''Spy Smasher'' is a 12-episode 1942

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 film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, 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 ...

based on the

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

character

Spy Smasher Spy Smasher is the name of two fictional characters appearing in comics published by Fawcett and DC Comics. The first is a superhero that was formerly owned and published by Fawcett Comics. The second is a female anti-terrorism government agent, ...

which is now a part of

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. It was the 25th of the 66 serials produced by Republic. The serial 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 ...

with

Kane Richmond Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character La ...

and

Marguerite Chapman Marguerite Chapman (March 9, 1918 – August 31, 1999) was an American film and television actress. Biography Born in Chatham, New York, Chapman was working as a telephone switchboard operator in White Plains, New York when her good looks br ...

as the leads. The serial was Chapman's big break into a career in film and television. ''Spy Smasher'' is a very highly regarded serial. In 1966, a television film was made from the serial footage under the title ''Spy Smasher Returns''.

Plot

Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) as the Spy Smasher is a costumed vigilante and freelance agent, not associated with the US government as the country has not yet joined its allies 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 ...

. After discovering information about Nazi activities in occupied France, he is captured and ordered to be executed. However, with the help of Pierre Durand (Franco Corsaro), he escapes back to the United States, meeting with his twin brother Jack (Kane Richmond). Jack is incorrectly recognized and attacked by a Nazi agent on American soil. The agent works for a sabotage leader codenamed The Mask (

Hans Schumm Hans Josef Schumm ''(né'' Johann Josef Eugen Schumm; 2 April 1896 Stuttgart – 2 February 1990 Los Angeles) was a German-born-turned- American actor, notably, a prolific and critically acclaimed Hollywood screen character actor who appeared ...

), who operates a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

near the coast. Eve Corby (

) plays Jack's fiancé. The Mask's attacks on the United States begin with an attempt to flood the country with forged money and destroy the economy. When this is defeated, he continues with other attacks including destroying aircraft, oil and munitions intended for Britain. Constant defeats at the hands of Spy Smasher, with support from Jack Armstrong and Admiral Corby (Sam Flint), also leads the villain to take the fight back to the masked hero. In the end, the villain is killed aboard his own U-Boat in a sea of flaming oil.

Chapters

# America Beware (28min 32s) # Human Target (17min 29s) # Iron Coffin (16min 48s) # Stratosphere Invaders (16min 50s) # Descending Doom (16min 48s) # The Invisible Witness (16min 39s) # Secret Weapon (16min 53s) # Sea Raiders (16min 45s) # Highway Racketeers (16min 41s) # 2700° Fahrenheit (16min 56s) # Hero's Death (16min 45s) # V..._ (16min 40s)_Source:

Cliffhangers

Chapter 11 has what film historians Harmon and Glut consider to be the "most unique chapter ending of them all": Spy Smasher is gunned down by enemy agents at point blank range and falls from the top of an office building to crash into the pavement below. In the resolution, the audience discover that Jack, Spy Smasher's brother, has knocked him out and stolen his costume. The real Spy Smasher turns up too late to save his twin. This is notable because in nearly every other chapter ending ever produced the person in danger manages to somehow survive.

Cast

as "

", his secret identity Alan Armstrong and his twin brother Jack. The twin brother was added by Republic but other characters, including Admiral Corby, his daughter Eve and the villain The Mask, are all from the original comic. Harmon and Glut 1973, pp. 244–247, 250–251. *

as Eve Corby, Admiral Corby's daughter and Jack Armstrong's fiancé. *

Sam Flint Sam Flint (born Samuel A. Ethridge; October 19, 1882 – October 17, 1980) was an American actor. Flint appeared in more than 230 films, often as a "judge, lawyer, military officer, senator, sheriff, chief of police, or doctor." Flint was ...

as Admiral Corby *

as "The Mask". The Nazi villain of the serial "appeared just as often without the disguise as with it, the only purpose of the mask seemed to be to make him familiar to comic book fans". *

Tris Coffin Tristram Chockley Coffin (August 13, 1909 – March 26, 1990) was a film and television actor from the latter 1930s through the 1970s, usually in westerns or other B-movie action-adventure productions. Early years Coffin's mother was actre ...

as Drake, The Mask's spearhead heavy. Drake is a reporter working for the Ocean-wide Television Network. One of his espionage techniques was to leave the camera rolling after an interview inside Admiral Corby's office or a report from a crime scene. The broadcast was then picked up by the Mask in his submarine ("and presumably ythe sets of any home viewer tuned into the proper channel").

Production

''Spy Smasher'' was budgeted at $153,682 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 h ...

was $156,431 (a $2,749, or 1.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1942. ''Spy Smasher'' was filmed between December 22, 1941 and January 29, 1942. The serial's production number was 1196. Spy Smasher's aircraft from the comic, the Gyrosub, was changed for the serial to be a secret Nazi aircraft called The Bat Plane. Mort Glickman echoed the "V for Victory" theme from Beethoven's 5th symphony in the Spy Smasher theme song. Both pieces of music include the "..._" Morse code for the letter V. Columbia's '' The Secret Code'', released later in 1942, was patterned after ''Spy Smasher''. Adverts for the Columbia serial included the phrases "Smash spies with the Secret Service" and "Thrill again to spy smashers' biggest chase!"

