''The Masked Marvel'' (1943) is a 12-chapter

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 ...

created by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

, who produced many other well known serials. It was Republic's thirty-first serial, of the sixty-six they produced.

Plot

In ''The Masked Marvel'', a hero dressed in a business suit and a face mask fights the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

saboteur Sakima and his espionage organization. The hook of the story is that, in a reversal of the common serial "

Masked Mystery Villain A masked villain, also seen as masked mystery villain, is a stock character in genre fiction. It was developed and popularized in movie serials, beginning with The Hooded Terror in ''The House of Hate'', (1918) the first fully-costumed mystery v ...

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...

, the audience doesn't know who the hero is until the final reel—all the audience is told is that The Masked Marvel is one of a group of special investigators (the same plotline is used in the Republic serial ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'').

Cast

* William Forrest as Martin Crane *

Louise Currie Louise Currie (born Louise Gunter; April 7, 1913 – September 8, 2013) was an American film actress, active from 1940 into the early 1950s. Biography Currie was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Charles W. Gunter, a banker, ...

as Alice Hamilton *

Johnny Arthur Johnny Arthur (born John Lennox Arthur Williams; May 20, 1883 – December 31, 1951) was an American stage and motion picture actor. Early years Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made ...

as Mura Sakima, Japanese saboteur * Rod Bacon as Jim Arnold * Richard Clarke as Frank Jeffers *

Anthony Warde Anthony Warde (born Benjamin Schwartz; January 1, 1909 – January 8, 1975) was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964. Early years Born as Benjamin Schwartz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on New Year' ...

as 'Killer' Mace * David Bacon as Bob Barton/The Masked Marvel * Bill Healy as Terry Morton *

Howard C. Hickman Howard Charles Hickman (February 9, 1880 – December 31, 1949) was an American actor, director and writer. He was an accomplished stage leading man, who entered films through the auspices of producer Thomas H. Ince. Career In 1900, Hickman d ...

as Warren Hamilton * Tom Steele as the Masked Marvel (and two Sakima thugs, both of whom are quickly killed, uncredited) *

Gayne Whitman Gayne Whitman (born Alfred D. Vosburgh; March 19, 1890 – August 31, 1958) was an American radio and film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1904 and 1957. In some early films he was credited under his birth name. He was born ...

as The Masked Marvel's voice (uncredited)

Production

''The Masked Marvel'' was budgeted at $157,110 () 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 $179,960 ()—a $22,850, or 14.5%, overspend. It was filmed between 14 July and 18 August 1943. In terms of cost per chapter, this was Republic's third most expensive serial, behind ''

Radar Men from the Moon ''Radar Men from the Moon'' is a 1952 black-and-white Republic Pictures' 12-chapter movie serial, the first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody, Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, and serial veteran Roy Barcroft ...

'' and '' The Tiger Woman''. The serial's production number was 1296. ''The Masked Marvel'' is a reverse of the "old mystery villain theme". The identity of the Masked Marvel is kept secret from the audience until the last chapter. Clues and red herrings about the hero's identity are unveiled throughout the serial. Four possible candidates are shown: Bob Barton (David Bacon), Frank Jeffers (Richard Clarke), Terry Morton (Bill Healy) and Jim Arnold (Rob Bacon). The Masked Marvel is really stuntman Tom Steele throughout the serial except the very final shot, in which he removes his mask. The mask was directly moulded from Steele's face. Despite this, Tom Steele was given no screen credit at all, even for the bit parts and stunts he performed in addition to the title role. The voice of the Masked marvel was dubbed in by radio actor

, since Steele's natural voice was a light tenor, somewhat similar to Henry Fonda's, and did not record as particularly "tough". However, in Steele's most visible secondary role, as a murderous assassin, he disguises his voice, apparently believing that his natural voice would be used for the Marvel. Bob Barton was a "jinxed" role. David Bacon got the role because four previous actors had injured themselves and were unable to work. While filming one of the serial's big fight scenes, every actor but Bacon was seriously injured. He had joked: "I'll probably get hurt going home in the car". Just two weeks after the

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

of the serial had been completed, Bacon was murdered and died moments after exiting his car. Rod Bacon who played Jim Arnold was murdered in 1948. The Masked Marvel was screenwriter George Plympton's only work at Republic.

Cliffhangers

Chapter four has an unusual cliffhanger, especially for Republic, as it has no action or death involved. Instead, Sakima, sitting behind his desk in his secret basement, simply (although incorrectly) announces "So, Jim Arnold is the Masked Marvel".

Stunts

In addition to playing the main character, Tom Steele was also the stunt gaffer on this serial. As stated above, he received no screen credit for this. As an odd outcome of playing both the Masked Marvel and other stunts and bit parts, in one scene Tom Steele chased himself up some stairs. Steele himself was doubled by a dummy in the scene in which the Marvel is thrown off the top of an enormous gas tank. On the way down one of the dummy's arms gets caught in the rigging of the tank and is clearly ripped off. Yet when the Marvel lands in the back of the truck below, he has both arms intact. The budget and schedules of serials mandated that retakes only occur in the most dire circumstances. One stunt in Chapter 10 is particularly notable: to prevent a rolling handcar filled with explosives from destroying a train transporting aircraft parts, the Masked Marvel crashes his own car into the handcar. The Masked Marvel survives by jumping aside at the last second. Harmon and Glut write that "the scene is both thrilling and perfect craftsmanship". * Tom Steele, Republic's stunt gaffer *Fred Graham doubling Roy Barcroft & Harry Woods *Duke Green doubling Anthony Warde & Stanley Price *

Betty Miles Betty Miles (January 11, 1910 – June 9, 1992) was an American B-movie film actress and stuntwoman of the late 1930s and well into the 1940s, who later became an educator. Her father, George Henry T. Henninger, was a Texas cattleman, and had t ...

doubling Louise Currie *Allen Pomeroy *

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 ...

doubling Johnny Arthur * Carey Loftin * Eddie Parker

Special effects

The effects in ''The Masked Marvel'' were produced by Republic's team, 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

''The Masked Marvels official release date is 6 November 1943, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.

Television

''The Masked Marvel'' was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-edited into features for television release in 1966. The title was changed to ''Sakima and the Masked Marvel''. This version was 100-minutes in length.

Critical reception

Harmon and Glut describe ''The Masked Marvel'' as an "exciting serial, one of Republic's best". They especially note "some of the most beautifully photographed and edited action sequences in the history of cliffhangers". Cline writes that the sight of seeing the hero "jump right into his own fights" rather than have the camera cut between an actor and a stuntman, more than compensated for the reveal in the final chapter when the actor playing the Masked Marvel removes his mask and is clearly not the same actor playing the part in every other scene. This scene is described as almost anticlimactic and "must have been just a little embarrassing". This was one of Republic's best serials.

Chapter list

# ''The Masked Crusader'' (26min 11s) # ''Death Takes the Helm ''(15min 33s) # ''Dive to Doom'' (15min 33s) # ''Suspense at Midnight'' (15min 33s) # ''Murder Meter'' (15min 33s) # ''Exit to Eternity'' (15min 33s) # ''Doorway to Destruction'' (15min 34s) # ''Destined to Die'' (15min 34s) # ''Danger Express'' (15min 33s) # ''Suicide Sacrifice'' (15min 33s) # ''The Fatal Mistake'' (15min 33s) # ''The Man Behind the Mask'' (15min 34s) _Source:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masked Marvel, The 1943 films American spy films American superhero films American World War II films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Republic Pictures film serials Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet 1940s spy films Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland 1940s American films