Der Mann mit der Totenmaske

Source of the Skull face that was stolen by Glenn Danzig for one of his band The Misfits album covers and t-shirts. The serial itself is so over the top in images and ideas that its become the source of a minor cult and is one of the few non-Flash Gordon serials that my non-serial fan friends know about.

The plot has a scientist creating a machine called a "cyclotrode" which will stop atomic missiles from working. It will also stop other things which is why a skull clad villain known as the Crimson Ghost wants it.

This action filled serial is a great deal of fun thanks to one of the silliest looking villains in movie history. Taking the idea of a masked bad guy and placing it into the realm of camp you can't help but watch the craziness that ensues. The mask looks great but you can't believe anyone would actually listen to a guy in a mask like that. Helping things along is dialog that is unintentionally silly thanks to the passage of time(The heroine is given a diaphragm from which her orders will come). It plays like the old Batman TV show but with better action and with out the knowing wink to the audience. Frankly if it wasn't so unintentionally silly you would never have heard of this serial or seen its iconic villain, even if it was pretty good on its own terms.

Definitely worth a look, after all it isn't often you get to see Clayton "the Lone Ranger" Moore as a bad guy.

In this 12-chapter action serial from Republic Pictures and directors William Witney & Fred Brannon, a mysterious masked villain known as the Crimson Ghost has stolen an experimental atomic weapon known as the Cyclotrode. He and his minions attempt to acquire the necessary components to make the device work, while scientific criminologist Duncan Richards (Charles Quigley) and secretary Diana Farnsworth (Linda Stirling) try to stop them.

This is another top-notch Republic serial, with great stunts, and overabundance of fight scenes, and ludicrous cliffhangers. The Crimson Ghost has been called the greatest villain in serial history, and his image is no doubt the most well-known. I like how he works with a group of standard gangster henchmen (including future Lone Ranger Clayton Moore), while he himself dresses in an elaborate costume, complete with skull mask and skeleton finger gloves. I wish there had been a scene where one of the henchmen asked him what the deal was with the costume and moniker, but that never happens. They just go along like this is typical criminal behavior. Quigley, as the hero, is good in the fight scenes but pretty bad in the acting ones. Still, all-in-all, as far as serials go, you couldn't ask for much more.

Originally, "The Crimson Ghost" was a movie serial that ran nearly three hours. However, somewhere along the line, someone sliced the film apart to shorten it and they colorized it. I saw this shorter colorized version. In some ways, it's a shame the serial was treated like this, but in some ways it's not too bad as most serials suffer from sluggish pacing when you see all the chapters at the same time....something that wasn't originally intended when they were made.

This story finds some goofy criminal boss trying to steal the secret to the Cyclotrode--a device designed to intercept and destroy atomic bombs! The boss is a goofy character...the Crimson Ghost. He runs about in the film dressed in a cloak and sporting a skeleton costume!! He also controls his many minions by injecting them with mind controlling drugs AND electronic collars which kill the user if they try to remove them! Can our rugged heroes manage to stop this evil genius?! What do you think?!

In many ways, "The Crimson Ghost" is like other serials. There are countless fights, countless miraculous survivals from deadly accidents and the film is short on characters but long on action and stunts.

So is it any good? Well, I'm not sure good or bad are the best ways to describe it...more like it's very typical of the genre. Additionally, it's important to point out that I am talking about the shortened version...the longer one may well totally stink. Overall, it's silly and full of inconsistencies (like other serials) but also a lot of fun to watch.

A creepy looking masked villain makes trouble for all in this classic 40s Republic serial.

Firstly, I have been a fan of old time B&W serials since about 1997 but only found this one in January 2020. I generally go for the serials with some sort of science fiction element and for years was misled into thinking that this was about a ghost. But yes, this has the essential sci-fi element - The Crimson Ghost is outstanding.

My all-time favourite serial came a few years later - Columbia's Batman and Robin (1949) - and the plot for "Crimson" has elements of that show (for example the constant question about the identity of the masked villain).

I have only seen the edited 93 minute colorized version of "Crimson" and before you all reject the idea of seeing it colorized - hear me out! I have seen TV shows such as Gilligan's Island colorized and it makes me sick. But they have done such a good job with the sharp colors on "Crimson" that I welcomed it with open arms (but remember I have never seen it in B&W so that might impact my reaction to the new version?).

Because serials are a film genre I have always associated with being in B&W, seeing one in color with just plain odd - but odd in good way!

Whatever the case, be it be in color or B&W, edited or not edited, "Crimson" still stands as a mighty important part of 40s entertainment. Sharp dialogue, great editing, top music cues, just a knockout serial with a great villain.

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.