Nyoka - Herrin der Beduinen

I've had the pleasure of meeting both of these ladies at nostalgia film festivals. I was sitting with Kay Aldridge in the viewing room when they ran a chapter of Daredevils of the West in which she co-starred with Allan "Rocky" Lane. Kay gave out with a shriek at the appropriate time as her screen image was about to go over a cliff in a runaway wagon. Adrian told me the story of how Kay was tied up and hanging in mid-air during a scene from "Nyoka" They had her standing on a box for the close-up shot and then took the box away for the long shot. Kay looked up to the heavens and said "Oh Lord, send me a man right away." Of course it got a laugh from the crew. I don't know how old she was at the time of "Nyoka," but when she didn't report to work one day, director Bill Witney discovered that she had chicken pox.Kay had a rather sophisticated way of talking which may have detracted some from her athletic character role, but she did make three serials for Republic. She later married a millionaire and moved to Maine, but did make some festival appearances.

I miss Clayton Moore. Really. He stars in this Republic serial with Kay Aldridge (another pre-Lara Croft) and does a wonderful job. The plot makes a lot of sense this time. It concerns an American doctor (Moore) who ventures to what looks like a Middle-Eastern country in search of tablets written by Hippocrates that provide a cure for cancer. He meets Nyoka Gordon,(played by Aldridge) who is pitted against Hollywood dust storms, a man in a gorilla suit, funky armpits (when she goes mano-y-mano with the villains in some dirty fighting) and in nasty climactic tussles with Vultura (beautiful Lorna Gray) - and these ain't no hair-pullin' catfights, guys! Republic's stuntwomen were just as tough as the men if not tougher. Vultura and her henchmen do everything in their evil power to stop Nyoka and her handsome hero from getting the tablets, which also lead to a bountiful treasure. During the action Nyoka is even reunited with her long-lost father who is a ruler of some sort. There's even brain surgery going on in one cave while a fight takes place in the next. Hmmm, wonder what would OSHA would've thought of that? Talk about professionalism among the staff! I've heard of office conflicts but this is ridiculous! Seriously, though, this is a good film and well-made. The plot makes sense, the action is good, and it's very easy to follow. It's available as part of Republic's serial collection. Compared to some of the garbage called movie entertainment thrown at us today, I'll take a Republic serial any day.

What a serial or film, however you see this film you will see why it was the movie that helped launch the interest in show business by Carol Burnett. Ms. Burnett claimed that after watching the heroine Nyoka Gordon in action that she wanted to be like her in the movies. What a plot and characters-there is Nyoka Gordon, a comely lass raised in the wilds of the studio backlot er I mean Northern Africa. Handsome Larry-our hero, a couple of professor types, a dumb sidekick named Red(played by Billy Benedict on vacation from the East Side Kids), a beautiful villainess named Vultura, her wicked hammy helper-Cassib(played by the guy who gave us Ming the Merciless of Flash Gordon serial fame), a dog named Fang, a goofy little monkey and one poorly designed Gorilla costumed person running around doing Vultura's dirty work. Oh, I almost forgot, it also has Republic perenial of serials Tristam Coffin as Tortellini-the Italian spy for Vultura. This film does not have any Tigermen in it, but it does have a wind tunnel! Tacky looking chariots! that idiotic gorilla guy, some great fist fights! and two beautiful babes in the title roles. After viewing it many times, if Vultura didn't hang with the ghastly looking gorilla-she is the hottest of the two ladies and a better actress. She sure hams it up, but Nyoka looks like she is sleep walking half the time. Watch it at least once, it is funnier if taken as a comedy. If you think of it as serious-you will find it dreadful.

It has been suggested that a camel is a horse that was designed by a committee. I hasten to add that the only camels in this serial, supposedly set in Arabia, are in the same brief shot at the beginning of each serial episode. And as for Arabia, it looks suspiciously like the Iverson Ranch in California, shooting site of countless movie features and serials, so many that I have come to know those great boulders by name.

