The Phantom Empire (1935) User Reviews

Unique fun

[estabansmythe · 6/10 · 30 April 2006]

"The Phantom Empire" (1935) is unique in the entire history if cinema. It's "Melody Ranch" meets "Flash Gordon" - and it's a kick.

In the olden days (the'70s), it was the perfect entertainment for dropping a hit, taking a hit with a sip (or two...or three) and whoosh, off to the unknown, mysterious Murania, located 20,000 feet beneath Radio Ranch.

Radio Ranch's owner, the often bland Gene Autry (who also owned the more famous Melody Ranch...same place) stars with his pal Smiley Burnette (not playing his normal Frog Milhouse role, but nonetheless playing Frog Milhouse)/ Gene also gets some help from teenagers Frankie Darro & Betsy King Ross. It's up to them to stop the evil Muranians from world domination and destruction (what do they care, they're 20,000 feet below the carnage).

This gem was directed by reliable silent film and "B" movie journeyman master B. Reeves Eason, who also directed the "Flash Gordon"-inspired serial classics, "The Undersea Kingdom" (1936) which starred the always wonderful Ray "Crash" (named for "Flash") Corrigan (who has a small role here) and "Batmen of Africa" (also in 1936) with real-life wild game catcher Clyde Beatty. Eason helmed a slew of two-reel Oaters starring Gene Autry & Dick Foran before directing a series of rah-rah war films in the early '40s to compliment his turnout of westerns, mysteries & serials.

Note: As second unit director of the classic 1925 silent film version of "Ben Hur" with Francis X. Bushman & Ramon Navarro, Eason used 42 cameras to shoot that epic's legendary chariot race; as well as directing the massive burning of Atlanta scene in "Gone With The Wind" (1939).

"The Phantom Empire" is virtually never shown. Too bad because it's a fun curio. Perhaps they think it'll start a whole new psychedelic drug epidemic?

BTW, there's a new DVD release by VCI that is terrific: crisp picture and sound, no blips, and as far as I can tell, it's complete.

It's a true piece of nostalgia...but not on DVD

[bigdinosaur · 6/10 · 2 November 2003]

Without going into points covered by earlier reviewers (with which I am in agreement), I really encourage anyone who enjoys old movies to see this one. I rate this one a "6" because of its unique blend of genres and because I enjoyed it.

SOME TECHNICAL INFO:

Unfortunately the DVD version is VERY bad. Source material was substandard and encoding was outrageous. They also cut the "Mascot" leaders from each chapter.

I have this serial on quite old 16mm film and (splices, scratches and all) it's better than the DVD.

You may actually have better luck purchasing this on VHS...I never thought I'd ever make THAT recommendation!

When I was 12, I was in HEAVEN.....

[miller-movies · 7/10 · 6 June 2000]

No, I wasn't 12 in 1935! Try 1955 when this 12 episode serial played on Saturdays in Colorado Springs. I grew up with westerns, with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Lash Larue, and the rest. I was also acquainted with the science fiction serials and films of the period. Imagine my GLEE when I found out that they had merged the two genres!!!

I saw this again recently, and while it has aged a bit in relationship to more modern westerns and SF films, this is indeed a landmark film: The only SF serial in which a major Western cowboy is the star!!!

I am amazed that so few people have scored this film in IMDb. Please do yourselves a favor and seek out this one, watch it, enjoy it, and then give it a vote respective of its mark in cinematic history!

A most unique combination of SciFi and the Cowboy Musical

[qtika · 5 January 2002]

I first saw Phantom Empire back in the 1970s when it was included in a local museum series of vintage films. I was totally enthralled by it and the incredible underground world below Gene Autry's "Radio Ranch". (The ranch was the site of weekly broadcasts of great oldtime cowboy music.) I'm more a fan of old cowboy movies than I am of science fiction, but I was really taken by the sci-fi set, with wacky multi-story elevators, ray guns, and metal robots. I was particularly smitten by the beautiful but evil Queen Tika, ruler of Murania, who had a magical spinning circle on the floor which she would visit and ask to show her anything she wished. The wheel would spin, complete with a spiraling graphic, which then turned into a real-time view of -- Gene Autry, of course, and his whereabouts, providing the Muranians the opportunity to capture him. (Seeing the spinning circle reminded me that as a six year old, I conjured up similar powers from spinning circle, and had forgotten all about it. Since then, my alter ego is. . Queen Tika!) I recommend the Phantom Empire series as an experience in true, though "kitschy", entertainment! Sincerely yours, Queen Tika

The queen and the singing cowboy

[unbrokenmetal · 7/10 · 25 October 2008]

"The Phantom Empire" is a unique genre mixture of western, SF, musical and adventure serial. Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, discovers Murania, an underground kingdom whose queen sends her whole army after him so he won't tell the "surface people" about the existence of her secret empire. Because a serial with 12 parts needs a few complications, there is a conspiracy against the queen. The rebels need to silence Autry because he knows their plans, but Autry is also in danger from "surface people" who wouldn't stop at anything to get hold of the valuable radium in Murania. Thus chased by everyone, the most important thing to our hero is nevertheless to be at the radio station in time for the 2 pm broadcast! Hilarious fun with clumsy bucket-head robots, ray guns and country songs, a must for fans of 30s serials.

