Phantom Knock-Out in Thrills and Chills Forum

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Phantom Knock-Out

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LCranston		#21	[-]
Jun 14 12 4:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I watched Phantom about a year ago - wanted to like it more than I did. I know some serials are criticized for padding, but this one just felt looooong to me. I liked Tyler as the Phantom - and his scene with Devil made me think he was an animal lover in real life - but little else remained in my memory. Tempted to track down Captain Africa, but that'll be way down the road. Deep water is dark and restful and full of peace.
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Pa Stark.movieserialmess...		#22	[-]
Jul 6 12 11:53 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN AFRICA was such a train wreck, that you have to see it. The last four Columbia serials had such tiny budgets, the script was written around massive amounts of stock footage from earlier serials. There is little if any footage of the Phantom, most comes from THE DESERT HAWK, with Rick Vallin dressed to match Gilbert Roland from THE DESERT HAWK, and a few shots from JUNGE MENACE with Bud Osborne looking like Frank Buck. It is almost two different stories, some parts jungle, others Arabian. There is no explanation who Cap is, what is his real name, how he became CA. The closest is he shows another character a paper that will clear everything up,but it is never shared with the audience. The only good things I can say about it is that the stock footage is good, and the little new footage was directed by Spencer Bennet. It is a lot easier to watch than some of the boring messes Columbia released in 1945-46 such as HOP HARRIGAN, CHICK CARTER DETECTIVE, and SON OF THE GUARDSMAN. Remember, you can always trust Honest Pa Stark
Black Tigrrr.movieserialmess...		#23	[-]
Jul 7 12 2:55 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Captain Africa is a hoot. John Hart plays the man of mystery absolutely straight surrounded by an outrageous storyline which really makes the character work. He has a horrible costume and treks through the steamy Equatorial jungle in a turtleneck, leather aviator's cap and riding pants and is revered by natives for some reason. He has a great crystal ball that does magic too. Unintentional laughs and some intentional ones make this serial loopy fun compared to other late Columbias.
Margarita5.vets		#24	[-]
Jul 7 12 10:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good point
Pa Stark.movieserialmess...		#25	[-]
Jul 8 12 12:34 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Black Tigrrr wrote: Captain Africa is a hoot. John Hart plays the man of mystery absolutely straight surrounded by an outrageous storyline which really makes the character work. He has a horrible costume and treks through the steamy Equatorial jungle in a turtleneck, leather aviator's cap and riding pants and is revered by natives for some reason. He has a great crystal ball that does magic too. Unintentional laughs and some intentional ones make this serial loopy fun compared to other late Columbias. But not nearly as big a hoot as an earlier Columbia serial where the villain is a cat's head sitting on a desk with his eyes flashing, and smoke coming out his nose, who decides when his gang has a meeting, they should wear masks, even though everyone there knows each other. Of course that allows the hero to infiltrate the meeting. Who would have thunk it? Remember, you can always trust Honest Pa Stark
lencandraw		#26	[-]
Jul 8 12 4:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In reference to the first post, I was surprised at how often (every episode it seemed) that Batman would get his butt handed to him in the first of those serials.
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Pa Stark.movieserialmess...		#27	[-]
Jul 8 12 8:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Len, Don Winslow got the crap beaten out of him worse than any serial hero in DON WINSLOW OF THE NAVY. Remember, you can always trust Honest Pa Stark
lencandraw		#28	[-]
Jul 9 12 3:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wow. That would be interesting to see then. Batman fared much better in the second serial. John Wayne did pretty well in his three - never saw a harder working actor in those.
LCranston		#29	[-]
Jul 13 12 9:33 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Shame about CHICK CARTER - I just added that to my collection. I know the story behind the origin of CAPTAIN AFRICA has been talked about often, but I had a couple questions: Was the PHANTOM sequel completed before all the re-shoots? Is the original footage as lost as TARZAN THE FEARLESS? Would the serial be any better if it was still a PHANTOM story? Deep water is dark and restful and full of peace.
Pa Stark.movieserialmess...		#30	[-]
Jul 13 12 1:18 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have heard the story that it was filmed before it was discovered Columbia didn't have the rights anymore. In the 70's Serial world Magazine did publish photos of Jon Hart in his Phantom costume, but I very much doubt any footage exists. If it was a Phantom serial, it would still have been a cheaply done mess. You said "Shame about Chick Carter." If you haven't seen it yet, I have some bad news for you, CHICK CARTER, DETECTIVE is a shame, and along with HOP HARRIGAN and SON OF THE GUARDSMAN, are Columbia's three worst serials. They all have totally lame direction, bad story lines, and are very boring. The studio's last four serials were big time messes that were scripted around massive stock footage from earlier serials, but at least the little new footage was directed by Spencer Bennet, who were able to keep things looking correct. The may be disasters, but at least they weren't boring messes. Remember, you can always trust Honest Pa Stark
ironman1188		#31	[-]
Jul 14 12 10:54 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wich2 wrote: Mattel & Cap- Youse guys ARE members of the Captain Action Yahoo group, yes? Best, -Craig W. Wow, I remember when I colored that image. One of my all time faves. Didn't realize it had made its way here. BTW, Captain Action has been resurrected yet again as a 12' figure, with licensed Marvel characters again. "I have come here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all outta bubblegum."
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