Add to this is William "Billy" Benedict, the nice, white-haired boy from the East Side Kids series; Clayton Moore, better known as the Lone Ranger; and the most dastardly villain of them all, Charles Middleton, best known for playing Ming the Merciless in three Flash Gordon serials, to say nothing of his many other nasty roles. And lest I forget, the absolute cheesiest man in a gorilla suit ever. EVER seen on film, plus a German shepherd that is actually smarter than most of the humans--and the shepherd is not a man in a dog suit. So--we have an Arabia without sand or camels, an ersatz ape, a dog, and a cast put together, one might think, by drawing straws from a list of those who were out of work. And we haven't even gotten to the plot, the acting, and the dialog.

Action consists of the usual haymaker fistfights without anyone so much as getting a fat lip, a bloody nose, a black eye, or a skinned knuckle. Even the two women get into some real donnybrooks. This might be said of all serials--except for the shapely legs as the two women rassle and pull hair. There are also lots of chases on foot and on horseback, among the boulders of the Iverson Ranch, through caves (where did that light come from?), etc. The stunt work is really find, especially for Nyoka herself. The dialog is pretty much recited right off the cue cards.

The plot is the usual serial silliness. A group of good guys, led by Nyoka compete with a group of bad guys, led by the beauteous Vultura, to find an ancient text that will revolutionize medicine, cure cancer, and make whoever locates it a great humanitarian or fabulously rich. Guess which group fits with these choices.

Did I like it? You betcha. It's just the thing to make one forget for a time one's otherwise drab and wretched life. I recommend it for that purpose.

I'm beginning to understand that movies carry themselves into our minds in different ways.

Some movies have their experience centered on the time when you are actually watching it. Many movies have greater impact in their memory. Its after you leave the theater that the thing really seeps in.

Some movies are carried by the idea behind them. We acknowledge the idea and let the movie wash by us unless it announces how bad it is. But there's another mode that I'm trying to understand, an interest that started when the final (episode 3) Star Wars entry was imminent.

Serials afford us a means to have the effect of the movie suspended between episodes, which makes it more likely that the elements of the thing will merge with or be incorporated in our lives. So I've been studying serials.

Some of these are the most important film experiences you will ever have, from "Phantom Empire" to the TeeVee "miniseries" of "Singing Detective," and for some "Decalog". In between are all manner of beasts. All happen to be more close to archetypes than their one- shot brethren. All happen to employ smaller plot elements but because of the repetition, some can build layer upon layer of density.

Of the seven of eight serials I've been watching is this one. It has no intrinsic cinematic interest, but it the most fun to watch of any I've seen. Incidentally, I think you really need to watch these episodes on different days.

This features low production values, mostly cheesy acting and trite plot lines. But we routinely forgive this (we did with "Star Wars") if the overarching notions stick.

We have the good and bad women, both far closer to pure archetype than real character. The good girl seeks to rescue her father and retrieve an ancient writing with great power to help humanity. The bad girl seeks the same ancient thing but only for riches (and personal power). The struggle between these two is reflective of the same struggle in the minds of filmmakers. They can seek and utilize ancient archetypes for artistic or hedonistic ends.

Having two ripe young women struggle over this, with Egyptian and film Western trappings is about as pure as it gets. This serial is notable in that things actually happen in each segment rather than having the good guys get in precarious situations. In this case, as in the Star Wars saga, the father is captured by the dark side, threatens the group and is deprogrammed back to the good. Also as in Star Wars, there's a guy in a gorilla costume.

The key trick here is how often you think about the thing between watchings. Now that's cinema. It has devolved in modern times to less profound TeeVee formulas. After all, the purpose of these old serials was to engage you in a cinematic life, to subtly convince you to shell out your weekly 25 cents for the film experience.

TeeVee exploitation of the phenomenon is merely to sell stuff unrelated to the life in film.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.