SECRET AGENT X-9 (1945)
Serial
Article 3969 by Dave Sindelar
Directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor
Featuring Lloyd Bridges, Keye Luke, Jan Wiley
Country: USA
What it is: Wartime spy serial

During WWII, an American secret agent stumbles upon a Japanese plot about which he knows only the number “722”. This takes him to a neutral island which is a hotbed of spy activity. Can he figure out the secret of 722 before it is too late?

For the record, 722 is the number of a compound created by an American scientist for a failed project to create a new explosive; the Japanese have discovered that the compound, when combined with distilled water, creates an artificial fuel, thus providing the fantastic content for this serial. This is not a spoiler; the opening scenes of the serial establish this before we even meet the main character, so the mystery elements of this serial are negligible. And I should also point out that the fantastic content is pure Gizmo Maguffin; outside of a short scene at the beginning where the fuel drives an engine for a short time, it’s only use is to give the spies something to fight over. This is a Universal serial, and like most of the Universal serials, it’s a bit on the talky side. However, it has a bit of star power to help it out (Lloyd Bridges), it manages to keep an acceptable balance between talk and action, the characters are more interesting than usual (especially the mysterious tiddlywinks player at the bar), and the plot is decent enough to keep things fun, though it does drag in a few of the middle episodes. It’s no classic, but it’s better than average serial entertainment.

SUPERMAN AND THE JUNGLE DEVIL (1954)
Article 3966 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-29-2012
Directed by George Blair and Thomas Carr
Featuring George Reeves, Noel Neill, and Jack Larson
Country: USA
What it is: Superhero saga edited from TV episodes

Three adventures of Superman are recounted. In the first, Superman must contend with a bank robber who is using a computer to plot his crimes. In the second, he must rescue a jungle expedition held captive by a native tribe. And in the third, he must contend with a con man who has proof of Superman’s real identity.

I’m cheating again; I actually haven’t found a print of this Superman movie edited from three episodes of “Adventures of Superman”. However, I just can’t bring myself to letting it fall into my “ones that got away” list when the vast majority of its footage can be found in the extant episodes of the TV series. In cases like these, I keep the movie in my hunt list until it’s about to move on to the other list (in the hopes that the actual movie might show up), and then I’ll watch the three episodes and have done with it.

The three episodes were “The Machine that Could Plot Crimes”, “Jungle Devil”, and “Shot in the Dark”. As is usually the case in instances like this, I try to see if there’s any link between the three episodes that might warrant a thematic reason they would go together. My link is pretty weak this time; it could be argued that all three of the episodes have fantastic content other than that of the existence of Superman. In the first, we have a super-computer capable of figuring out how to plot crimes, giving us a bit of science fiction content. The second has some horror touches in the fact that Superman has to face off with the “jungle devil”, which turns out to be a white gorilla (I only wish I could find a credit for who is playing him). The third is admittedly a stretch; when the villain is identified, he is a man who is believed to be already dead, which gives us the possibility of a “return from the dead” subplot; however, the story uses it only as the most minor of plot elements, so it really is marginal. There is a real strong link between the first and last stories, though; in both of them, the plot ends up hinging on criminals claiming to know the true identity of Superman. Fortunately, the TV series was very well done; I like the way they compensate for the lack of super-criminals by emphasizing the creative ways that Superman uses his various powers, especially in the middle story where he uses them to replace a diamond stolen from the eye of an idol. The third story is the weakest here; it seems particularly far-fetched, especially when Clark Kent explains how he was able to survive a point-blank gun shot and manages to convince them. Still, I can’t help thinking if they had to edit this TV show into movies, I’d rather they pick three episodes than do what they could have done, which is just pick the middle episode, and pad out the middle with safari footage to produce a Double-Stuffed Safari-O; after all, I have seen jungle movies with no more plot than just this episode.

THE SKY BIKE (1967)
Article 3961 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-24-2012
Directed by Charles Frend
Featuring Liam Redmond, William Lucas, Ellen McIntosh
Country: UK
What it is: Children’s movie

A young boy who dreams of flying discovers an old man who is trying to build a flying sky bike to win a competition. He pitches in to help, but there are other people who also want to win the competition… and they won’t necessarily play fair.

Here’s another one from the Children’s Film Foundation, though this one looks like it was only distributed by them. The best part comes at the beginning, when the young boy has an out-of-body experience while sleeping and dreams that he flies through his room; it’s a neat, moody little sequence and well done. Thereafter, it’s the usual type of stuff I’ve come to expect from the CFF; it’s cute, but hardly compelling. The special effects during the flying sequences are particularly disappointing; the strings are shockingly visible. I’m getting the sense that the movies put out by the CFF are wildly uneven, because some of them are pretty good. This isn’t one of the better ones, however.