Stunts

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing t ...

- Republic's "Ram Rod" (Head of the stunt team) *

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 ...

as Alan/Jack Armstrong & Spy Smasher (doubling Kane Richmond) * David Sharpe as Alan/Jack Armstrong & Spy Smasher (also doubling Kane Richmond) *

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'' and Jess in the 1958 film ''Attack of the 50 Foo ...

(doubling Crane Whitley) * Bud Wolfe (doubling Richard Bond) * John Daheim * James Fawcett * Loren Riebe * Duke Taylor Kane Richmond did some of his own stunts but the most spectacular were performed by Dave Sharpe and Carey Loftin. Sharp for example, "rolled from an overturning motorcycle to leap atop a careening auto that plunged from a cliff". Loftin "showed what a motorcycle could do in the hands of an expert".

Special effects

All the special effects in ''Spy Smasher'' were created 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

''Spy Smashers official release date is April 4, 1942, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.

Television

''Spy Smasher'' was one of 26 Republic serials re-released as a Century 66 film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to ''Spy Smasher Returns''. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.

Critical reception

In the opinion of film historians Harmon and Glut, ''Spy Smasher'' is the best serial in terms of special effects and stunts, and one of the best in general: "Although lacking the beauty and imagination that appeals to a kind of racial unconscious in the Jungian sense that is found in ''Flash Gordon''... ''Spy Smasher'' emerges in a class by itself, the foremost cliffhanger example of a whole school of Hollywood film-making in the 40s that gloried in matchless pure entertainment". The script is consistently logical and well constructed with credible dialogue and good characterization. The cinematography is atmospheric and often artistic. According to Cline, ''Spy Smasher'' had a "very tight and fast-moving screenplay". In the words of Grant Tracey, writing on the Images Journal website, ''Spy Smasher'' is "perhaps one of the best serials of all time because of its stunning cliffhangers and unique innovations to the serial form".

References in other media

In the 2005 episode of the animated series ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...

'' entitled "Patriot Act", Spy Smasher appears in a World War II flashback. The plot is unconnected to this serial, he is shown preventing the creation of

supervillain,

Captain Nazi Captain Nazi (Baron Albrecht Krieger) is a Fawcett Comics and DC Comics supervillain, a rival of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr.. Captain Nazi made his first live-action appearance in a 2016 second season episode of The CW TV series ''DC ...

. However, the style of the scene is based on a movie serial - it is drawn in black and white with similar action and background music.'. Retrieved: June 16, 2007.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. ''In the Nick of Time''. New York: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. .

"In Search of the Ammunition" ''(The Sources)''.
p. 23.

"The Plotters of Peril" ''(The Writers)''.
p. 64. Cheer for the Champions" ''(The Heros and Heroins)''.
p. 74. "Guardians of the Sword" ''(The Assistants)''.
p. 104.

"Emissaries of Evil" ''(The Henchmen)''.
p. 126. "They Who Also Serve" ''(The Citizens)''.
pp. 140 & 145.

"Sons of Adventure" ''(The Stuntmen)''.
p. 155.

"Soothing the Savage Beast" ''(The Music)''.
p. 177. "The Iron Hand With a Velvet Glove" ''(The Directors)''.
p. 184.
"Filmography: 1942".
pp. 232–233.

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . * Harmon, Jim and

Donald F. Glut Donald F. Glut (; born February 19, 1944) is an American writer, motion picture film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing The Empire Strikes Back (novel), the novelization of the second ''Star Wars'' film, ''The Empire Strikes ...

.
The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury
'. New York:

Routledge Publishing Routledge () is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humaniti ...

, 1973. pp. 65, 172–274, 194. .

"The Long-Underwear Boys "You've Met Me, Now Meet My Fist!"
pp. 244–252

* Mathis, Jack ''(né'' John David Mathis; 1931–2005). ''Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement''. South Barrington, Illinois: Jack Mathis Advertising, 1995. . * Tracey, Grant. ''Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture'', Issue 4 ()''. Retrieved: November 1, 2014. . :

:: The author,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-born Grant Tracey, PhD ''(né'' Grant Annis George Tracey; born 1960), is a writer and professor (creative writing) affiliated with the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

''(Contemporary Authors.'' Vol. 240. by Julie Mellors

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Bonanza Books The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded int ...

, 1973. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spy Smasher (Serial) 1942 films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films based on American comics Republic Pictures film serials American spy thriller films Films directed by William Witney World War II films made in wartime Films set in the Caribbean 1940s spy thriller films Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland Films based on DC Comics