The Masked Marvel

Infobox Film
name = The Masked Marvel


director = Spencer Gordon Bennet
producer = William J. O'Sullivan
writer = Royal K. Cole
Ronald Davidson
Basil Dickey
Grant Nelson
George H. Plympton
Joseph F. Poland
starring = William Forrest
Louise Currie
Johnny Arthur
Richard Clarke
Anthony Warde
David Bacon
Tom Steele
cinematography = Reggie Lanning
distributor = Republic Pictures
released = Flagicon|USA 6 November 1943 "(serial)"cite book
last = Mathis
first = Jack
title = Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement
origyear = 1995
publisher = Jack Mathis Advertising
isbn = 0-9632878-1-8
pages = pp. 3, 10, 72-73
chapter = ]
Flagicon|USA 1966 "(TV)"
runtime = 12 chapters (197 minutes) "(serial)"
100 minutes "(TV)"
country = USA
language = English
budget = $157,110 (negative cost: $179,960)
awards =
amg_id = 1:132853
imdb_id = 0036146

"The Masked Marvel" (1943) was a 12-chapter film serial created by Republic Pictures, who produced many of the best known of the serials. It was Republic's thirty-first serial, of the sixty-six they produced.

Plot

In it the "Masked Marvel", a hero dressed in a business suit and a face mask, fights the Japanese saboteur Sakima and his espionage organization. The hook of the story is that, in a reversal of the common serial "Masked Mystery Villain" stock character, the audience doesn't know who the hero is until the final reel; all the audience is told is that "The Masked Marvel" is one of a group of special investigators (the same plotline is used in the Republic serial "The Lone Ranger").

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

Additional cast

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

Production

"The Masked Marvel" was budgeted at $157,110 although the final negative cost was $179,960 (a $22,850, or 14.5%, overspend).

It was filmed between 14 July and 18 August 1943. In terms of cost per chapter, this was Republic's third most expensive serial, behind "Radar Men from the Moon" and "The Tiger Woman". The serial's production number was 1296.

"The Masked Marvel" is a reverse of the "old mystery villain theme." The identity of the Masked Marvel is kept secret from the audience until the last chapter. The audience are given clues and red herrings about the hero's identity throughout the serial. Four possible candidates are shown: Bob Barton (David Bacon), Frank Joffers (Richard Clarke), Terry Morton (Bill Healy) and Jim Arnold (Rob Bacon).cite book
last = Harmon
first = Jim
coauthors= Donald F. Glut
authorlink = Jim Harmon
title = The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury
origyear = 1973
publisher = Routledge
isbn = 9780713000979
pages = pp. 274, 279, 280-281
chapter = 11. New Masks for New Heroes "Get That Masked Trouble Maker" ]

The Masked Marvel is really stuntman Tom Steele in all but the very final shot in which he removes his mask. The mask was directly moulded from Steele's face. The voice of the Masked Marvel was Gayne Whitman. Despite this, Tom Steele was given no screen credit at all, even for the bit parts and stunts he performed in addition to the title role. The voice of the Masked marvel was dubbed in by radio actor Gayne Whitman, since Steele's natural voice was a light tenor, somewhat similar to Henry Fonda's, and did not record as particularly "tough."

The Masked Marvel was a "jinxed" role. David Bacon got the role because four previous actors had injured themselves and were unable to work. While filming one of the serial’s big fight scenes, every actor but Bacon was seriously injured. "I’ll probably get hurt going home in the car," he had joked. Bacon was murdered and found in his car just two weeks after the production of the serial had been completed.

The Masked Marvel was screenwriter George Plympton's only work at Republic. [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 61
chapter = 4. The Plotters of Peril (The Writers) ]

Cliffhangers

Chapter four has an unusual cliffhanger, "especially for Republic", as it has no action or death involved. Instead, Sakima, sitting behind his desk in his secret basement, simply (although incorrectly) announces "So, Jim Arnold is the Masked Marvel."

tunts

In addition to playing the main character, Tom Steele was also the Ram Rod (stunt co-ordinator) on this serial. As stated above, he received no screen credit for this.

As an odd outcome of playing both the Masked Marvel and other stunts and bit parts, in one scene Tom Steele chased himself up some stairs.

One stunt in particular, in chapter 10, is notable. The Masked Marvel crashes his own car into a rolling railroad handcar filled with explosives in order to prevent the handcar destroying a train transporting aircraft parts. The Masked Marvel survives by jumping aside at the last second. Harmon and Glut write that "the scene is both thrilling and perfect craftsmanship."

*Tom Steele, Republic's "Ram Rod" (stunt co-ordinator)
*Fred Graham doubling Roy Barcroft & Harry Woods
*Duke Green doubling Anthony Warde & Stanley Price
*Betty Miles doubling Louise Currie
*Allen Pomeroy
*Ken Terrell doubling Johnny Arthur

pecial effects

The effects in "The Masked Marvel" were produced by Republic's team, the Lydecker brothers.

Release

Theatrical

"The Masked Marvel"'s official release date is 6 November 1943, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.

Television

"The Masked Marvel" was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to "Sakima and the Masked Marvel". This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.

Critical reception

Harmon and Glut describe "The Masked Marvel" as an "exciting serial, one of Republic's best." They especially note "some of the most beautifully photographed and edited action sequences in the history of cliffhangers."

Cline writes that the sight of seeing the hero "jump right into his own fights" rather than have the camera cut between an actor and a stuntman, more than compensated for the reveal in the final chapter when the actor playing the Masked Marvel when removes his mask is clearly not the same actor playing the part in every other scene. This scene is described as almost anticlimactic and "must have been just a little embarrassing." [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 53
chapter = 3. The Six Faces of Adventure ] This was one of Republic's best serials. [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 89-90
chapter = 5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines) ]

Chapter list

# "The Masked Crusader" (26min 11s)
# "Death Takes the Helm "(15min 33s)
# "Drive to Doom"/"Dive to Doom" (15min 33s) ["Drive to Doom" is recorded as the title of the third chapter in William C. Cline’s "In the Nick of Time" while "Dive to Doom" is recorded as the title in Jack Mathis’ "Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement".]
# "Murder Meter" (15min 33s)
# "Exit to Eternity" (15min 33s)
# "Doorway to Destruction" (15min 34s)
# "Destined to Die" (15min 34s)
# "Danger Express" (15min 33s)
# "Suicide Sacrifice" (15min 33s)
# "The Fatal Mistake" (15min 33s)
# "The Man Behind the Mask" (15min 34s)_Source: [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 236
chapter = Filmography ]

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0036146|title=The Masked Marvel
*amg title|id=1:132853|title=The Masked Marvel

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Republic Serial
before=Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943)
years=The Masked Marvel (1943)
after=Captain America (1944)