Bucketheads to the rescue!

[counterrevolutionary · 4/10 · 16 January 2004]

Gene Autry was already a radio star when he went to Hollywood in the early '30s. Naturally, since Autry was known as "the Singing Cowboy," his first starring role was in a sci-fi serial about an underground civilization. One might think that this was a brave example of casting against type; in fact, Autry plays exactly the same character he would continue to play on film and TV for the next twenty years: "Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy."

With a premise like this, one would expect THE PHANTOM EMPIRE to be thoroughly goofy. And one would be right. It doesn't help matters that the serial is directed exclusively to children, without even a nod or wink at the adult audience. Also, the cliffhanger cheat factor is fairly high, mostly involving added footage of the escapes which completely distorts what we saw in the previous chapter (this would, of course, have been somewhat less obvious when seeing only one chapter a week and not having a rewind button).

But if you're a connoisseur of cinematic goofiness, or if you're interested in B-Westerns and SF serials of the 30s, or if you have a burning desire to see Smiley Burnette in drag, you should check this one out. The Alpha DVD release, as others have said, is pretty poor (the worst Alpha DVDs I've seen, in fact), but if you can get through the first two chapters, the quality improves marginally (there does seem to have been some restoration work done on the print used--mainly with Scotch tape).

"An interesting example of antediluvian Americana."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 25 January 2006]

My experience of "The Phantom Empire" comes from the two hour movie pieced together from the twelve chapter serial, so admittedly, there is much I didn't get to see. To say that the film is unique is an understatement; where else do you have a Western blending with sci-fi and dating back to 1935?

Gene Autry stars in one of his earliest films, hosting a daily broadcast adventure with his Radio Riders. He's also assisted by Frankie and Betsy Baxter (Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross), who are the young leaders of the National Thunder Riders Association. The group is fashioned along the lines of the Boy Scouts, taking their name from the thundering sound of horses ridden by an underground race called the Muranians. Viewers are also treated to an early pairing of Gene with a very young Smiley Burnette, though his screen time is limited as one of Gene's Radio Ranch singers.

As typical with "B" Westerns and serials of the era, the emphasis is on action and danger, here provided by unscrupulous men who invade Gene's ranch because of radium discovered there. Meanwhile underground, the action on the ranch is monitored by Queen Tika of the Muranians (Dorothy Christy), who must protect her stronghold from the people of the surface world, while at the same time fending off a revolutionary advance by one of her ministers, High Chancellor Argo (Wheeler Oakman).

Science fiction tangles with science fact at all levels here, and it's a hoot trying to make sense of it. For example, the elevator that transports the Muranians back and forth travels a distance of 25,000 feet in about three seconds, that translates to about 6,000 miles per hour! However there's one very interesting statement made by Queen Tika that proves to be entirely prophetic - "Get the captain of the Thunder Riders on the wireless cell phone!"

Before it's all over, Gene escapes from such terrors as the D-Ray Lithium Gun and the Chamber of Death, while impersonating a Muranian himself along the way. He obviously takes his role seriously, pay attention to an early scene when he's shot off his horse; he hangs on to his hat while tumbling all the way down a hillside.

If you don't have the patience for the five hour serial, the recently made available DVD from Digiviews offers a reasonable alternative, though purists may not think so. However the gist of the Phantom Empire experience is presented well enough here with acceptable quality, and enough songs by Gene Autry to make your viewing time worthwhile.

Radio Ranch Is On the Air!

[SonOfMoog · 4/10 · 3 February 2004]

This stuff is too horrible for words. It makes Plan 9 From Outer Space look like a masterpiece. The only way to watch this as an adult is with your hand over closed eyes, looking sideways through your fingers, carefully out of one eye once in awhile to follow the action. Even then, you spend most of your time cringing, shuddering, giggling, or gasping in amazement.

But, you *love* it anyway, either in spite of its uncountable flaws, or because of them. This serial has had a hold on me for almost fifty years since I first saw it in the early '50's. Every recollection of it brings a smile. It is a serial with everything, and combines elements of every movie genre one can imagine: western, musical, comedy, science fiction, crime, and dashes of horror and child adventure.

