The Crimson Ghost (1946)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Directors:

Fred C. Brannon
William Witney

Writers:

Albert DeMond (writer)
Basil Dickey (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A criminal mastermind known as The Crimson Ghost is out to steal a device called the Cyclotrode, which can short-circuit all electrical current on the planet. |

Plot Keywords:

Criminal | Fistfight | Mind Control | Tied To Chair | Serial

Cast

Charles Quigley	...	Duncan Richards
Linda Stirling	...	Diana Farnsworth
Clayton Moore	...	Ashe
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Dr. Blackton [Ch. 11]
Kenne Duncan	...	Prof. Chambers [Chs. 1-2, 8]
Forrest Taylor	...	Prof. Van Wyck
Emmett Vogan	...	Anderson [Chs. 1-4]
Sam Flint	...	Maxwell
Joseph Forte	...	Prof. Parker
Stanley Price	...	Count Fator [Chs. 11-12]
Wheaton Chambers	...	Wilson [Ch. 1]
Tom Steele	...	Henchman [Chs. 4, 7, 9]
Dale Van Sickel	...	Henchman Harte [Chs. 6-7]
Rex Lease	...	Bain
Fred Graham	...	Snyder [Chs. 1-2] / Zane [Ch. 8]

Runtime:

167 min (12 episodes) | 93 min (colorized version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Bud Geary wore the robes of the Crimson Ghost, but the voice that came out of the stationary skeletal mouth was that of I. Stanford Jolley, who was billed fourth in the cast. Another actor dubbed Jolley's character's response on the radio. Finally, a fourth actor played the Crimson Ghost's alter ego.

Quotes:

The Crimson Ghost: We've been tricked by cleverness!

Movie Connections:

Edited into J-Men Forever (1979)

The Best Looking Mask of all the Republic Serial Villains

Beginning, I believe, with their far-better serial, THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, Republic Studios had a knack for disguising their criminal masterminds and leaving them masked until the last chapter (Republic probably got the idea from Fritz Lang's THE LAST TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE). Because it worked so well with CAPTAIN MARVEL, the studo would reuse it again and again (ie, DICK TRACY vs. CRIME INC., among others) and it got old fast.

However, with this one, the criminal mastermind has got the best looking mask of the bunch. He looks like a traditional, and fearsome, grim reaper incarnate and all he seems to lack is his scythe. Even this villain's name, "the Crimson Ghost," sounds like an alternate appellation that the grim reaper would call himself.

I personally dislike the action scenes the Ghost partakes in, because it almost belittles his mystical presence. He should sit majestically in a high chair, speaking orders, like Bond's Blofeld or all the other big league bad guys. He should let his minions do all the dirty work of fighting the heroes. When he puts up his dukes, smashes chairs, or even points a forty-five, he reduces his august presence and appearance. A mastermind should never belittle himself by acting like a henchman.