Friday, August 28, 2009

The Masked Marvel





THE MASKED MARVEL


CAST
William Forrest as Martin Crane
Louise Currie as Alice Hamilton
Johnny Arthur as Mura Sakima, Japanese saboteur
Rod Bacon as Jim Arnold
Richard Clarke as Frank Jeffers
Anthony Warde as 'Killer' Mace
David Bacon as Bob Barton
Bill Healy as Terry Morton
Howard C. Hickman as Warren Hamilton

UNCREDITED
Tom Steele as the Masked Marvel
Gayne Whitman as The Masked Marvel's voice

PLOT
The Masked Marvel is did things a little differently, by not revealing the hero's secret identity is until the very, very end, the viewer is just as lost as the bad guys! A group of special investigators, who happen to dress alike, are trying to stop a Japanese saboteur, Sakima (played by a white guy), from sending stolen American secrets back to Japan!

image from Yesterday's Thrills and Adventures

THOUGHTS
This serial is just plain awesome. The Masked Marvel has the best hero voice of any character I can think of from serials and a business suit never looked so cool! It's so practical, why doesn't every hero follow this? Who is the Masked Marvel? Well, in chapter one we know that he reveals himself to Alice Hamilton... (that doesn't sound right) and every chapter is some ingenious plot on Sakima's part, to figure out who he is.

On a sad, crazy note- this serial has one of the most interesting true life back stories I've ever come across. I mean, this is what Hollywood stories are made of.

I won't do spoilers...

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