It has cowboys, evil scientists, lost cities, robots, radio and television, death rays, machines that resurrect the dead, and radium. Radium everywhere. This wonder element is the fuel that powers every futuristic machine in the hidden, underground city, and the desire of the evil scientists who scheme to get rich from it, and will kill to further their schemes. As adults, of course, we are obliged to ignore the reality that radium couldn't possibly do what it does here, but that's a trivial detail, irrelevant to the fun at hand.

The robots are a hoot: garbage cans that walk, but they are the only part of this movie I never came to accept. You watch each chapter for a little while, and it begins to take you in. It isn't long before you're thinking, "This is *terrible*, but with just a little work here and there .. it could be pretty good." Then, you're hooked, and it's time to apply for membership in the Thunder Riders.

There is no way this serial could be remade today. For one thing, the notion of Radio Ranch, a radio variety program broadcast from a remote location, doesn't fly in a world of HDTV and personal computers. But, so help me, I can't help wishing someone would try!

the most interesting plot ever

[ghost-34 · 9/10 · 20 February 2002]

This movie would be a classic of its type, if there were anything else in its type. The ostensibly peaceful underground kingdom of Murania actually exists on the slave labor of robots, who are planning a revolt. Periodically, the Muranians dress as "Thunder Riders" and after rocketing to the surface, come out of a cave to terrorize the Surface People (us). But they can't terrorize a gang of kids known as the "Junior Thunder Riders", whose motto is "To the Rescue!" They shout this while wearing buckets on their heads, in imitation of the gas masks of the Muranians. Mendacious scientists have detected radium beneath the surface of Gene Autry's ranch, but they don't know that the radium is coming from an underground kingdom. The scientists keep kidnapping Gene so that he won't make it to his weekly radio show and hence won't get the paycheck that he depends on to make his mortgage payment. The mortgage payment is the engine that actually keeps all these balls in the air, and as in all good westerns, the bankers are the real villains. Gene is so cool as he handles the Thunder Riders, evil scientists, mendacious bankers, cruel but oddly flirty Queen Tika, and surprisingly clumsy robots, while always having time for a kind word to the Junior Thunder Riders and Smiley Burnett. You can tell that he lives by the Cowboy Code.

To The Rescue!!

[StrictlyConfidential · 6/10 · 27 April 2020]

(IMO) - The best thing about 1935's "The Phantom Empire" were the unintentionally laughable robots who played the working drones in Queen Tika's underground empire of Murania (located 25,000 feet below the Earth's surface). Yeah. These clunky tin-men were a real hoot.

"The Phantom Empire" is presented as a serial "cliffhanger" in 12 chapters. And, I'd definitely say that this vintage Western/SyFy/Musical (which was clearly aimed at kids) had both its fair share of good moments, as well as its not-so-good moments, too.

"The Phantom Empire" starred popular country music singer/guitarist, Gene Autry (1907-1998) in his first starring role.

Surface people must not have knowledge of uranium.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 26 March 2024]

Usually the underground has a male king (or kingpin as they're known in mob talk), but in this case, the underground really is the underground, under Gene Autry's ranch, and brimming with uranium. Outsiders discover it and plot to break in, but when Autry gets in and meets Queen Tika (Dorothy Christy), he's sentenced to be killed. Autry's young sidekick, Frankie Darro, and his female sidekick, Betsy King Ross, set out to rescue Autry but find themselves in trouble!

In my serial viewing, I'm always grateful when I discover that there is an edited version of it that cuts it down in half or sometimes by more. This at its full length is over three and a half hours, but the feature version only 70. That's enough for films with poor prints and sound, and sufficient for the silliness that comes from this ground covered underworld that looks like it has a sky.

The cheap looking set itself resembles the bizarre world of "Metropolis" and the future of "Just Imagine", and was prior to "Things to Come", and the outfits and robots of the underworld are equally weird. Of course, Gene sings a few songs. J. Frank Glendon is the earthly villain, and Smiley Burnett provides comic relief. Probably one of the weirdest westerns ever made, too strange to spend excessive time on.

Childhood's Empire

[jimhass · 9/10 · 11 August 2003]

For somebody who wasn't about six when he first saw this serial, it's really pretty clunky and corny. For somebody who was (they reshowed it once on early TV, on one of those shows that had a local Uncle Bob type playing old westerns and cartoons, and promoting the station's shows in between. Even now, when I think of the juxtaposition of the aboveground world of the singing cowboy, the "Thunder Riders" and their bizarre, futuristic city under the mountain, I get goosebumps. The best occasion I had to see this was one summer, when I went to the local Y every Saturday morning to see a bunch of old movies with 3-400 other kids my age; the title would roll up, and the kids would scream.

