King of the Mounties

This serial ,once available only in fragmented form,has been restored by the Serial Squadron and is available in DVD to the general public. This exciting serial is the second in the series,the first being King of the Royal Mounted. Both star Allan Lane. This time around King and the Mounties are fighting the three Axis powers who are bent on hindering Canada's war efforts with the aid of The Falcon,a bat shaped plane. Director William Witney keeps things moving at a fast clip for twelve chapters. The supporting cast includes Anthony Warde,Douglas Dumbrille and Duncan Renaldo as Axis agents. Camera work,score ,location shooting,are all up to Republic Pictures excellent standards.There were some missing sections in both sound and picture from the existing print. The Squadron has expertly filled in these gaps with stills and restored sound effects and have come up with a very enjoyable chapter play.

Nazi, Fascist, and Japanese forces each send an emissary to Canada to pave the way for an Axis invasion. A choice weapon is the Falcon plane, one which can take off from a vertical position and fly noiseless dropping bombs on unsuspecting cities. After a wave of terror, Professor Brent (along with daughter Carol) arrives to operate his aerial detector which is able to locate the Falcon plane. The Axis spies knowing the detector's interference will delay their invasion plans, kidnap Brent and force him to fly to Tokyo to divulge the secret of the invention. Sgt. King of the Royal Mounted is able to locate Brent, but not before the inventor gives his life to save King. The Axis spies (operating through their quisling Harper) launch a battleplan to weaken Canada's defenses, but King is able to stop them at every turn until they plan to kidnap Carol and force her to rebuild the detector in their hideout, inside an active volcano. Excellent followup to King of the Royal Mounted with the emphasis on Axis rather than 5th Columnists and more action than in the previous serial. Lane is once again very heroic and Page & Warde great as the henchmen, but Harper's character seems somewhat insignificant since he has no communication with King until the last chapter and doesn't interact with anyone else in the serial, why have him in there and just have Yamata contact Blake or Stark directly? Great action sequences & special effects and the last chapter in the volcano is a classic. Slightly better than the previous KOTRM. Rating, based on serials, 9.

Very good followup to King of The Royal Mounted, but it relies too heavily on footage from the first serial. The only known copy of this serial unfortunately is incomplete. Much of the sound is missing from various chapters, and occasionally action music is inappropriately dubbed in along with sound effects that don't match the on screen action. Tom Steele replaces David Sharpe as Allan Lane's stunt double as well as Bradley Paige. Again the doubling is obvious, but Steele appears as a henchman in the last two chapters. Maybe somebody will find an intact copy of this serial as well as DAREDEVILS OF THE WEST and the two Lone Ranger serials.

As far as I know this excellent serial only exists in incomplete form, missing about half a reel of picture and something like eight reels of sound. Fortunately, the good people at The Serial Squadron have promised a new DVD with subtitles, music and effects for the soundless portions, but no date of release is set. Check their website. This is a wartime serial, specifically making villains of all the Axis powers without the usual anti-Asian junk. Wonderful stuntwork in the dozen-or-so fights and surprisingly good special effects. Well-directed and not nearly as silly as some serials. RECOMMENDED