Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Directors:

John English
William Witney

Writers:

Franklin Adreon (writer)
Ronald Davidson (writer)

Release Date:

13 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Action | Crime | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A mad scientist plots the domination of America and only the masked hero, The Copperhead, can stop him.

Plot Keywords:

Masked Hero | Robot | Fistfight | Villain Played By Lead Actor | Evil Robot

Cast

Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Doctor Satan (as Edward Ciannelli)
Robert Wilcox	...	Bob Wayne / 'Copperhead'
William Newell	...	Speed Martin
C. Montague Shaw	...	Prof. Thomas Scott
Ella Neal	...	Lois Scott
Dorothy Herbert	...	Alice Brent
Charles Trowbridge	...	Gov. Bronson [Ch. 1]
Jack Mulhall	...	Police Chief Rand [Chs. 1, 4, 13]
Edwin Stanley	...	Col. Bevans
Walter McGrail	...	Stoner, thug leader
Joe McGuinn	...	Gort, a thug
Bud Geary	...	Hallett, a thug
Paul Marion	...	Corbet, a thug [Ch. 1]
Archie Twitchell	...	Ross, airport radio operator
Lynton Brent	...	Scarlett, a thug [Chs. 1-5]

Runtime:

267 min (15 episodes) | West Germany:96 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

When this serial was being written, it was intended to be a series that utilized Superman as the main hero. The owners of Superman decided they didn't want to let the studio use the character. Instead of scraping the project altogether, the writers replaced Superman with a character of their own creation, called The Copperhead.

Quotes:

Bob Wayne: Then some of the rumors about this mysterious Dr. Satan are true!
Gov. Bronson [Ch. 1]: All of them are probably true! Dr. Satan's spies have penetrated even the police department. The situation is so serious that I'm going to call four companies of the National Guard!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)

classic mad doctor/robot serial

In this republic serial,a mad doctor called doctor satan(edward cianelli) plot's to dominate the world with an army of huge robots!,but only one man can stop this mad plot,the copperhead(robert wilcox(david sharp as the copperhead stunt double)!.when a governer is murdered,the copperhead protects a scientist(c. montague shaw) and his daughter(ella neal) as doctor satan attempts to obtain the scientist's remote control invention to use to operate his monstrous robot!,this is a great example of a classic serial,it's got everything,secret hideouts armed with deadly death traps!,a mad doctor named satan who is bent on world domination,a big tin can robot with big vaccum hose arms,heroic hero,and a mysterious and thrilling music(by cy feuer) score!.this serial is worth seeing!