El pirata fantasma

Top of the line serial from Republic. Great cliffhanger endings, flagging only slightly in later chapters. Bailey is an effective (if slightly dorky looking) hero, Linda Stirling is lovely and gets involved in the action (although she does get knocked cold every other chapter), and Duncan is an effective henchman. Roy Barcroft, as Captain Mephisto, steals the show. Barcroft considered this role his best and personal favorite, and it's easy to see why: he obviously relishes his villainy, looks great in the costume, and throws himself into the fights. All around classic from the Republic thrill factory.

I am not surprised when I read that the great Roy Barcroft said that his character as Captain Méphisto was his all time favourite. This is a top serial, in serial history book. One of the best Republic ones, if you consider the post William Witney era. What a serial Bill Witney would have done with such material... But this one is awesome, even without Witney. Don't forget that there were three directors in charge, three serial vets: Wallace Grissel, Yakima Canutt - the fabulous stuntman - and the best serial director ever, besides again William Witney: Spencer Gordon Bennett.

A pure gem.

Speaking of the serials, this one illustrates the fact that, in such features, the stuntmen were SO IMPORTANT that they were not chosen because they looked like the lead actor, but on the contrary; the actors were chosen because their resemblance to the stuntmen!!!

And it seems that in some serials, the stuntmen themselves were the heroes. They were both the lead characters and their own doubles during the fights. And what fights!!! I think of Dale Van Sickel, in a serial which I don't remember the title.

Back to this one, what a great moment to see the legendary Linda Stirling and Roy Barcroft together...

Whao !!!

Richard Bailey is horrible,Linda Sterling as Claire is no Emma Peel! The same two guys fighting each other in every episode. Same clip of Captain Mephistopheles changing over and over. Despite all this,loved it all!

Captain Mephisto wanders Mystery Island once more. Mephisto is the secret identity of some on unknown person physically altered by sitting in a special chair and having it completely change him into another actor (the wonderful Roy Barcroft). The real identity of Mephisto is one of his descendants who id using the change into his ancestor as a cover. Battling Mephisto is Linda Sterling who is trying to locate her father who one of several scientists kidnapped by Mephisto in order for him to make super weapons for him. One of the more fun Republic serials. What can I say there is something about Roy Barcroft wandering around in full pirate regalia that just makes you smile no matter how hard you try not to. Add to it the wild weapons and great action and you have a really good time at the movies. (I forgot to mention that this is one of the last Republics that had a sense of being unique from start to finish. It wasn't long after this that the studio began to make serials, that while good, were pretty much interchangeable with each other thanks to an assembly line means of production.) Recommended.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed this serial so much is because Linda Stirling seemed to rescue our hero almost as many times as he rescues her! This made her role a little ahead of its time, I think. She was more a team player than just a damsel in distress. Really fun stuff and Linda plays her part to the fullest. It must have been a drag having to wear the same outfit for 15 episodes, but,in true serial fashion, none of the guys lost their hats during the numerous fight scenes. I tend to watch for that - it's kind of a trademark of serials. I thought it was fun to try and figure out which one of the cast was the real Captain Mephisto! This is great "Rainy Day" fare - and relatively family-friendly! I recommend it.