''Secret Service in Darkest Africa'' is a 1943

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

serial. It was Republic's thirtieth serial, of the sixty-six produced by the studio. It was a sequel to ''

G-Men vs. the Black Dragon ''G-Men vs. The Black Dragon'' (1943) is a Republic Pictures movie serial. It is noteworthy among adventure serials as containing an unusually high number of fistfights, all staged by director William Witney and a team of stuntmen. This was Witne ...

'' released earlier in 1943, again starring Rod Cameron as American secret agent Rex Bennett. This time Bennet faces the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

rather than the Japanese. As with the earlier installment, Bennet is supported by characters from some of the allied nations in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The serial is also known by the titles ''Manhunt in the African Jungles'', changed when it was re-released in 1954, and ''The Baron's African War'', when it was edited into a 100-minute film for television in 1966.

Plot

In an attempt to control the entire Middle East and defeat the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

agent Baron von Rommler (

Lionel Royce Lionel Royce (born Leon Moriz Reiss; March 30, 1891 – April 1, 1946) was an Austrian-American actor of stage and screen, also known during his European career as Leo Reuss. He began his career in theater in Vienna, Austria, in 1919, before ...

) captures and impersonates Sultan Abou Ben Ali (also

), leader of all the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

s. Opposed to him is Secret Service Agent Rex Bennett ( Rod Cameron), along with British reporter Janet Blake (

Joan Marsh Joan Marsh (July 10, 1914 – August 10, 2000) was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s. Ear ...

) and Chief of Police Captain Pierre LaSalle (

Duncan Renaldo Renault Renaldo Duncan (April 23, 1904 – September 3, 1980), better known as Duncan Renaldo, was a Romanian-born American actor best remembered for his portrayal of The Cisco Kid in films and on the 1950–1956 American TV series ''The Cisco K ...

Cast

* Rod Cameron as Rex Bennett, US agent. *

as Janet Blake, intrepid reporter and

aviatrix An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

as Captain Pierre LaSalle, head of the French police in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

and

code breaker Code Breaker is a cheat device developed by Pelican Accessories, currently available for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. Along with competing product Action Replay, it is one of the few currently suppo ...

as Baron von Rommler, a

impersonating Arab leader Sultan Abou Ben Ali *

Kurt Kreuger Kurt Kreuger (July 23, 1916 – July 12, 2006) was a Swiss-reared German actor. Kreuger once was the third-most-requested male actor at 20th Century Fox. He starred with, among others, Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Life and career Kreuger w ...

as Ernst Muller, Sultan Abou Ben Ali's personal secretary and

agent *Frederic Brunn as Wolfe,

agent *Sigurd Tor as Luger *

Georges Renavent Georges Renavent (born Georges DeChaux, April 23, 1892 – January 2, 1969) was a French-American actor in film, Broadway plays and operator of American Grand Guignol. He was born in Paris, France. In 1914, he immigrated to the United Stat ...

as Armand

Production

Filming on ''Secret Service in Darkest Africa'' took place between April 12 and May 27, 1943. The production budget was $174,536 but the negative cost rose to $210,033 ($35,497, or 20.3%, overbudget compared to a studio average of $8,199, or 5.7%, over all its serial production). Not only did this make the serial the most expensive of 1943 it was also the third most expensive and third most over budget of all the sixty-six serials Republic produced. The only serials that were more expensive were ''

The Lone Ranger Rides Again ''The Lone Ranger Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Republic serial. It was a sequel to Republic's 1938 serial '' The Lone Ranger'', which had been highly successful, and the thirteenth of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic. The serial ...

'' (1939, $213,997) and ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' (1944, $222,906). While ''Captain America'' was also the most overbudget (by $40,283 or 22.1%), the second most overbudget Republic serial was another 1944 serial, ''

Haunted Harbor ''Haunted Harbor'' (1944) is a Republic serial, based on the novel by Ewart Adamson. Plot Sea captain Jim Marsden is about to be hanged for a murder he didn't commit, and is rescued from the gallows by two of his crewmen. To clear the captain' ...

'' (by $37,757 or 22.2%). At forty-five days, the serial's production also shares the title of the second longest shoot of all Republic serials with ''

Jungle Girl A jungle girl (so-called, but usually adult woman) is an archetype or stock character, often used in popular fiction, of a female adventurer, superhero or even a damsel in distress living in a jungle or rainforest setting. An alternate depiction i ...

