A mad scientist plots the domination of America and only the masked hero, The Copperhead, can stop him.A mad scientist plots the domination of America and only the masked hero, The Copperhead, can stop him.A mad scientist plots the domination of America and only the masked hero, The Copperhead, can stop him.
Eduardo Ciannelli
- Doctor Satan
- (as Edward Ciannelli)
Ken Terrell
- Corwin
- (as Kenneth Terrell)
George Allen
- Henchman-Driver Spike [Ch. 8-9]
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen this serial was being written, it was intended to be a series that utilized Superman as the main hero. The owners of Superman decided they didn't want to let the studio use the character. Instead of scraping the project altogether, the writers replaced Superman with a character of their own creation, called The Copperhead.
- GoofsThe remote-control viewing screen displays the scene from impossible viewpoints. This is most obvious Chapter 12 where the view screen shows the airliner carrying Dr. Williams and the plane piloted by Bob Wayne from a forward position. At other times we see the robot trundling toward the bank guard and the warehouse watchman from a forward position.
- Quotes
Bob Wayne: Then some of the rumors about this mysterious Dr. Satan are true!
Gov. Bronson [Ch. 1]: All of them are probably true! Dr. Satan's spies have penetrated even the police department. The situation is so serious that I'm going to call four companies of the National Guard!
- ConnectionsEdited into Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)
Featured review
Growing up in the 50's, I got to see the great--and not so great--cliffhangers every weekend (for only 10 cents!). King of the Rocketmen was always a fantastic hero, with his legendary flying suit. BUT that was before I got to see the Copperhead battle Dr. Satan on television every Sunday morning. This is one of the most well constructed serials that Republic ever produced. Cianelli, as Dr. Satan, is a consummate villain, one who has no vague motivations--this guy is evil from the word "go". Robert Wilcox as hero Bob Wayne is EXTREMELY capable in the role. Not only can he act--something very difficult with terse, action dominated serial scripts--but he is a fine athlete. Some of the acrobatic leaps and takedowns are the best ever put on film. The plot hangs together nicely, something that is unusual in 4 hour long marathons. But what really puts the icing on the cake is the terrific variety of cliffhanger chapter endings that Republic has employed in this serial. They are all superbly done, with plausible escapes that don't insult the viewer's intelligence. In fact, many of these were used in later serials as stock footage in order to save money (a real strength at Republic). Crisp, snappy direction by Witney and English puts the cap on a GREAT serial.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $147,381 (estimated)
- Runtime4 hours 27 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer