Starring Warren Hull, Doris Weston, Al Kikume, Rex Downing, Edward Earle
Directed by Norman Deming & Sam Nelson
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Stage magician Mandrake and his friends try to spoil a scheme of a villain known only as The Wasp, who has kidnapped a scientist and his powerful radium machine.
Fans of the Mandrake comic strip this serial is based on may be disappointed with the lack of elements from the strip included. Many of the supporting characters are missing, and Mandrake himself is not as powerful, relying only on stage magic and sleight of hand on occasion. Although Mandrake's partner, the African Lothar, is in the serial, he's played by actor Al Kikume, who is not black but of Hawaiian descent according to Wikipedia. Kikume made his career playing various exotic natives in a number of different films. However, Hull is a very pleasant and likable lead, and even though his Mandrake uses less magic and more fisticuffs to battle the Wasp's minions, I found his performance engaging. The cliffhanger endings to each chapter don't really stand out, and the masked Wasp doesn't make an especially memorable villain, but there was enough action and adventure to entertain this serial fan.
No comments:
Post a Comment