The Phantom (serial)

Plot summary

Professor Davidson plans an expedition to find the Lost City of Zoloz. The location of the city is contained on seven pieces of ivory, three of which Davidson already possesses. Doctor Bremmer, however, intends to find the lost city and use it as a secret airbase for his unnamed country. To remove him as an obstacle, he kills The Phantom, only for his recently returned son, Geoffrey Prescott, to inherit the family identity and take over the mantle of The Phantom.

Three of the remaining ivory pieces are owned by Singapore Smith, who initially steals Davidson's pieces. The seventh, and most important, piece is missing at first but turns up in the possession of Tartar (which The Phantom acquires by wrestling Tartar's pet gorilla).

Cast

Production

Like most other serials, The Phantom had a relatively low budget.

For the serial, the Phantom's real name is Geoffrey Prescott. In the comic strip, due to his real name not having yet been introduced, a different character name was used for the serial. The Phantom's real name was eventually introduced into the comic strip as Kit Walker. The Phantom tells Singapore Smith to call him "Walker" when he covers his costume with a hat, dark glasses, and an overcoat so he can enter civilization unobtrusively.

Most of the serial was filmed in the Hollywood hills, which doubled as the African jungle.

Actor Tom Tyler had an "almost uncanny" resemblance to the comic strip character. However, he was also described as wooden in his speech and movements, "the Gary Cooper of B films".

Home media

The serial was released as a double-disc DVD by VCI Video in 2001 (reusing the cover box art from their previous VHS release). It featured a commentary track by writer Max Allan Collins (for Chapter One only), as well as other special features, including actor bios, photo gallery, and comic book art gallery.

In 2005 a different DVD edition was released exclusively in Australia. Its special feature is an hour-long conversation between Frew Publications editor-in-chief Jim Shepherd and film historian James Sherlock about the history of the Phantom comic and its various screen adaptations. This was dubbed over the first three chapters of the serial in place of a commentary track.

Much of the dialogue of Chapter 11 had to be re-dubbed by new actors, because the original soundtrack-on-film negative had been damaged by the ravages of time.

Critical reception

According to Harmon and Glut: "Unquestionably, The Phantom was one of Columbia's better serials...a task in casting, settings, and mood totally missing in such disasters as Batman from the same studio." Cline writes that Tyler's characterization, in his last serial role, was more vivid than that in Adventures of Captain Marvel but slightly less memorable.

Attempted sequel

In 1955 Columbia Pictures filmed a sequel to The Phantom, this time with John Hart in the lead role (Tom Tyler had died in 1954). The serial was well into production when producer Sam Katzman discovered that Columbia's rights to the character had expired, and owner King Features was unwilling to renew them. Katzman hastily transformed Return of the Phantom into The Adventures of Captain Africa.

Chapter titles

1. The Sign of the Skull
2. The Man Who Never Dies
3. A Traitor's Code
4. The Seat of Judgment
5. The Ghost Who Walks
6. Jungle Whispers
7. The Mystery Well
8. In Quest of the Keys
9. The Fire Princess
10. The Chamber of Death
11. The Emerald Key
12. The Fangs of the Beast
13. The Road to Zoloz
14. The Lost City
15. Peace in the Jungle

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