Also, I think I could prove that Freud was right about infantile sexuality when I think of the way I felt about the underground queen, clad in silvery, clinging clothes.

Great cast make a very good serial

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 28 June 2008]

Gene Autry serial is an odd mix of Scifi and westerns. To be certain its more western then scifi, but its enough to keep scifi fans interested.

The plot has an evil professor looking for radium trying to drive Gene Autry away from his ranch under which is buried a great amount of ore. Complicating things is the fact that under the ranch is a hidden kingdom.

What should have been a standard western serial are lifted by the good cast that has Autry, his band of regulars as well as Frankie Darro and others. Is it be all and end all? no. Frankly if it hadn't been for Autry this probably would have been long forgotten, then again if it wasn't for this serial we never would have had Gene Autry as a leading man.

Worth a look for those in a western scifi mood or for those wanting to reconnect with movie history. Personally I like the serial in a goofy retro sort of way but seeing it again for the first time in years I realized that I didn't need to see it again and after jumping through some chapters I gave up and moved on. Worth a look if you've never seen it. If you have, try something else.

Not too bad at all.

[DanielWRichardson · 5/10 · 29 January 2008]

This was the first serial that I ever saw. I saw the big clunky robots on the cover and thought to myself "You know what? I have yet to see an old sci-fi movie with those big clunky robots in it." I always wanted to. So I bought a box set which also included "Undersea Kingdom". Now I had no idea who Gene Autry was or that this wasn't completely a sci-fi serial. I didn't know it was partially a western as well. But when I watched it I was pleasantly surprised. I mean it's not great but it's worth seeing. Now I will warn you that the first chapter or so is slow, but then it picks up. Now it's not an edge of your seat thriller however, it does have some exciting moments. Another thing is I can't believe how complex it is. I'm not saying it's confusing or anything, but there are many different story lines and side stories going at once. It's really layers upon layers. So in closing if you get a chance, give it a shot. It's not bad at all.

The one and only one of its kind

[richardjstanford · 15 September 2002]

A classic by anybody's standard! Never before and never since has there ever been such a combination of Western, musical, SciFi, comedy and adventure. Truly imaginative. Gene Autry's first starring vehicle. It predates Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers and all the other SciFi serials of the '30s and '40s. And it was no doubt the reason Republic Pictures stuck to the SciFi theme in most of their serial through to the end of their existence. Has to be seen to be believed. An inside joke appeared in Gene Autry's 1941 feature "Sierra Sue" wherein character actress Dorothy Christy, who plays Queen Tika in this serial, says to Autry "I have the feeling we have met somewhere before. Maybe in another world". A true must see for film historians and fan of all ages. Great fun!

I delayed watching this for over 30 years. What a mistake!

[basemikeoh · 7/10 · 27 April 2020]

I had seen clips of this serial in the 1986 video, "Horrible Horror," and never had any desire to see it. It looked cheap and the idea of a singing cowboy western, science fiction combo appalled me. In 2009 my wife bought be the DVD collection, "Classic Sci-Fi TV: 150 Episodes." The Phantom Empire was on one of the disks. There it sat for the past 11 years. It took Covid-19 for me to finally watch it.

Oh, the wasted years! This is a fun serial. Is it a classic? No, but it is never boring. Just when you worry that it may turn into a bunch of singing, or kiddie fare, it takes a sharp turn and keeps you coming back for more. There is/are plenty of action, multiple villains (one who is really evil in Chapter 11), and some slapstick comedy (okay most of it misses, but I did chuckle out loud at least once).

There are other reviews here that deal with the plot, so I won't repeat it here. If you're stuck at home and just want some old time cliffhanger serial fun, check this out. The 4 hours will pass quickly. I watched chapters 1-7 one day and then finished chapters 8-12 the next. By far, Chapter 11 is the most fun, but don't be tempted to jump ahead especially when you think it might turn into a kiddie serial about a gang of horse riding do gooders.

Bzzzzzt pop! fizz!

[ptb-8 · 5/10 · 9 December 2007]

So awful it is excellent... so it scores a 5. Please also read the other comments for the startling blend of ingredients to be screamed at in the dizzy 1935 serial spectacular from backyard shed studio MASCOT Pictures. One could almost pass out in a frenzy of 'where do I start' alarm in trying to even begin to describe what I saw.... but here I go.... (oooh! tingles!).... A gang of kid horseback riders with buckets on their heads. A funny farm of single men who - every day at 2pm - sing songs about each other. A secret cave with a glass elevator to a picture of an underground art deco city. Hillbilly inspired robots with tin hats and noses. (noses! why would a robot need a nose?) Big zizzy ray-gun and a torpedo launcher that spits striped flying frankfurters. An evil queen (a real one) still dressed for that nightclub date that never happened. Men in tinsel miniskirts. Tubby old men. Like Uncle Wally. Big screen art deco TVs everywhere... even on a cave wall. .... etc... etc.... all 1934/5 madness. Made before UNDERSEA KINGDOM and made before FLASH GORDON this serial clearly made so much money that Repubic bought Mascot and remade the film immediately using the same sets and storyline. (bummer if you saw both in 1936... what a gyp!) ... and of course, Universal restructured and remade both with a budget and Buster Crabbe and FLASH GORDON history was made. But is it cheap littler Mascot Pictures who got there first and Hollywood me and you are never the same once you get through this entire serial.

