Search - Sci-Fi Serial Classics on DVD

Saturday afternoon kiddie matinee: 2 cartoons, a 3 Stooges,

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 08/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Serials were once a part of every American kid's Saturday afternoon. In the "good-old-days," neighborhood theaters nationwide showed a serial episode prior to a western or fright flick double-feature. SCI-FI SERIAL CLASSICS presents three of these 12-chapter stories in their entirety.



DVD Bonus: Three episodes from season #1 of TALES OF TOMORROW, a half-hour sci-fi anthology originally telecast in 1951-53. Stars are Paul Newman, Leslie Nielson and Thomas Mitchell (great character actor who appeared in such memorable films as IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, STAGECOACH and HIGH NOON).



SYNOPSES:

"The Phantom Creeps" - This was the 44th sound-era serial released by UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. Bela Lugosi plays a scientist who invents all sorts of outlandish weapons (like an 8-foot tall robot and a belt that makes anyone wearing it invisible). Lugosi finds a meterorite fragment that induces whole armies to freeze in their tracks (a useful weapon in any era). The plot turns on spies who want to steal this powerful meteorite.



"Radar Men from the Moon" - Mysterious rays bombarding Earth from space are traced to the Moon. Scientist and superhero Commando Cody (and his amazing flying suit) battles with bad guys (including TV's Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore) and even makes a moontrip in his experimental rocketship in order to defeat Krog the Moon Man and stop an invasion of Earth.



"Undersea Kingdom" - An underwater search for Atlantis gets Crash Corrigan involved in a war between two sub-oceanic kingdoms. The bad guys wear black capes, naturally. These villains want to conquer the planet, and have built a tower to the ocean's surface as a pathway to invasion. Watch for Lon Chaney Jr. in a supporting role.



Three more complete serials starring a famous space hero are available on the FLASH GORDON: BOX SET.



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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings gathered by a film resource website.



(4.8) The Phantom Creeps (serial-1939) - Bela Lugosi/Robert Kent/Dorothy Arnold/Regis Toomey

(4.5) Radar Men From the Moon (serial-1952) - George Wallace/Aline Towne/Clayton Moore

(4.9) Undersea Kingdom (serial-1936) - Ray Corrigan/William Farnum/Smiley Burnette/Lon Chaney Jr.



BONUS FEATURE - Three episodes of TALES OF TOMORROW:

(#39) Appointment on Mars (6/27/52) - Leslie Nielson/William Redfield/Robert Keith Jr.

(.#9) The Crystal Egg (10/12/51) - Thomas Mitchell/Edgar Stehli/Josephine Brown

(#43) Ice from Space (8/8/52) - Edmon Ryan/Raymond Bailey/Michael Gorrin/Paul Newman (in support)"