Universal 1945 / 13 Chapters
Directed by: Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins
Starring
Dennis Moore as Jack Ryan
Milburn Stone as Tom Brant
Jan Wiley as Janet Lowe
Addison Richards as Garret Dohohue
Maris Wrixon as Dorothy Newton
Byron Foulger as Prof. Henderson
Alfred "Lash" LaRue as Migsy
? as the Master Key
1938: Somewhere in the United States:
"One of Germany's greatest obstacles to world domination is the industrial might of the United States. We need billions to subdue that might. And now we have the means of getting them -- the Orotron. With this machine we can produce unlimited gold." -- So speaks a mysterious voice broadcast to the men gathered around a table, each of whom has been admitted to the secret circle by means of a metal key. The voice belongs to an unseen Nazi ringleader known only as "The Master Key."
When by means of a fictionalized plane crash the Nazi spy ring kidnaps the Orotron's inventor Professor Henderson, electronics expert Tom Brant, police detective Jack Ryan and reporter Janet Lowe must seek out the Nazis' secret cavernous hideout and destroy the Master Key to prevent the valuable invention from falling into enemy hands.
"A friend of mine told me that he had found the serial to be slow-paced and somewhat boring, so I was prepared to be unimpressed. I found to my pleasant surprise that it actually was pretty good. As with most Universals, plot and dialogue take precedence over fistic encounters, but there was a good enough amount of action to keep me interested, and enough suspects to keep me wondering who the Master Key really was. The chapters did not seem to drag endlessly on as is the case with some of the lesser Universals.All in all a pretty good serial." -- 39013
"Byron Foulger is a resourceful, if fluttery, Professor Henderson, while imposing Russell Hicks brings a King Arthur presence to the role of the police chief, whose office is the rallying point for the good guys." -- R. W. Stedman, The Serials
"...an enjoyable Universal Serial starring Milburn Stone,Dennis Moore and a very young Lash Larue (although he is not billed as Lash)." --Serialnut
"A very enjoyable serial. A good cast, good plot, and good action for a Universal serial" -- Lash LaRue
Newly remastered on a Rank Cintel from an original print. Presented in "serial noir" black and white, on 2 DVDs with illustrated menus, chapter selection buttons, and scene markers within chapters.
Extras include:
The National Anthem as sung by Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians
A 16-minute prologue/compliation of WW2 newsreels showing Hitler's advance through Europe and how he intended to move on to the US
The cartoon Daffy the Commando!
Released March 2005
List price $17.95
Special Sale Price $12.95
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