Sci-Fi Meets Western

[kelly-gaudreau · 6/10 · 9 August 2021]

I liked the sci-fi meets western aspect of the film.

Disappointing Despite Classic Serial Elements

[dglink · 5/10 · 19 January 2004]

While certainly not in a league with Flash Gordon, Phantom Empire does have an art-deco underground city, an evil professor, tacky special effects, an ego-maniacal queen, and wildly misleading cliff-hangers at the end of each episode. Unfortunately, it also has a disappointing hero, a ragged print, and a juvenile setting in a "radio ranch." Gene Autry is a bland hero and comes across as too soft for modern tastes or at least for my taste. Also, while he may have been a singing star in his day, the action stops dead in its tracks every time an obligatory song begins. While the comic relief from two "adult" side-kicks would embarrass kiddie show hosts from the early 1950s, the two juvenile leads both manage to be more appealing and credible than most of the adults. But aside from the low points, there is enough fun in Phantom Empire to warrant a viewing. The cardboard "robots" and the "battles" with the soldiers, who look as though they wandered in from a sand-and-sandals epic shooting on the next sound stage, are a hoot. Despite some classic 1930s serial elements, however, Phantom is overall a disappointment.

Seminal Phantasmogoria

[flapdoodle64 · 8/10 · 10 June 2010]

Produced at ultra low budget and breakneck pace, Phantom Empire is a fascinating hodge-podge of 1930's cross-cultural currents, and is a milestone not only for serial films, but for cinema in general. Indeed, it is so rich in ideas and Americana that this serial is virtually a celluloid time capsule.

Much invention is evident by the way Gene Autry's radio show was so prominently woven into the plot, no doubt a shrewd business move on the cowboy's part to increase his radio audience while simultaneously breaking into cinema. In particular, there is a very clever moment when Frankie Darrow, while acting in a flash-back sequence, breaks the 4th wall to speak a couple lines directly to the audience, yet stays contained within the radio drama within the serial.

Speaking of young Darrow, as well as the young actress playing his sister, Betsy King Ross: kid and adolescent characters in these kinds of things are very often cloying, annoying and corny. Yet Miss Ross and Frankie are both likable characters, and my research indicates that Miss Ross was actually a performing trick rider in her youth. Sadly, she only does one riding trick in the whole serial.

One of the most interesting aspects to this serial is the chilling resemblance of the Thunder Riders to a KKK contingent. The riders wear flowing robes, high domed headgear, and bizarre breathing masks which strangely resemble the masks worn by the earliest 19th century versions of the Klan. The Klan, which is often called 'The Invisible Empire,' purports that its duties include the protection of white females, and in this serial the riders protect the blond, Aryan-featured Queen Tika. Note that the title sequence to each chapter is overlaid with images of smoke and flame, suggestive of the burning cross. The Klan, although less popular in 1935 than at its peak in the 1920's, was still a powerful force.(Note: In case there is doubt, I am anti-KKK.)

The similarities are too many and to great to be purely coincidental, but whether the imitation was purposeful or unconscious is unknown. Likewise, it cannot be determined from this serial whether the creators admired the Klan or not.

The theme of a rural person being transported to fantastical land was revisited in 1938, in The Wizard of Oz.

The idea of blending science fiction/fantasy elements with western movie conventions, while seemingly odd, was repeated many times after this. 1949's Captain Video, for instance, contained a futuristic hero who nonetheless supervised a large number of remote 'agents,' all of whom were western heroes. And in the 1960's, the hit show 'The Wild, Wild, West' perhaps most successfully combined these elements. But again, in the early 1970's, the hit film 'West World' did this also.

In 1993, the Fox network premiered the clever but commercially unsuccessful 'Adventures of Brisco County Jr.', combining the old west with scifi. And in 1999, Will Smith attempted a remake of Wild, Wild West, which was a spectacular commercial and artistic failure.

As far as entertainment goes, this serial is worthwhile to fans of the genre and to others seeking the unusual, but the fight scenes are quite primitive, even when compared with Flash Gordon, which appeared only 1 year later.

