The Lost City

All the other comments are really right on the mark about THE LOST CITY. For some of us it is a guilty pleasure, mainly because it is so outlandish. Trying to rate it is difficult, because on the one hand the acting is so atrocious and the racial attitudes are beyond belief, and the other hand, it is never boring, and has imaginative sets and Kenneth Strickfadden's electrical devices. Recently Jerry Frank's, nephew wrote about this film. Frank and Sam Baker, who played the 7 foot zombie Hugo became best of friends. It was heartwarming to read how in those days, the two actors, one Black and the other Jewish bonded. Baker referred to the film as "That old dog" but neither would disavow the film.

"The Lost City" is another of those "mad scientist wanting to rule the world" serials. This one was independently produced by Sherman S. Krellberg and Directed by Harry Revier. The set pieces especially the laboratory equipment I thought, were quite impressive by poverty row standards.

The story has electrical engineer Bruce Gordon (Kane Richmond) tracking the source of global electrical disturbances, which he discovers to be originating from central Africa. He mounts an expedition which includes fellow scientists Reynolds (Ralph Lewis) and Colton (William Millman) and his pal Jerry (Eddie Fetherstone). Arriving in Africa, they go to a trading post run by the slave trader Butterfield (George F. Hayes). Gordon soon discovers that the disturbances are coming from a nearby mountain.

Inside the mountain are evil scientist Zolok (William "Stage Boyd") who along with his assistants the hunchback Gorzo (William Bletcher) and muscleman Appolyn (Jerry Frank), plan to rule the world with the help of an army of zombie like giants created by Dr. Manyus (Josef Swickard). Manyus and his daughter Natcha (Claudia Dell) are being held prisoner by Zolok and forced to do his will.

Soon Gordon's party is lured to the lost city. Once there Reynolds and Colton see the possibilities of the giants and kidnap Manyus and take him into the jungle where they meet up with evil slave trader Ben Ali (Gino Corrado) who also sees the possibilities. Meanwhile Butterfield through his cohort Andrews (Milburn Moranti) also learns of the giants. All wish to capture Manyus and force him to do their evil deeds. Then later on there enters the evil slave trader, Queen Rama (Margot D'use) who also has designs on the giant maker and on Bruce Gordon as well.

Gordon and Jerry do all they can to prevent Manyus' capture and ward off the assorted villains. Finally they defeat the villains and save the world from a fate worse than death.

There's an interesting sequence where we learn that Manyus also has the power to turn black men into white. Wonder how that made it pass the censors. Also there is a "death ray" which looks a lot like a laser beam several decades before such a beam was invented. The advanced television system also foretold of similar such systems in the future.

Willam "Stage" Boyd had been in films since 1913. He used the name "Stage" to avoid confusion with the "other" William Boyd who was playing Hopalong Cassidy at the time. Sadly, this was Boyd's final film for he passed away shortly after its completion.

George F. Hayes is of course the infamous "Gabby" Hayes who would enjoy a long career in "B" westerns playing the crusty old sidekick. Oddly enough, Hayes worked with both William Boyds.

How bizarre is this serial? Very.

It was made fairly cheaply but does have some impressive sets and occasionally decent effects. But the writing and the acting are all terrible.

Kane Richmond is bland as the square-jawed hero. Claudia Dell seems miscast as the love interest; although she was only 26 she looks 40ish and plain. She has an overall prim, quavering, schoolmarmish air that's rather off putting. Jerry Frank as Apollyn is easy on the eyes in his gold lame shorts and little else. He helps rise this serial to a certain level of homo erotic camp.

The serial belongs to William "Stage" Boyd as mad scientist Zolok. He camps it up hilariously, although obviously meant to be serious. His final scenes are strangely effective; I'm told he was actually roaring drunk during the filming of those scenes which makes his final madness seem more effective. He died not long after completing this serial, making this an odd obituary.

The story? Well, Zolok is menacing the world from a lost city in Africa, once inhabited by a highly advanced race of which Zolok is the last member. He has hunky Apollyn and a twisted hunchback as assistants, and also has a captive scientist who has the requisite "lovely" daughter (Dell). Richmond goes to stop him and runs afoul of one trap after another, as well as Zolok's army of mindless black giants, and the queen of an African tribe who a) falls for Richmond and b) wants to be white.

Yup, this serial is morbidly racist. Quite a bit of plot hinges on the scientists' ability to turn black people white; at one point it's done and the subject jumps and leaps about with glee. When the Queen proposes marriage to Richmond, he smiles smugly and says, "Oh, I'm afraid that's out of the question."

Some audiences may find THE LOST CITY unpalatable, but it must be bourne in mind that it's a product of less-enlightened times (MUCH less enlightened). I view it not as a serious racial statement but just a reflection of the limited psyches of those involved.

It's actually pretty fun if you make the campiness of it part of the deal. I understand this was actually considered quite old-fashioned and out-of-date when it was released in 1935, making it a true oddity. See it and enjoy, but you were warned...

This is quite a project. There is every conceivable kind of plot development. The bad guys turn good; the good guys turn bad; they turn back again. It's about scientists messing with the realm of electricity; it's about Arab slave traders; it's about zombie black men being made bigger, their brains being canceled out. There's Gabby Hayes. The sidekick. When I was a child I sold enough subscriptions to the St. Paul Pioneer Press to go to the Minnesota State Fair and meet Gabby Hayes, along with several other boys. He was there with the late singer, Johnny Horton, and called us all a bunch of young whippersnappers. It was a high point in my life. Anyway, it was kind of cool to see the old guy, with his scruffy beard, playing a pretty significant role. I'm not going to take this apart. It wouldn't be fair. It had to have been made up from one day to the next. I wondered how long that old scientist would survive being picked up and carted around. Everything is so hammy. Still it's a bit much, even for a serial. By the end you feel like you've been on a roller coaster and need a program to figure the whole thing out. I did enjoy William "Stage" Boyd and his manic throwing orders around. Also, the strong man in the sparkly suit (who was continuously incompetent) was real kick. It certainly was an interesting few hours.

The second half of The Lost City serial is pretty much what you would expect if you've seen part 1. Taken for what it is, and considering the time in which it was made, it's entertaining enough in it's own way. Racist by any standard, the continuous flow of villains turning into good guys and back again ( Ya gotta work in as many gimmicks as ya can to keep 'em comin' back week after week for a serial like this one. ), and the lamest natives and fight scenes ever. Bright spot ... The evil Queen was HOT. But then so is the jungle and I don't want to go there either. This flick is what you do at two a.m. Saturday night to kill time without having to think. Its kinda fun in a goofy sort of way.