''The Flying Serpent'' is a 1946 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

- horror film based on a story by John T Neville. It follows the deranged archaeologist, Dr Andrew Forbes, as he uses his discovery of a killer bird god, the mythical Quetzalcoatl, to murder his enemies. The film is directed by Sam Newfield and features George Zucco, Ralph Lewis, Hope Kramer and

Eddie Acuff Edward DeKalb Acuff (June 3, 1903 – December 17, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. He frequently was cast as a droll comic relief, in the support of the star. His best-known recurring role is that of Mr. Beasley, the postman, in ...

. It was telecast to WCBS in New York on Saturday, February 5, 1949. The film is also known as ''Killer with Wings'' (American recut version).

Synopsis

The opening sequence features an introductory text in the form of a scroll which reads:

Near the little city of San Juan, New Mexico, stand the Aztec ruins. Archeologists tell us they are the remains of a once great temple, abandoned by the Aztecs when they migrated south to the Valley of Mexico, where they founded a rich empire. To defeat the greed of Cortez and his Spanish adventurers who had inaugurated a campaign of loot and murder, the wily Emperor Montezuma hid his fabulous treasure far to the north and implored his native gods to guard it. Among these gods was the feathered serpent---Quetzalcoatl.

The first scene shows Dr. Forbes (George Zucco) driving to the cave in which Quetzalcoatl lives. Here he taunts the serpent and, in doing so, explains that Quetzalcoatl has guarded

Montezuma's treasure Montezuma's treasure is a legendary buried treasure said to be located in the Casa Grande ruins or elsewhere in the southwest United States and Mexico.Penfield, Thomas, 2004. "Dig Here!: Lost Mines & Buried Treasure of the Southwest". pp 68-70. ...

for 300 years. The creature has been imprisoned behind bars by Dr Forbes; it is revealed that this has been the case for 5 years. Forbes takes a feather from Quetzalcoatl and antagonises the beast, remarking that it will kill to have its feather back. In the next scene, Forbes pretends to unintentionally give the feather to Dr. John Lambert by dropping it on the ground. Lambert, who has recently written an article entitled, "Aztec carving of the legendary bird Quetzalcoatl.", recognises the feather and acknowledging its worth, keeps it. Forbes returns to the cave and releases Quetzalcoatl which then flies in search of its feather. The beast finds Lambert, who by this point has left his office, it kills him, and returns to its cave. It is revealed that Richard Thorpe (Ralph Lewis) will be undertaking an investigation into the death of Dr. Lambert. Upon hearing this Forbes resolves to plant a feather on Thorpe in order to have him killed. In conducting his investigation Thorpe brings up the point that Forbes' late wife died under similar circumstances to Lambert, suggesting that the two murders may be linked and that Forbes may be implicated in them. Forbes plants the feather with the hope that Thorpe will take it, however, Sheriff Bill Hayes (Henry Hall) spots it first and retrieves it. Forbes returns to the cave and releases Quetzalcoatl to kill Thorpe. However, Hayes is killed as he is in possession of the feather; Thorpe and Hastings are able to spot the beast before it flies off.

Cast

* George Zucco as Prof. Andrew Forbes * Ralph Lewis as Richard Thorpe * Hope Kramer as Mary Forbes *

as Jerry "Jonsey" Jones *

Wheaton Chambers James Wheaton Chambers (October 13, 1887 – January 31, 1958) was an American actor during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He appeared in more than 200 films and television series during his career. Early years Chambers was born on October 13, 18 ...

as Louis Havener * James Metcalfe as Dr. John Lambert * Henry Hall as Sheriff Bill Hayes *

Milton Kibbee Milton Kibbee (January 27, 1896 – April 17, 1970) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 360 films between 1933 and 1953. He was the brother of actor Guy Kibbee and his daughter was actress Lois Kibbee. He died in Simi Vall ...

as Superintendent Hastings *

Budd Buster Budd Leland Buster (June 14, 1891 – December 22, 1965), usually credited as Budd Buster (and sometimes Bud Buster), was an American actor known for B western films. He sometimes was credited as George Selk in his later work. Early life Bus ...

as Dr. Wagner *

Terry Frost Sir Terence Ernest Manitou Frost RA (13 October 1915 – 1 September 2003) was a British abstract artist, who worked in Newlyn, Cornwall. Frost was renowned for his use of the Cornish light, colour and shape to start a new art movement in ...

as Vance Bennett

Reception

There was some criticism of the film due to its resemblance to the 1940 movie, ''

The Devil Bat ''The Devil Bat'' is a 1940 black-and-white American horror/howcatchem film produced by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) and directed by Jean Yarborough. The film stars Bela Lugosi along with Suzanne Kaaren, Guy Usher, Yolande Mallott and ...

''. Notably, author and film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

awarded the film two out of four stars, calling it "Basically a reworking of ''The Devil Bat.''" American film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a grade of "C+" commenting that it is,

A remake of the Devil Bat that offers a slightly different theme and instead of a bat it offers a special effects flying creature (looking harmlessly like a stuffed puppet) that's half bird and half reptile... Sam Newfield shows no imagination or ability...

Remake

The film was loosely remade in 1982 by director

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television, best known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and ...

as '' Q'', starring

Michael Moriarty Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor and jazz musician. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his first acting role on American television as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 mini-series ''Holocaust'' ...

, Candy Clark and

Richard Roundtree Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film ''Shaft'', and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2 ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flying Serpent 1946 films 1940s fantasy films 1946 horror films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Sam Newfield Producers Releasing Corporation films Mad scientist films American monster movies Films about dragons 1940s science fiction films Quetzalcoatl 1940s American films