and Kermit Maynard as varios henchmen. And watch for a brief appearance by Jay Silverheels in chapter 9 as an Atari warrior.

Director B.Reeves Eason keeps the action moving and tries to come up with new twists on the chapter ending cliff hangers. The VCI DVD has restored the serial to its original brilliance although some dialogue sequences had to be re-dubbed due to the deterioration of the original soundtrack.

"The Phantom" certainly has to rank as one of the top 5 serials of all time.

I write my observations after seeing the 1996 version, followed by the 2010 SyFy Phantom production. I can say with confidence that the 1943 version was far ahead of its times and pretty authentic, compared to the later versions.

The fact is that in 1943, a nifty Phantom movie serial could be made, using the most primitive tools and technology (as compared to today's standards), but today's producers find it so difficult to stick to the basic canons of the Phantom mythos and make changes in almost everything, (except perhaps the name of the Phantom). Today's producers need to study this vintage production first, before venturing out on their own. Some of my reasons are below:

1. The Tom Tyler series had a tight script, focused plot and minimal deviation from whatever mythos had been built up by Falk by that time. In a 1940s scenario, with the backdrop of WW II, limited budget, no special effects, no color, no CGI and no trained wolves, the series was the most faithful portrayal of the Phantom we can hope for. Swabacker and Cox can be excused for not showing the Bandar, because the mythos was not so well developed or well known in 1942, but can Boam be excused for declaring right at the start of the 1996 film that the Touganda tribesmen rescued the first Phantom (as a child), when it was actually the Bandar, enslaved by the Wasaka, who rescued the first Phantom, when he was already a grownup? 2. Sai Pana was perhaps the precursor of Morristown; The Tonga village was perhaps the precursor of the Deep Woods. The name, Walker, was perhaps first mentioned here, although I am not sure. How much did Falk pick up from this series? We may never know. 3. Tom himself was cool, muscular and impressive, without spandex; his outfit was a faithful representation of the Phantom's costume. His eyes could be seen, but once he took over as the 21st Phantom, he stopped showing his face. And of course, there were none of the silly grins or wisecracks. Nor did a biker's suit and helmet replace the Phantom's costume, like in the latter day SyFy production. 4. Jeannie was a better Diana than Kristy; No scowling or muttering. She was feisty and expressive as Diana has always been shown to be. 5. Ace, the Wonder Dog as the talented Devil was better than the mangy wolf of the 1996 film; the woods in outskirts of Hollywood were impressive; no exotic locations were required. 6. The 20th Phantom was depicted as old but tough and impressive, by Sam Flint. There was no need to depict him as a doddering old fool, as portrayed by McGoohan in 1996. 7. Of course, the plot was racy, believable and fun. The viewer's intelligence was not sorely tried by showing stuff that was, well, plain unbelievable. I think you guys get the point.

I can go on and on.. but my submission is: why it so necessary to make goofy, avoidable changes in established canons, to make a 'modern' film? If "Breezy" Eason could pull off such an achievement 65 years ago, why is it so difficult to accept the Phantom for what he is, by modern film producers? If the Phantom is an 'aged' hero, wearing a ridiculous costume, so are the others in the DC and Marvel universes. And they are world-wide box office successes. So that 'argument just won't jell. Coming back to more modern times, adopting parkour, making the Phantom look like a Ninja Turtle, having a female Guran who is taller than the Phantom etc. might satisfy the producer's hidden talents for weirdness, but such talents will certainly not improve the fan base of the Phantom. I fully agree that the Phantom character needs to be treated with respect, and the 1943 version succeeded in this, while latter versions failed miserably.

Wow, what a show. Now I know the Phantom is immortal, I saw him cheat death multiple times. Since this wasn't a western or a space opera, the writers found a few new ways to put the hero in grave peril. I like most of the 15 episodes, but was a bit disappointed with Devil being a dog, when I remember him being described in the comics and funnies as a WOLF. Oh well, at least the Phantom ran out of bullets, unlike the magic 6-shooters of western fame. I also find it amazing how he had such a difficult time figuring out WHO the Bad Guys were, guess this Phantom was a little too trusting. My real beef was the ending. I endured 14, count them, 14 harrowing escapes by our hero and the the end comes up like a slap in the face. I thought the end was terrible, like the writers went home early and let the janitor finish it up. Nothing to be said about Diana Palmer, so NO spoiler alert here. This was my favorite comic strip growing up in the 60's and I did really enjoy it, actually must better than the movie attempt a few years back. I wish it was in color because I would love to see that purple costume, but all else said, watch and enjoy!!

This serial has been panned by critics,but I found it to be one of the better efforts from Columbia Pictures,who often tended to make light of its efforts.Tom Tyler plays the Phantom and looks great in the Phantom costume.The plot is simple;Finding a lost city.Two different factions search for the city for different reasons,one good and one bad.From a technical standpoint,I found it to have good production values.On the down side,the villians,in general,tend to overact,but i've seen that in many Columbia serials.There is good rear projection work,and music by Lee Zahler is ok.."Breezy" Eason directs his cast in a capable manner,and supporting cast is good.Summary: good effort from Columbia. On tape and DVD. DVD has extra features.I can't compare the two mediums since I haven't viewed the tape.