Men with Steel Faces

Sometimes when you look back on an old movie, its central idea appears so strange to modern sensibilities as to make it appear almost surreal. Radio Ranch is one such film. On the one hand it is about a singing cowboy who operates a radio station from his ranch. Now if that idea wasn't bizarre enough in itself, there is a second plot-line about an underground city called Murania which is ruled over by an evil queen and her steel helmeted minions. The above synopsis makes this an early example of that most specific of sub-genres, the western/sci-fi hybrid. Perhaps its random weirdness is a result of it having been cobbled together from various episodes of a serial called 'The Phantom Empire'. I've found that any films edited together from episodes of series always seem to be terrible though and Radio ranch quite frankly is no exception. Its strangeness only takes it so far really and tedium eventually sets in. Certainly an oddity but one with limited interest or entertainment value ultimately, if I am being absolutely honest.

I never really got into westerns (at least these low budget ones) but I did cut my teeth on the Lone Ranger and the Cisco Kid. There always seemed to be such a sameness about them. As I watched this film, I was lulled into indifference. I never realized how odd these things could look. For some reason, there are a bunch of kids who ride around with flower pots on their heads. There are aliens trying to take over the earth. Gene has only one concern and that is that he get to sing on his radio show or he will lose his contract. Everything is thrown together. The aliens prove ineffectual as do the bad guys. The thing I noticed is that everything is done in a single take. If a character has trouble getting on his horse, they go on with him flopped over the saddle. If someone trips on a rock, he just keeps on going, though he looks silly. This is just a disjointed mess, but must have been made for about ten bucks. I always found these singing cowboys a little hard to take. Roy Rogers was a lot smoother, but it was more of the same. Anyway, a Western with aliens. I guess we could expect about anything.

This one is weird and a little silly but it did have a wireless phone in it. Love a good western but it is kinda hard to call this one a western lol. Yes I recommend it. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 12/29/2021.

This is the feature version of "The Phantom Empire" to put it quite simply. "The Phantom Empire" was a twelve chapter serial from 1935 for both children and adults. It was common practice for Mascot Pictures to release its serials in feature versions. This particular one has generated quite a bit of animosity on this database, including one review which has stooped to profanity. This little film does not deserve such hatred. Gene Autry was a highly successful successful singer and wrote "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer."

This is an oddly entertaining film. Odd, because I had never seen one of these old westerns with Gene Autry or any of his contemporaries like Roy Rogers before and I was expecting a straightforward western. Instead, I got to see a crazy blend of sci-fi and western.

The film has Autry, and the two juvenile characters of Betsy and Frankie, discovering the underground empire of 'Murania' far beneath Autry's ranch. This empire is ruled by an evil queen, who along with an altogether creepy contingent known as the 'Thunder Riders', threaten civilization as we know it.

Autry sings a lot and his acting is pretty cornball but he's extremely likable and, hence, manages to entertain. The two juvenile actors are very likable too and the film is generally enjoyable. It's also strangely fascinating as the Thunder Riders I mentioned previously bear an eerie resemblance to the KKK and every time I saw them appear I wondered whether this was intentional or accidental.

Anyway, the film was fun, mainly due to the unexpected weirdness of it all. Well worth a viewing.