The Phantom Creeps

There are two versions of THE PHANTOM CREEPS. There is the movie serial that lasts 265 minutes and a severely truncated version that lasts only 78 minutes and was released as a full-length movie. This review is for the 78 minute version and in no way is indicative of the overall quality of the longer film.

Bela Lugosi is a mad scientist and unlike many crazed scientists, he is a man of many talents. Not only has he developed a cool giant killer robot but he's got his hand in many other experiments--the most exciting of which is his invisibility formula. When his wife and a friend learn of his work AND hear that he's willing to sell his work to anyone who is willing to pay, they threaten to go to the authorities. Doing this was a good idea--TELLING this insane and amoral scientist before you do it isn't! And, after disposing of them, Lugosi decides to use his new 'toys' to threaten mankind and all the usual junk you'd expect from such a film.

Because the full-length film was so savagely chopped to pieces, the film was very hard to follow and was very disjoint. It looked at times like a serial (which usually have tons of holes to begin with) but was practically impossible to care about. My advice is skip this one and look for the serial IF you have 4-1/2 hours to spare!!

The Phantom Creeps is everything an old classic B sci-fi thriller is supposed to be. It features Bela Lugosi (as Dr. Zorka), a mad megalomaniac genius with a utility belt and a sack of gadgets that would make Batman and James Bond blush, against a team of CIA-types, a reporter, and local law enforcement. Lugosi hams up a storm and really seems to enjoy himself in this immensely silly role. His somewhat untrustworthy and dull side kick, played by Jack Smith is a great foil to his overbearing stage presence, and he makes a truly great sadist! The film is replete with clever and creative (for its time) special effects (plane crashes, all sorts of random electrical currents, cloaking technology) and a lot of technobabble reminiscent of some of the less palatable Star Trek series.

For an added bonus, the creators threw in a plot, and a cast of well developed, if stereotyped, characters. This film is an edit-job of the old classic serial with the same title, and it is essentially a highlight reel - compressing all the pivot points on the winding road followed by the serial.

Ultimately, it's mindless, kinda trashy entertainment, but it's also a damn good time.

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.

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!

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.