Republic 1942 / 12 Chapters
Directed by: William Witney
Starring Allan Lane as Sgt. Dave King
Gilbert Emery as Commissioner Morrison
Russell Hicks as Marshall Carleton
Peggy Drake as Carol Brent
George Irving as Professor Brent
Abner Biberman as Admiral Yamata
William Vaughn as Marshal Von Horst
Nestor Paiva as Count Baroni
The lost Republic serial restored! In one of the most effective and rousing wartime serials ever made, Sergeant King of the Mounties faces three high-level agents, one from each of the Axis powers. Setting up headquarters in a volcano, the fifth columnists employ a short-winged vertical takeoff plane to enter and leave their headquarters by way of the crater. When Sergeant King finds that secret access, needless to say, it spells explosive trouble for the Axis. Until then, however, the agents harass the Canadian population with bombing raids by a plane that seems to come from nowhere. They also cause the death of Professor Brent, whose plane detector could spell their downfall.
Allan Lane's second two-fisted appearance as Zane Grey's Sergeant King gave him once again a role his acting style fit perfectly. William Witney directed this lively serial without John English, his co-helmer on the first King adventure. Vital to the well-staged live action was the miniature work created by the Lydecker team. Skillful use of a skeleton crew at Big Bear, and some inventive process photography, cut production time and costs significantly, as did use of Cedar Lake/Big Bear footage from King of the Royal Mounted and other serials. The Axis heavies are portrayed by Abner Biberman (Yamata), William Vaughan (Von Horst), and Nestor Paiva (Baroni). Another familiar nasty, Douglas Dumbrille, plays their Canadian quisling, Gil Harper, a counterpart to the character played by Bryant Washburn in the first Sgt. King serial. Peggy Drake is Carol Brent, who carries on the work of her father. Rounding out the cast are a solid group of performers, including Gilbert Emery, William Bakewell, Russell Hicks, Duncan Renaldo, Francis Ford, Jay Novello (who gets a death scene), and Anthony Warde--in the henchman role coresponding to that taken by Harry Cording in King of the Royal Mounted. Professor Brent is played by George Irving.
This lost serial existed up to now only in partial form (missing about 1/3 of its sound and one reel of picture) and the restored chapters have only been shown at SerialFest since the serial's original release. It is now an orphan film. Sound and picture of the missing sections have been fully re-created and assembled, and subtitles added to present missing dialogue by Dr. Grood. Since there is so much action in this serial, it is now sometimes difficult to even tell what sound is original and what is restored.
Dr. Grood is very proud of this release and we are sure you will enjoy it.
More information about the restored picture sequences in Chapter 3.
The restoration of KING OF THE MOUNTIES is now complete!
The final DVD set ships in a 2-DVD case with the new illustrated color cover above, in which, if you have already ordered Volume 1, you can place your Volume 1 disk if you like.
ORDER VOLUME I ($19.95) Chapters 1-5 Complete and Shipping Now
ORDER VOLUME II ($12.95) Chapters 6-12 Shipped in 2-DVD case with cover pictured above and a space for your Vol. 1 Disk Complete and Shipping Now
ORDER COMPLETE SET ($29.95) Chapters 1-12, 2 DVD Set Complete and Shipping Now
Movie description by R W Stedman
