What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Sunday, December 31, 2023

The Phantom (serial) - 1943

I looked in my serial folder to see what was still waiting for me to watch. I didn't have a clue what I was getting into with this one, but I was ready to dive in!

Ok, so the Phantom is a pretty famous hero that I am not familiar with. Apparently he's had his own comic strip since 1936. Once I saw his comic form, he looked familiar, but the serial version didn't ring any bells.

The story in this one is a nefarious doctor is trying to control of the natives in the jungle so he can use them to build an airstrip at Zoloz for...someone. I never found out who, and he never really said. Another group of people want to find the city for the treasure, and then a third group is trying to be archaeological and do it for science.

This was an adventure for sure. I had a great time, mostly because of the dog. Devil (played by Ace the Wonder Dog) was the real hero a lot of the time. I counted over 20 instances where he either alerted people to danger or actively did something to help out. He also got the last word in the show, so I'm happy with that.

The sidekicks of the villain were disturbingly expendable in this one. So many of them died. A couple of times, their deaths were marked with the comment, "That's the end of ____." Other times they accidentally (or on purpose) shot each other. And they had no loyalty at all. Once they'd dealt with the Phantom, many of them were ready to abandon the villain and just take their chances in the jungle.

For the most part, the animals in this were respected (RIP lion), but I wish they would've cared more about Devil. I mean, he was there to help even when he wasn't supposed to be. One of Phantom's favorite things to say was, "Devil, you stay here." If Devil had obeyed, Phantom would've died. More than once. But when Devil gets beaten or the catacombs collapse on him, no one even bothers looking for him immediately.

Honestly, this one ranks up there with Captain Marvel (Shazam). I had a great time with it. The bad guys could've saved so much time if they'd actually checked on Phantom to make sure he was dead. After a while, you'd think they'd get the hint that he's hard to kill. But nope, they just assume he's dead and tell the boss, hoping for the best. Even though it's super silly, it was super entertaining, and easily earns a Good Watch! review.




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