Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueIn the second installment of "Undersea Kingdom (1936)", the explorers are threatened by soldiers from Atlantis. Then, in "L'Homme indestructible (1956)", an executed criminal goes on a rampa... Tout lireIn the second installment of "Undersea Kingdom (1936)", the explorers are threatened by soldiers from Atlantis. Then, in "L'Homme indestructible (1956)", an executed criminal goes on a rampage after being resurrected by mad scientists.In the second installment of "Undersea Kingdom (1936)", the explorers are threatened by soldiers from Atlantis. Then, in "L'Homme indestructible (1956)", an executed criminal goes on a rampage after being resurrected by mad scientists.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Crash Corrigan
- (as Ray 'Crash' Corrigan)
Avis à la une
I really loved the over the top acting and the, for then, cool special effects. That the producers seemed to enjoy finding the slimmest excuse to put Our Hero into cheek revealing outfits and at one point literally strapping him spread-eagle to a moving "car" smacks of almost unbelievable camp. That this stuff passed muster during The Code is even more amazing.
As to weather the cliffhangers cheat; OK they cheat. But in a way I sort of enjoy the original cliffhanger version. Crash gets blown up, dropped down an elevator shaft, smashed into a wooden door (with the aforementioned "car"), dropped from great heights and others too numerous to mention.
I don't love that his "sidekick" is either a young boy who worships him and that he seems a bit too attached to (witness his reaction when Billy falls down a facing). His other "sidekick" is an enemy he saves, only to have the poor sap pine for Our Hero until he is killed, just to assure Crash's engagement to The Girl.
This movie is definitely a repeat offender. But it is fun nonetheless. Invite your friends over and have a drinking party where everyone takes a belt whenever Crash shows his ass. You'll be plowed before the night is out.
Bad, silly, obvious. But not nearly as crappy as Bad Boys 2.
I give this one a Thumbs Up!
From the first frames, it has 1930s written all over it, from the clothing to the acting to general look of the production.
Being a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea nutcase, I was actually looking forward to seeing some Voyage/Sea-ish submarine miniature effects from the Lydeckers (Howard Lydecker created effects for Voyage/Sea) but The Undersea Kingdom submarine looks ugly.
Then again, one later chapter features a fancy aircraft, flying in daylight, that resembles much later effects that Howard would do for Irwin Allen TV.
Sorry folks, this serial just does not cut it for me, in fact, I destroyed the video tape. Maybe I am just too young for it?
Unga Khan (Monte Blue) has harnessed the atom and is causing earthquakes across North America. Scientist Professor Norton (C. Montague Shaw) has invented a ray that will counteract the earthquakes which he believes are coming from the ocean floor,
As luck would have it the ever resourceful Norton has also invented an atomic powered submarine with which he plans to descend to the ocean floor and discover the source of the carnage. He forms a team which includes "Crash" Corrigan (Ray Corrigan) a naval lieutenant and a muscular athlete (who gets to run around without his shirt for most of the story), Diana Compton (Lois Wilde) the ever present newspaper reporter, young Billy (Lee Van Atta) Norton's son, Norton's assistant Joe (John Bradford) and for comic relief Briny (Smiley Burnette) and Salty (Frankie Marvin).
When the sub descends into the ocean it is discovered by Unga Khan who using a tractor beam pulls the crew into the undersea world of Atlantis. There, Crash and the gang discover that there are two warring factions..Khan's Black Robe Guards and the White Robed followers of Sharad (William Farnum). The Black Robes posses a tank-like machine called the Juggernaut and an army of walking garbage can robots called Volkites.
Anyway, to make a long story short, Crash becomes leader of the White Robes' army and Unga Khan captures Professor Norton and alters his mind so that he obeys without question. Khan plans to have Norton produce the priming powder that will ignite the rockets that will propel his tower to the surface and thereby enable him to take control of the world. Well, over the course of the 12 chapters, Crash and the gang escape numerous life threatening situations and ultimately save the world.
This serial is full of contradictions. Firstly, the Black Robes have harnessed the atom, the Volkites and the Juggernaut each possess deadly ray guns yet the soldiers ride in horse drawn chariots or ride horses and fight with swords, and they even have guided missiles. Secondly, Norton's atomic powered submarine is left in the hands of two bumbling assistants? Credibility gap here?
