Secret Service in Darkest Africa

This is another action packed cliffhanger from the Thrill Factory. Released in 1943 as Secret Service in Darkest Africa and re-released in 1954 as Manhunt in the African Jungles, this serial hardly leaves the viewer time to catch their breath! Spencer Bennet directs Rod Cameron,Duncan Renaldo , Joan Marsh and a fine supporting cast, to tell a story of Nazi treachery and intrigue.Cameron plays Rex Bennett super spy ,sent to Casablanca to stop the Nazis from taking over in North Africa. Lionel Royce plays a dual role as the Sultan and head Nazi Baron von Rommler.Many familiar actors make up the supporting cast. The pulsating music score by Mort Glickman matches the action on screen. The cliffhangers are, for the most part convincing with the resolutions likewise. Noteworthy is the actions sequences. With an average of three fights per chapter,this serial must set a record.Howard Lydeckers special effects are ,as usual, first rate. A fifteen chapter serial from Republic Pictures and not to be missed !

serials were never known for great acting, writing or much of anything else. However there are exceptions to the rule, and this is one of them. The plot may not be the freshest, and the nazis are about as stereotypical as they come, but some of the ideas that the writers came up with are quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the fake German graveyard in Morocco loaded with explosives. Also, predictable as every fight scene is, the stunt coordinators and cameramen went out of their way to let everything look just a little bit different (my dad's got about forty serials, and Manhunt has by far the best fights of any of them, it's also in the top five for most amusing cliffhangers). No other serial has the actors fighting at the camera (pardon the grammar, but there's no other way to put it). The sets are also quite remarkable in that a large number of items are placed around for the actors to use. Again don't be looking for a great story or good acting. Just sit back and enjoy what passed for gratuitous violence in the 1940s. It's definitely a winner.

One thing you can say about Rod Cameron character (Rex Bennett) in this serial, boy did he had to fight! All the episodes had a minimum of three fights each, and guess who was in the middle of most of them? That's right Rex Bennett. The second serial with the character was better than the first (G-Men Vs. The Black Dragon) due mostly to fights and cliffhangers but that doesn't mean that the first serial was boring, it was very good, but they made this one better. After dealing with saboteurs in the US, Bennett is sent to Northern Africa to stop the (very stereotypical) Nazi's schemes against the Allies. His main adversary is a certain Baron von Rommler, who's impersonating the local chief and friend of the Allies Sultan Abou Ben Ali. Nothing new, even for those days, true. But starting from this cliché the writers developed a series of creative and good perilous situations for Bennett and his friends (Joan Marsh and Duncan Renaldo as Janet Blake and Cap. Pierre). Plus when the fights ensued not only the stunts wanted to bring up something new, but even the cameramen! All in all, a good way to spend some hours in front of a TV.

I saw this for the first time August 2019. I grew up on republic serials but never got to see this one.

Very formulaic, no surprises there But a totally enjoyable ride.

The fight sequences are worth the price of admission alone. Great stuff and very pleased to have experienced this after having eluded me for so long.

More fights and shoot outs than most serials I've seen.

Very good story line and action pacted! Never a dull moment! I watched the colorized version - very well done.