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.