Things move quickly, and there are unusual situations, scenes and happenings so as to keep one interested. There is an interesting bit of stage business when a character is electronically revived from the dead, and for the 1st few minutes is unable to speak his native tongue, but instead speaks in 'the Language of the Dead,' which resembles gibberish.

The special effects are better than average for 1935, particularly the miniature work, and are most likely the work of the Lydecker Bros., who went on to do legendary work for Republic Studios after this production.

Gene Autry is not muscular, nor does he project a lot of overt courage, but he is likable and within this serial he makes a decent hero. This was his 1st starring role, and after this, of course, he went on to a prosperous movie and TV career. Because he invested and ran his businesses wisely, he died one of the richest men in Hollywood in 1998, at age 91. Autry began it all by fighting a Phantom Empire, but would up with a business empire.

Stuck with me 70 years

[tcollens-43904 · 7/10 · 31 January 2022]

Only serial I used to see at Saturday matinees that I still remember. Today's cgi blows it all to hell, but as an impressionable 9 or 10 year old it was great!

No one gets the bends

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 20 April 2014]

Through 12 chapters Gene Autry has to fight two sets of villains and keep his radio contract calling for broadcasts from the Melody Ranch in The Phantom Empire. Not easy since he nor anyone else suspects that there's a lost Atlantis type civilization 20,000 plus feet below the surface of Melody Ranch.

To begin with Gene is framed for the murder of his partner by phony professor J. Frank Glendon. His partner's kids Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross believe him and stick with him throughout the serial. So do a pair of less than helpful sidekicks Smiley Burnette and Peter Potter.

The Professor is after radium which he has reason to believe there is a huge deposit on the Melody Ranch. Little does he or anyone else suspect that there's an underground city called Murania run on the nuclear power this stuff has. It's ruled by Queen Dorothy Christy and she's got a traitorous chancellor in Wheeler Oakman looking to undermine her rule. She's also got access to the surface world with her troop of Thunder Riders who take a really big elevator up and down and then ride around looking for presumably supplies that they can't get down below. They're a mysterious bunch and Darro and Ross have seen them and have formed a junior Thunder Riders club.

That elevator was really the most ridiculous part of the film. These people are taking 20,000 mile trips in a matter of minutes and no one's ears even pop, let alone getting one bad case of 'the bends'.

If this all sounds ridiculous believe me it's even more so when you see it on the big or small screen. But unlike most of the movie serials of the day at least we get a few songs from Gene Autry including the one that launched his career in country music, That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine.

I'm not one to pass judgment really because I think movie serials in general are ridiculous. It's a genre form that thankfully is gone. But Gene Autry got a career out of this one.

The Greatest Serial Ever Made

[disinterested_spectator · 8/10 · 19 December 2015]

Gene Autry, playing himself, is half-owner of Radio Ranch, where people come to stay as paying guests and from which Autry broadcasts a radio program every day. In the first chapter, after singing a song, he introduces Frankie and his sister Betsy, his partner's children, who head a club for teenagers sponsored by Radio Ranch called Junior Thunder Riders. They tell about how one day they saw a bunch of men with capes and helmets riding horses that sounded like thunder, though they do not know who those men were. Nevertheless, Frankie and Betsy formed the club, the members of which wear capes and helmets modeled after the ones worn by the original Thunder Riders, as they call them. Then Autry narrates the next installment of a serial within this serial in which the Junior Thunder Riders ride to the rescue to save a man and his wife from a bunch of bandits. You might think that since this is a radio serial, only dialogue and sound effects would be involved, but they actually act out the parts, almost as if it were being filmed, which, I guess, in a way it is.

Meanwhile, a bunch of men fly in by airplane, who we quickly figure are up to no good. One of them, Professor Beetson, believes that somewhere underneath Radio Ranch is Murania, populated by descendants of the ancient city of Mu, who moved underground to escape the glaciers a hundred thousand years ago. Beetson believes they will find valuable deposits of radium and secrets that have been lost to the world, technology based on their knowledge of radiation. Their plan is to get rid of Autry, either by killing him, framing him for a murder, or by causing him to miss a broadcast, which will result in the loss of his radio contract. Either way, they figure the ranch will become deserted, giving them the freedom to look for Murania without being disturbed. This plot point leads to several ludicrous situations in which Autry is fleeing from the Thunder Riders, from the scientists, or from the sheriff, and right in the middle of it all has to worry about getting back to the ranch in time to sing another song.

