The Phantom Creeps

As with all such serials, THE PHANTOM CREEPS was intended to be watched in small doses, spread out over weeks and months. It was the short, 10-15 minute film that played before the main theater attraction.

As a feature, it's a mammoth, 4 hour-long marathon!

Still, Bela Lugosi is fantastic as the sinister Dr. Zorka. With his spider bombs, a belt that renders him invisible, and his killer robot, Zorka sets out to conquer the world.

Packed with explosions, fights, peril, and a general sense of anarchy, this series also has those wonderful "cliff hangers" and the obligatory rehash that's intended to get us all caught up on what just happened!

Great stuff...

Another original serial with a different theme and another best because of Bela Lugosi who made it work. Plots in serials tended to be stale later on. This was an exceptionally good plot and well written for the cliffhanger serial age. Invisibility and one of the robot theme scripts added to the thrills. I always thought it emulated Joe Louis.

To me, this 12 part serial seemed a touch cliche, but it was still quite enjoyable. If you are not a fan of the classic horror genre or of Bela Lugosi, you may wish to pass on this one, but if you like corny old Bela films, you are in for a REAL treat.

One point of interest to me was that I can't help but think George Lucas had watched this serial in particular when he was preparing for Star Wars. The title of the series is "The Phantom Creeps" with the first Episode being titled "The Menacing Power" (Phantom Menace anyone?) Additionally, the scrolling text of Star Wars seems to owe a lot to this serial right down to the usage of capitalization. You'll have to wait for Chapter 2 to get your first glimpse of how it's used- Chapter 1 has no foreward.

This is the first serial I've seen, though, so it's possible that the scrolling text is common with most serials.

In the 30's and the 40's,universal(like republic pictures)produced many serials(action films viewed in chapters)dealing with superheroes,outer space,mad scientists and war, In this 12 chapter serial released by universal in 1939, bela lugosi(famous for playing vampires,mad doctors and monsters)plays doctor zorka,a mad doctor who has discovered an atomic meteorite,he harnesses its power,he then decides to sell it to spies,when a reporter(dorothy arnold) and a government agent(robert kent)set out to stop doctor zorka from destroying the world with the meteorite,they must battle spies,doctor zorka's explosive mechanical spiders and a giant robot through 12 chapters to save the world!an impressive serial,an incredible performance from lugosi and the supporting cast,and plenty of special effects,also seen in this serial is edward van sloan(who plays jarvis the spy chief) who starred along with bela lugosi in universals dracula(1931)!

it's worth watching

Enjoyed this Classic Bela Lugosi film which was probably shown to audiences every Saturday in the afternoon and evenings along with two (2)other feature "B" movies, cartoons and a newsreel all for the cost of .35 cents in 1939 and probably less money than that amount. This film was a head of its time, with a great Sci-Fi story and robot to go along with the entire horror. There is plenty of action, airplane crashes, jumping out of planes and bombs going off and one crazy looking robot. Dorothy Arnold appeared in this film as a reporter for a newspaper who was always popping up at the wrong time. Dorothy was very attractive and with a sexy figure who was once married to Joe DiMaggio, the famous baseball player who later married Marilyn Monroe. Bela Lugosi gave an outstanding performance and was making films like three or four in one month. Enjoy a great Horror/Sci-Fi Oldie.