GenreAction, Crime, Drama Music directorStanley Wilson Duration CountryUnited States
Release date4 July 1951 CastWalter Reed (Hal Duncan), Mary Ellen Kay (Kay Roberts), Dick Curtis (Regan), John Pickard (Sam Bradley), Fred Coby (Cady), Pierce Lyden (Armstrong) Similar moviesThe Green Archer, Hitman: Agent 47, Watchmen, Zorro Rides Again, Zorro's Fighting Legion, Mysterious Doctor Satan
Government Agents vs Phantom Legion (1951) is a 12-chapter American black-and-white film serial produced and distributed by Republic Pictures Corporation in 1951. It is an original, studio-commissioned screenplay by Ronald Davidson, produced by Franklin Adreon and directed by Fred C. Brannon, and presents a combined international intrigue-action genres story involving interstate shipments of products critical to national security being hijacked by a gang of foreign agents.
Two US government agents, Hal Duncan and Sam Bradley, must prevent agents of a foreign power, led by Regan and Cady, from hijacking trucks and stealing defence materials being transported by truck. They are hired by an interstate trucking association whose constituent truck lines have been principal targets of the hijacking, and it becomes evident that one of the four directors of the association - Armstrong, Crandall, Thompson or Willard - is the secret leader of this gang and provides them with shipment and route information necessary for the gang's successes.
Cast
Walter Reed as Hal Duncan
Mary Ellen Kay as Kay Roberts
Dick Curtis as Regan
Fred Coby as Cady
John Pickard as Sam Bradley
Pierce Lyden as Armstrong
Arthur Space as Crandall
Mauritz Hugo as Thompson
George Meeker as Willard
Production
Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion was budgeted at $153,083 although the final negative cost was $153,612 (a $529, or 0.3%, overspend). It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1951.
It was filmed between May 1 and 23 1951 under the working title Government Agents vs. Underground Legion. The serial's production number was 1931.
Special Effects
All special effects in Government Agents vs Phantom Legion were produced by Republic's in-house team, the Lydecker brothers.
Stunts
Dale Van Sickel as Hal Duncan/Brice/Kern (doubling Walter Reed)
Tom Steele as Regan/Armstrong/Brandt/Warehouse Thug (doubling Dick Curtis & Pierce Lyden)
Eddie Parker as Payne
Duke Taylor as Kirk
David Sharpe
Theatrical
Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion's official release date is 4 July 1951, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.
This was followed by a re-release of Haunted Harbor, re-titled as Pirates' Harbor, instead of a new serial. The next new serial, Radar Men from the Moon, followed in 1952.
Chapter titles
River of Fire (20 min)
The Stolen Corpse (13 min 20s)
The Death Drop (13 min 20s)
Doorway to Doom (13 min 20s)
Deadline for Disaster (13 min 20s)
Mechanical Homicide (13 min 20s)
The Flaming Highway (13 min 20s)
Sea Saboteurs (13 min 20s)
Peril Underground (13 min 20s)
Execution by Accident (13 min 20s) - a re-cap chapter