Manhunt of Mystery Island

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.

Caught this one on TV in its TV-movie form in 1966, now it is in my collection. Roy Barcroft considered this one his favorite, I can see why, he gets to play a villain who can disappear into a completely different body, how's that for a disguise. Contains one of the all time great villain's quotes. Captain Mephisto explains to the Kenne Duncan character how he transforms from his secret identity into Captain Mephisto. When the latter responds, "Oh I understand" Captain Mephisto says "If I thought you understood I'd kill you!" How's that for villainy? Top stuntman Dale Van Sickel doubling for Roy Barcroft, the usual top notch stunt work by the Lydecker brothers, non stop action, an intriguing if far fetched plot. About the only complaint I have is that I've never seen it on the Big Screen.

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!

Roy Barcroft as one of the overseers of Mystery Island ,can transform himself into Captain Mephisto by the use of a transformation machine.Barcroft only appears as Mephisto,his alter ego is played by another actor.The viewer is left to guess which of the overseers is the villian.Linda Sterling,along with Richard Bailey,is looking for her missing father,who is being forced to work on the machine.Great cast,and production values make this an exciting serial.

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.