'' (1941). The longest was ''

Drums of Fu Manchu ''Drums of Fu Manchu'' (1940) is a 15-chapter Republic serial film based on the character created by Sax Rohmer. Though using the title of the ninth novel in the series, it actually is based on numerous elements from throughout the series to that ...

'' (1940) at forty-seven days. The serial's production number was 1295. A car chase from this serial was re-used in ''

Flying Disc Man from Mars ''Flying Disc Man from Mars'' is a 1950 Republic Pictures 12-chapter black-and-white science fiction adventure film serial, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed by Fred C. Brannon, that stars Walter Reed, Lois Collier, Gregory Gaye, James Crav ...

''.

Stunts

* Tom Steele as Rex Bennett (doubling Rod Cameron) *John Daheim *

George DeNormand George DeNormand (1903 – 1976) was an American actor and stuntman. DeNormand was an amateur middleweight boxer in the 1920s. He was a prolific though often uncredited actor and stunt double in movies such as ''The Raven'' and ''Bride of Fran ...

Bud Geary Bud Geary (February 15, 1898 – February 22, 1946), was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48. Partial filmography ...

*Duke Green *

Carey Loftin William Carey Loftin (January 31, 1914 – March 4, 1997, a.k.a. Cary Loftin, Carry Loftin, Carey Lofton, Gary Loftin, William Carey Loftin) was an American professional stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film industry. He is ...

* Eddie Parker *

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 ...

*Joe Yrigoyen

Special Effects

The special effects in this serial were produced by Republic's in-house effects duo, 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 s ...

Release

Theatrical

''Secret Service in Darkest Africas official release date is July 24, 1943, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges. The serial was re-released on April 5, 1954, under the new title ''Manhunt in the African Jungles'', between the first runs of ''

Trader Tom of the China Seas ''Trader Tom of the China Seas'' is a 1954 Republic film serial directed by Franklin Adreon and starring Harry Lauter, Aline Towne, Lyle Talbot, Robert Shayne, Fred Graham, and Richard Reeves. In 1966 the serial was edited into ''Century 66 ...

'' and ''

Man with the Steel Whip ''Man with the Steel Whip'' is a 1954 Republic Western serial film. It uses considerable stock footage from the previous Republic serials "Zorro's Black Whip", "The Painted Stallion" and "Daredevils of the West." Plot Saloon owner Barnett wants ...

''.

Television

''Secret Service in Darkest Africa'' was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to ''The Baron's African War''. This version was cut down to 100 minutes in length.

Critical reception

Stedman compares ''Secret Service in Darkest Africa'' poorly to the first serial, ''G-Men vs. the Black Dragon'', which was directed by

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black ...

. He considered Darkest Africa to be example of the decline of serials. Spencer Gordon Bennet, the director of this sequel, is blamed for this lapse, giving the serial a style similar to the ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' television series of the mid-1960s. Two scenes are highlighted. In the first, a duel goes into and then out of a wardrobe without stopping. In the second, the meaning of a clue is deduced with the following dialogue: This style was toned down in future Bennet-directed serials. In the words of Cline, both this serial and its predecessor were "well-made topical drama with highly capable and professional casts". In a departure from the normal formula, the villain's identity is known to the audience.

Chapter titles

#North African Intrigue (25min 26s) #The Charred Witness (15min 35s) #Double Death (15min 33s) #The Open Grave (15min 34s) #Cloaked in Flame (15min 36s) #Dial of Doom (15min 36s) #Murder Dungeon (15min 35s) #Funeral Arrangements Completed (15min 35s) #Invisible Menace (15min 35s) #Racing Peril (15min 34s) #Lightning Terror (15min 34s) #Ceremonial Execution (15min 33s) #Fatal Leap (15min 33s) #Victim of Villainy (15min 33s) #Nazi Treachery Unmasked (15min 33s) _Source:> This was the only 15-chapter serial produced by Republic in 1943. The other two productions were both 12-chapter serials. It had been the standard since 1938 for Republic to release two of each (which they did again for the last time in 1944).

References

External links

* *
''Secret Service in Darkest Africa'' article
a
Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Service In Darkest Africa 1943 films 1943 adventure films 1940s spy films American black-and-white films American World War II propaganda films 1940s English-language films Republic Pictures film serials American spy films Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet American adventure films American sequel films Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland