''Federal Operator 99'' is a 1945 Republic

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

. It was later edited down into a feature version titled ''F.B.I. 99'' for television. The serial is about an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent named Jerry Blake who battles

gentleman thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...

Jim Belmont, who escapes custody with help of his gang and begins a wave of crimes, beginning with plotting to steal the crown jewels of the Princess Cornelia.

Plot

Crime lord James 'Jim' Belmont (George J. Lewis) escapes FBI custody and resumes his criminal empire, only to be thwarted at every turning point by British-accented Jerry Blake, the FBI's Operator 99 (Marten Lamont). Belmont plots to steal the crown jewels of the Princess Cornelia, with the aid of his cohorts Matt Farrell, Rita Parker and his crafty secretary Morton. The criminals succeed in stealing the jewels, then offer to ransom them back, using Jerry Blake (Operator 99) as the go-between. Blake foils their plot and also acts against different criminal engagements by Belmont such as trying to steal a car once owned by Belmont’s partner, a car into which valuable gold has been melted and whose location is known by a former lawyer who worked for Belmont. Blake's secretary Joyce Kingston gets involved in directly helping Blake thwart Belmont, at one point battling Rita Parker for control of a truck carrying stolen payroll money. Blake eventually captures Matt Farrell but Belmont and Parker kidnap Joyce and they offer to trade her for Farrell. Blake is able to trace Belmont to his hidden lair beneath a theatre and winds up battling him high up on a catwalk overlooking a precipitous drop.

Cast

* Marten Lamont as Jerry Blake, Federal Operator 99 *

Helen Talbot Helen Talbot (April 7, 1924 January 29, 2010) was a motion picture actor, actress and pin-up girl in the United States. She was born Helen Darling in Concordia, Kansas and lived there until 1941 when she moved to live with her brother in Wes ...

as Joyce Kingston * George J. Lewis as Jim Belmont, a sophisticated villain *

Lorna Gray Virginia Pound (July 26, 1917 – April 30, 2017), known professionally as Lorna Gray and (after 1945) Adrian Booth, was an American film actress known for her comic roles, and later as a villainess. She is best known for her roles in Columb ...

as Rita Parker, Belmont's partner in crime *

Hal Taliaferro Floyd Taliaferro Alderson (November 13, 1895 – February 10, 1980) was an American film actor who specialized in westerns. After serving in the Great War, he began his career in the era of silent films, when he frequently used the name Wally ...

as Matt Farrell * Bill Stevens as Agent Fred Martin * LeRoy Mason as Morton, henchman * Maurice Cass as Signor Giuseppe Morello * Kernan Cripps as Agent Thomas Jeffries * Elaine Lange as Countess Delremy *

Jay Novello Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor. Early life Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three siblin ...

as Heinrick *

Frank Jaquet Frank Garnier Jaquet (March 16, 1885 – May 11, 1958) was an American actor known for playing supporting roles with his career extended from 1934 to the mid-1950s. Biography In 1925, Jaquet was part of the Summer stock cast at the Elitch ...

as Warren Hunter

Cast Notes

Cline writes that this was a "somewhat uncharacteristic" serial for Republic due to its sophisticated villains, Lewis the frustrated pianist and his "confidant" (Cline's quotes) played by Gray, and an "obviously cultured, polished hero."

Production

''Federal Operator 99'' was budgeted at $143,620 although the final

negative cost Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example ''The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural ho ...

was $153,737 (a $10,117, or 7%, overspend). It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1945. It was filmed between 18 January and 14 February 1945. The serial's production number was 1497.

Stunts

Dale Van Sickel Dale Harris Van Sickel (November 29, 1907 – January 25, 1977) was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years. ...

as Jerry Blake (doubling

Marten Lamont A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

) * Duke Green as Jim Belmont (doubling George J. Lewis) * Tom Steele as Matt Farrell (doubling

) * Fred Graham *

Ken Terrell Kenneth Jones Terrell (April 29, 1904 – March 8, 1966) was an American western and action film actor and stuntman best known for playing Joe Marcelli in the 1956 film ''Indestructible Man ''Indestructible Man'' is a 1956 American cri ...

Special effects

Special effects by the

Lydecker brothers Howard and Theodore Lydecker, always known—and billed—as such, were Howard "Babe" Lydecker (June 8, 1911 – September 26, 1969) and Theodore Lydecker (November 7, 1908 – May 25, 1990), a special effects team primarily working as contract ...

Release

Theatrical

''Federal Operator 99s official release date is 7 July 1945, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. The serial was re-released on 8 October 1956 between the similar re-releases of ''

King of the Rocket Men ''King of the Rocket Men'' is a 1949 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed Fred C. Brannon, that stars Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters, Jr., James Craven ...

'' and ''

Dangers of the Canadian Mounted ''Dangers of the Canadian Mounted'' is a 1948 Northern Republic film serial. Plot A criminal gang discovers a Genghis Khan treasure ship on the Canada-Alaska border. However, the treasure itself is hidden on land. In their efforts to find the ...

''. The last original Republic serial release was '' King of the Carnival'' in 1955.

Television

''Federal Operator 99'' was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to ''FBI-99''. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.

Chapter titles

# The Case of the Crown Jewels (22min 8s) # The Case of the Stolen Ransom (13min 20s) # The Case of the Lawful Counterfeit (13min 20s) # The Case of the Telephone Code (13min 20s) # The Case of the Missing Expert (13min 20s) # The Case of the Double Trap (13min 20s) # The Case of the Golden Car (13min 20s) # The Case of the Invulnerable Criminal (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapter # The Case of the Torn Blueprint (13min 20s) # The Case of the Hidden Witness (13min 20s) # The Case of the Stradivarius (13min 20s) # The Case of the Musical Clue (13min 20s) _Source:

References

External links

* {{Yakima Canutt 1945 films 1940s English-language films 1945 crime films American black-and-white films Republic Pictures film serials Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet American crime films Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation 1940s American films