All this is on the surface. Meanwhile, twenty-five thousand feet below the ranch is Murania, where the original Thunder Riders live, when they are not galloping about on the surface for whatever reason. There are, of course, the expected absurdities in this lost city, such as that everyone speaks English. More interesting is the mixture of ancient and futuristic technology. The Muranians have wireless telephones, and they have television, allowing Queen Tika to view what is going on anywhere on the planet, mostly in America. They have all sorts of advanced weaponry, such as guided missiles, and yet the guards carry spears. They have robots to perform the manual labor, but the ones that are armed have swords. Moreover, when the Thunder Riders need to enter or leave Murania, they have a robot turn a crank to open the door, instead of simply having the equivalent of a garage-door opener. To block the path of anyone not authorized to pass by an entrance, there is a robot standing off to the side with a sword held erect. When activated by a button on his chest, an infraray tells it if someone is trying to pass, at which point it comes down with its sword. So, later in the serial, when Frankie and Betsy get to that robot, Frankie presses the off button on the robot, and then they go right past him without a problem. That's Yankee ingenuity for you.

Their government seems to be a bit of a mixture as well. As noted, there is a queen who rules over her subjects. However, she refers to one of the wounded soldiers as a "comrade," a term not normally used in monarchies, but which would have suggested a communist state like the Soviet Union in 1935. And there is reference to the "secret police." When she watches the television to see what is going on in the world, she is contemptuous of the insanity she witnesses, calling the surface people fools, who are always in a hurry, their lives full of death and suffering. You might think from this that Murania must be an enlightened utopia, but when the captain of the Thunder Riders fails to capture Autry as she commanded, she starts to put him to death for incompetence, but then decides that lashes with a whip will be a better punishment. She wants Autry captured so that she can drive him off Radio Ranch, because she fears that surface people will discover Murania and invade it.

When the captain fails a second time, she commands Lord Argo to put him to death in the Lightening Chamber. But once inside, Argo tells the captain that every time someone is supposedly put to death (thirty-seven so far this year), he saves him so he can be part of the rebellion he is planning. The captain agrees to join the rebellion, and so his execution is faked. When Queen Tika, who has people whipped or executed for merely failing to carry out her orders, despite their best efforts, finds out about the rebellion, she cannot understand why people are turning against her. After all, she knows she has been a good queen, because that is what her underlings tell her when they are asked. Later, Betsy says what most of us have been thinking, that Queen Tika reminds us of the one in "Alice in Wonderland," always shouting, "Off with his head."

In the end, Murania is destroyed by its own technology, the bad guys are arrested, and Autry manages to get back to Radio Ranch in time to sing the final song of the season.

Gene Autry's First Dramatic Film Appearance and Early Sci-Fi Serial

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 2 May 2023]

The 1930s were not kind to the science fiction film genre. Behind the failure of Fox Film's big-budget 1930 "Just Imagine," Hollywood studios showed little interest in investing in those far-out movies the public ignored. But inexpensive serials were a different story. If it weren't for a scriptwriter's dental work where he was woozy from the nitrous oxide administered by a dentist, the brilliant script of one of cinema's earliest serial sci-fi screenplays with sound would have never happened (The first serial with audio was 1930 The Voice From the Sky.). Wallace MacDonald claimed that's how he came up with a plot of an advanced underground civilization who had been discovered by geologists in search of radium in the February 1935 serial "The Phantom Empire."

The twelve episodes introduced a newcomer to the screen, country singer Gene Autry. Western movie actor Ken Maynard, possessing one of the biggest egos in Hollywood, was originally supposed to be the star in "The Phantom Empire." But when he heard low-budget Mascot Pictures, run by film producer Nat Levine, was funding the serial, he told the company to shovel dandelions. Levine had just bought Sennett Studios two years before from its owner, Mack Sennett, who had gone bankrupt because of the Great Depression (The studio lot is now CBS Studio Center with 18 sound stages.).

Autry's only film appearance had been in a short sequence as a 'singing cowboy' in Mascot's 1934 'In Old Santa Fe.' Levine was impressed with the looks of the singer, taking a gamble by having him play the lead in the serial. Autry, born and raised near Tioga, Texas, and Ravia, Oklahoma, learned to play his guitar and sing during long stretches of down time while he was employed as a telegraph operator. His talents earned him a gig at Tulsa radio station KVOO in 1928, receiving the nickname "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy," before signing a recording deal with Columbia Records.

"The Phantom Empire's" screenplay had to be rejiggered when the singer was hired to play the lead instead of actor Ken Maynard. The new twist in the serial placed Autry broadcasting his musical show at his Radio Ranch precisely at 2 p.m. Every day. The actual filming took place in the remote Bronson Canyon where the the script had a team of opportunists searching for the rare mineral radium in the area. They discover a mother lode deep underneath Radio Ranch. Unbeknownst to them, a cavernous underground shelters the lost tribe of Murania, whose members had built a huge city holding 25,000 under the surface. Producer Levine realized while filming the twelve 20-minute episodes that Autry didn't possess any real acting talent. He cloaked Autry's amateurishness by relegating him to mostly singing parts. He then expanded from the initial pilot the serial's cast of characters who were the singer's friends. These buddies were the real heroes in the series against the radium seekers and the Muranian civilization.

