Undersea Kingdom

Republic Pictures 12-chapter serial, Undersea Kingdom, borrows many elements from the Flash Gordon story: a "yellow menace"-type villain, a scientist and his futuristic craft (this time a rocket submarine rather than a rocketship), a vanquished foe spared in combat becoming a staunch ally, and finally the heroes name Crash (rhymes with...). You can see the beginnings of the great serial factory Republic was to become, with decent fights and excellent special effects for 1936. Pacing is sluggish and it contains some horrendous cliffhanger cheats. For example, when Crash is SEEN plummeting down an elevator shaft and the next episode begins with his falling through the open elevator doors, reaching out and clutching the edge of the doorway preventing his fall. I would not recommend seeing this serial in one go because the cheats would be less abrasive if the chapters were viewed with some time in between. I rate this serial a 7.0 (Review: 1; 11/2002)