There are some good (and some cheesy) special effects. The two sieges on the White Robe city are well done, although I don't know what good that so-called flame thrower is. The flying craft seems to be going in circles and the "Tower" looks really cheap when it appears on the surface.
A word about the rest of the cast. Boothe Howard and Lon Chaney Jr. (wasted again) play Unga Khan's chief henchmen and Lane Chandler plays Sharad's assistant. In an offbeat bit of casting, Raymond Hatton plays a bad guy and John Merton a good guy. Hatton of course is best remembered as the crusty old sidekick in dozens of "B" westerns. The muscular Merton (sans moustache) was usually cast as a villain. Burnette and Marvin are given little to do and disappear for several chapters at a time.
For Corrigan, this was his first starring role. He would play the lead in Republic's "The Painted Stallion" serial in 1937 as well as, beginning a long run as Tuscon Smith in the long running "Three Mesquiteers" series.
Our hero, Crash Corrigan, is an attempt at creating a poor man's Buster Crabbe, and while he is likable, adequate and has the right build and physical abilities to be a serial hero, he does not exude sufficient charisma, charm, virtue or cleverness so as to have us in our seats cheering him on.
The main villain, Unga Khan, is an unsuccessful attempt to create an ersatz Ming the Merciless, looking more brain-damaged than sinister.
And while Crash is adequate, most of the rest of the cast are either bland or sub-par, the exception being guy who played Unga Khan's main henchmen, who was pretty good. There is a just awful kid, Billy, the son of a geriatric scientist, who you keep hoping will get killed off, but no, he survives.
And there is a nice-looking female lead who gets almost nothing to do the entire serial, and there are no romantic sparks between her and our hero, until the final chapter.
Speaking of romantic sparks or the lack thereof, it is interesting to note that in the Kingdom of Atlantis, wherein our adventure occurs, there appear to be exactly zero women, until our aforementioned heroine arrives. I mean, in a literal sense, that although this serial has many male actors and extras, there is only 1 female throughout the whole 12 chapters. How this city's population has perpetuated itself these many thousands of years is a mystery not discussed, nor is the means by which the many, many male inhabitants of Atlantis relieved their sexual urges.
This aspect of Atlantean life, plus the many scenes of our hero stripped down to his trunks wrestling other men stripped down to their trunks, not to mention the fact that Corrigan's Atlantean costume greatly resembles that of a Las Vegas showgirl, gives rise to much speculation.
This serial has neither the verisimilitude of the classic Republic serials, nor the delirious phantasmagoria of Flash Gordon. Thus, it is amusing to see a couple chapters, but, and I say this as a fan of the classic serials, I found it tiresome to watch in its entirety.
I should, however, give due praise to the fine miniature work by the Lydecker Brothers, and note that this serial marks the premier of the great Republic "water heater" robots, who would continue to appear in serials for the next 20 years. Thus, fans of Republic should see at least a chapter or two, and fans of serials, B-films, and kitch can also enjoy a couple chapters. But the whole things will probably be more than you need.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesCHAPTER TITLES: 1. Beneath The Ocean Floor; 2. Undersea Kingdom; 3. Arena of Death; 4. Revenge of The Volkites; 5. Prisoners of Atlantis; 6. Juggernaut Strikes; 7. Submarine Strikes; 8. Into The Metal Tower; 9. Death In The Air; 10. Atlantis Destroyed; 11. Flaming Death; 12. Ascent To The Upperworld.
- GaffesChapter five: Only in this chapter that Diana wears a split skirt (as opposed to an ankle-length skirt) so she can ride a horse to escape back to the 'Sacred City'.
- Citations
[first lines]
[flexing muscles during a Naval Academy physical]
Crash Corrigan: How 'bout it, Doc. Do you think I'll live?
Navy Doctor [Ch. 1]: You look kind of weak and puny, but I think you'll pull through.
- Versions alternativesThis serial was highly edited into a feature length film under the title "Sharad of Atlantis."
- ConnexionsEdited into Sharad of Atlantis (1966)
- Bandes originalesFirst Call
traditional bugle alert (heard in Chapter: 4)
Meilleurs choix
- How long is Undersea Kingdom?Alimenté par Alexa
Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- Unga Khan, der Herr von Atlantis
- Lieux de tournage
- Société de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
Box-office
- Budget
- 99 000 $US (estimé)
- Durée
- 3h 46min(226 min)
- Couleur
- Rapport de forme
- 1.37 : 1