Undersea Kingdom
Starring
Ray "Crash" Corrigan
William
Farnum
as Sharad, High Priest of Atlantis
Monte
Blue
as Unga Khan, power-mad would-be usurper
Lon
Chaney Jr.
as Hakur, Captain of Unga Khan's guard
When mysterious man-made earthquakes threaten the world,
naval lieutenant Ray "Crash" Corrigan leads an expedition
to the ocean floor in a rocket-propelled submarine and
discovers the undersea kingdom of Atlantis. Soon the
explorers find themselves caught between two warring
factions led by the peace-loving Sharad, and the evil
warlord Unga Khan, whose diabolical plans include
conquering the surface world. Crash's super-human athletic
abilities and the genius of Professor Norton (C. Montague
Shaw), inventor of the rocket-sub, make them targets in an
action-packed battle for survival against ray guns, tanks
and robots in this exciting cliffhanger from the Golden Age
of serials.
UNDERSEA KINGDOM is one of the most enduring and endearing
of science fiction serials from the 1930s. Although
frequently compared to THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, (it employs many
of the same sets and props, and story elements), dazzling
stunt work and trick photography by Republic's top-notch
special effects team, Howard and Theodore Lydecker, make
UNDERSEA KINGDOM look much slicker and flow more smoothly.
Terrific performances are turned in by all all, especially
leading man Corrigan, one of the most successful western
and serial actors of the 1930s. Originally a stunt man as
well as an actor, Corrigan's good looks and athletic skills
quickly led him to fame in B-westerns, most notably the
"Three Mesquiteers" films made with John Wayne at Republic.
William Farnum was a legendary silent era leading man who
starred in the 1914 version of The Spoilers and the 1917
version of Les Miserables. Future horror film star Lon
Chaney Jrl, son of the silent screen star, gives a preview
of menacing villains to come. C. Montague Shaw is also a
familiar figure to serial buffs as the King of the Clay
People in FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS.
This DVD set should be an upgrade for you from any previous
edition and includes fully restored (booming!) sound,
readable (slightly letterboxed) chapter summaries, and
picture in the Atlantis scenes slightly toned a cool black
and white which brings out highlights. (A few shots of the
undersea sub are toned a full blue). Reel change markers
have also been eliminated, and you should find that this
version has a sharper picture than any other existing
edition.
Below are unretouched frame-grabs from the Roan DVD edition
of UNDERSEA KINGDOM, followed by the same or similar scenes
from the Squadron edition.
2-DVD set $7.95
Complete and Begins shipping week of Feb. 5,
2007
More unretouched framegrabs
from Chapter 1 of the Squadron edition of the serial.
