Spy Smasher (1942)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

William Witney

Writers:

Ronald Davidson (original screenplay)
Norman S. Hall (original screenplay)

Release Date:

4 April 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Plot:

Alan Armstrong, aka Spy Smasher, battles a Nazi villain known as The Mask, who heads a gang of saboteurs determined to spread destruction across America. |

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Death Of Twin | Based On Comic | Beautiful Woman | DC Comics

Cast

Kane Richmond	...	Alan Armstrong (Spy Smasher) / Jack Armstrong
Marguerite Chapman	...	Eve Corby
Sam Flint	...	Adm. Corby
Hans Schumm	...	The Mask
Tristram Coffin	...	Drake (as Tris Coffin)
Franco Corsaro	...	Capt. Pierre Durand [Chs. 1-4]
Hans von Morhart	...	Capt. Gerhardt [Chs. 1, 8, 12]
Georges Renavent	...	Gov. LeComte [Ch. 3]
Rudolph Anders	...	Dungeon Col. Von Kohr [Ch. 1] (as Robert O. Davis)
Henry Zynda	...	Lazar [Ch. 1]
Paul Bryar	...	Lawlor
Tom London	...	Crane
Richard Bond	...	Henchman Hayes
Crane Whitley	...	Hauser
John James	...	Henchman Steve

Runtime:

215 min (12 chapters)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: - 1. America Beware - 2. Human Target - 3. Iron Coffin - 4. Stratosphere Invaiders - 5. Descending Doom - 6. The Invisible Witness - 7. Secret Weapon - 8. Sea Raiders - 9. Highway Racketeers - 10.2700(Degree) Fahrenheit - 11.Hero's Death - 12.V...

Quotes:

[while on patrol, Jack and Spy Smasher spot a suspicious boat]
Jack Armstrong: That's the third buoy they've picked up.
Spy Smasher: It's high time we got better acquainted!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Spy Smasher Returns (1966) (TV)

Truly Great Wartime Serial

This action-packed serial never fails to amaze me--first-rate work by Kane Richmond in the lead and some of the best-choreographed action scenes to be found in any serial; the stunts are sometimes astonishing. Spy Smasher is as convincingly agile a serial good guy as I've seen; his falls from balconies during fights are truly breathtaking. Sure, none of the bad guys lose their fedoras during the intense fight scenes; but if you can't suspend disbelief during a serial, you shouldn't bother watching them in the first place. Several very clever cliffhangers are impossible to explain until their subsequent resolution in the succeeding chapter. The whole serial is stylish, exciting, fun, and even ends, notably, with the tragic death of a beloved favorite good-guy character. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!