Film reviewer Liz Kingsley noticed, "This is one of those rare serials that gets better as it goes along, rather than blowing all the good stuff in the first couple of episodes; and at least partially responsible for this is that Gene Autry had other commitments during the shooting of the later episodes and had to be somewhat 'written around.'"

Levine's studio spent only $2,500 to build the model depicting the huge subterranean city. To reduce costs, the producer procured the Muranian robots from the 1933 Joan Crawford/Clark Gable film "Dancing Lady," which were built for a scene cut from the movie. These robots were reused in a later serial, 1951's "Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere." "The Phantom Empire" proved to be a huge hit with theater-goers, and gave Levine a handsome profit. His Mascot studio, along with several other small film companies, merged in 1936 to form the larger Republic Pictures. "The Phantom Empire" served as an impetus for Universal Pictures to produce a much more elaborate science fiction serial in 1936, "Flash Gordon," with Buster Crabbe. As for Gene Autry, he eventually became more comfortable acting in front of the camera, ranking him as one of Hollywood's most popular Western stars for the next two decades.

Subterranean Drugs

[tedg · 6 February 2005]

I'm involved in a study of "folding" in film; folding is a matter of overlain or referenced narratives. Sometimes the folding is something only of interest to highbrow specialists, but usually it is a matter of fun.

Some folding is a matter of introducing bizarre conventions, and once they enter in one film they promulgate throughout the system. And then through our imagination. So part of my study is looking for examples of folding and most especially the first appearance of specific types.

This serial is usually considered an oddball secondrater compared to more famous (if not better) examples. But I am putting it on my list of films that everyone should see before they die. This brief description should indicate why, for those not excited about sitting through five hours of mediocre production.

Gene Autry was already a famous radio star before making this. He was the first one to combine hee haw Appalachian folk music with the notion of a western cowboy to create the so-called "singing cowboy." The juxtaposition is amazing if you know the history, and in fact the subsequent history of "country and western" music (now just "country") spins from this one man. But that's all before this.

This is his first movie, so they preserved the radio show. Every day at 2:00, Gene (playing himself) must give a show or lose his ranch. The show is live from that "radio ranch," where his ranch helpers play parts in the show. Okay: one simple fold, right? Now add: in producing the show instead of just doing sound effects and voices, the players actually do what they are portraying. Odd. (Another fold.)

The purpose of the ranch is to provide a place for kids to do their "ridin and ropin" stuff, and indeed there are kids in attendance who form a secret society called the "thunder riders" after local legends (and experiences) seeing bands of riders inexplicably accompanied by thunder. This gang of kids is at the same time a feature of the story of the radio show, inhabitants of the ranch, and participants in the larger story we'll elaborate in a bit. A feature of the radio show is recruiting kids at home to join the riders in a sort of boy scout affiliation.

Gene's ranch happens to sit on a radium deposit. Nuclear fission, even the idea, would be years away but radioactive stuff held a special place in the popular imagination. Needless to say, there is an evil professor and henchmen who want to eliminate Autry so they can get the radium. So far so good.

But there is also a subterranean culture under the ranch as well, a huge city at 20,000 feet under, sustained by the radiation and rebellious robots. (Note: this is _before_ "Flash Gordon.") They have all sorts of advanced gadgets including something that gives their evil young queen effective remote vision, providing her with the creation of the movie. They, too, want Autry eliminated. The original "thunder riders" are the special forces of this city who emerge for whatever project is at hand.

Thus, science fiction takes to horses and indeed every time some motion is needed as a break from the talking (and singing!) heads, there's a passel of panicky ridin, usually in groups of 20-30, which seems to be the most that can fit in a frame.

The serial consists of all the ordinary captures and escapes (always by 2:00!) you might expect. In that sense, the thing is pretty ordinary, excepting that the substance of the radio show and the movie overlap and separate constantly. Its the novelty and complete oddity of the strange framework that makes the thing interesting and important. Film would never be the same after.

The framework is clearly a matter of psychotropic hallucination, and indeed you can see the very same folded structure in the similarly drugged out "Tell your Children" written immediately after.

If you decide to see it, don't use the DVD (which is technically horrible and is missing key elements), nor the silly movie they edited out of it. The VHS tapes are the thing to seek out.

Ted's Evaluation -- 4 of 3: Every cineliterate person should experience this.