"To The Rescue!" VCI restores The PHANTOM EMPIRE

Over the years, Your Wacky Webmaster has contributed to numerous DVD releases among other offerings for fans of vintage movies. It's a labor of love; I've never received any payment for my work beyond getting an occasional free DVD tossed my way.

I'm happy to say that VCI Entertainment's new Special Edition (SRP $19.99) of the 1935 Mascot serial The Phantom Empire tops anything with which I've previously been involved. I am so proud of this release, and I urge all Balconeers to order a copy (and no, I'm still not getting paid).

Gene Autry, popular radio entertainer, broadcasts a daily show from the Radio Ranch. His contract stipulates that he must never miss a program, or else he'll be immediately cancelled. Unknownst to Gene, though, the Ranch sits atop the fabulous underground city of Murania, whose Queen Tika zealously guards the scientific secrets and rare elements therein. The villains know about it, though, and do all they can to force Gene to miss a broadcast so they can conquer Murania without interference. Gene is aided by a group of talented youngsters known as the Junior Thunder Riders; the Muranians are aided by a gaggle of robots wearing tin cowboy hats.

In the early 1930s, movie serials were quite a popular and profitable venture, and Mascot was the most productive producer of chapterplays. Yet The Phantom Empire was something special, and has endured as the studio’s most memorable offering.

Although there had been science-fiction elements in earlier Mascot productions, the five credited writers of The Phantom Empire – the studio’s initial release of 1935 – let their imaginations run rampant for this one. Mascot head Nat Levine liked Gene as a personality, but thought little of him as an actor, and this may well have figured into his decision to have Gene essentially play himself. The new chapterplay would feature plenty of music to please Autry’s fans.

Supporting Gene were his radio sidekick, Smiley Burnette, as good a comic stooge as you'll find in a serial; Frankie Darro, only 17 but a ten-year movie veteran whose skill at acting, horsemanship and stunts had stood him in good stead in a number of previous Mascot serials; and preteen champion rider Betsy King Ross, making her second and last appearance in a Mascot chapterplay. Dorothy Christy was an inspired choice as the evil Queen Tika; she had a long history of playing foil to some of the screen’s most popular comics, including Laurel & Hardy (That’s My Wife, Sons of the Desert) and Buster Keaton (Parlor, Bedroom and Bath), and she would provide just the right balance of attractiveness and menace.

Under the aegis of co-directors Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason, paired again after the nerve-wracking experience of trying to handle drunken and troublesome star Ken Maynard in the previous Mascot offering, Mystery Mountain, filming of The Phantom Empire occupied several Los Angeles-area locations through the winter of 1934-1935. The Phantom Empire was released in late February 1935 and proved to be a sizeable hit for Mascot, which placed Autry under five-year contract. There would be no more serials for America’s Singing Cowboy, though; he was destined for greater things as the star of his own Western series. Instead, Levine picked up legendary Hollywood cowboy star Tom Mix to star in the next Mascot chapterplay, The Miracle Rider.

In 1940, a feature version of The Phantom Empire, oddly giving the robots the title as Men with Steel Faces, saw limited distribution (it would later be retitled Radio Ranch). In the decades to follow, the original serial fell into the public domain, and was frequently shown on television and available from a variety of sources (including VCI) on VHS. Unfortunately, with the demise of Mascot Pictures the original materials from The Phantom Empire vanished (perhaps stolen by the Muranians) and all versions of this essential serial were marked by either the ravages of time or misguided efforts to “restore” it by adding extraneous music, sound effects, and colorization. Now, at last, for the first time in more than 70 years, VCI Entertainment presents the quintessential Mascot chapterplay, The Phantom Empire, completely restored and remastered. Yes, there are still some assorted scratches here and there, but most of the time I was absolutely stunned by how great the serial looked. It seems impossible that these serial -- so maligned through the years with jumpy, dupey or altered prints -- could look so shiny and grand.

The 2-disc set is packed with bonus material, including a 7-min. featurette and a bio of Gene Autry written by yours truly, a bonus 1937 Autry/Burnette feature Boots and Saddles, the lengthy musical sequence from Gene's film debut, In Old Santa Fe, a photo gallery and Phantom Empire trailer.

I've always found serials to be a lot of fun to watch, and some of the serials that technically aren't as "polished" as the highly-respected Republic Studios output to be the most fun of all: Terry and the Pirates, Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery, Adventures of the Flying Cadets, Monster and the Ape, The Miracle Rider, The Lost City and others. Few serials, though, offer as much sheer entertainment as The Phantom Empire, which jets back and forth between a super-scientific underground kingdom -- full of robots, exotic costumes, and death rays -- and a ranch full of singin' cowboys. It's just 12 episodes of sheer daffy fun. Enjoy!