Above: Kane Richmond halts the descent of a elevator that was about to crush him in SPY SMASHER (Republic, 1942).

SPY SMASHER

Republic, 12 Chapters, 1942. Starring Kane Richmond, Marguerite Chapman, Sam Flint, Hans Schumm, Tristram Coffin, Paul Bryar, Tom London.

Once again I’m faced with the problem of reviewing a serial that is universally acclaimed as an all-time classic of the genre. It’s not that I disagree with the high ranking accorded SPY SMASHER in any way--it’s just that it’s tough for me come up with anything to say about SPY SMASHER that hasn’t been said before. Still, it won’t hurt to lavish a few more accolades on the serial, even if they’re unoriginal. SPY SMASHER certainly deserves it.

SPY SMASHER takes place in the days before Pearl Harbor, when America had not yet entered the war but was growing increasingly concerned with Axis activity abroad (the serial itself was in post-production when American entered World War 2, which left Republic only enough time to positively identify the villains as Germans, rather than as anonymous foreign agents like His Excellency in KING OF THE TEXAS RANGERS). As the serial begins, Spy Smasher (Kane Richmond) is investigating a Nazi headquarters in occupied Paris when he’s captured by Gestapo agents. After being tortured and refusing to “confess” that he’s acting on authority from the United States government (such a confession would give the Nazis an excuse to declare war on the US) he’s sentenced to be shot. However, Pierre Durand (Franco Corsaro), a Vichy French official unwillingly cooperating with the Germans, manages to fake Spy Smasher’s execution and ship him out of the country unharmed. Later, in the United States, Gestapo agent Lazar encounters what appears to be the supposedly-dead Spy Smasher on a train and, although quite surprised, attacks him. Lazar is even more surprised when the actual Spy Smasher turns up to help his lookalike, but has no more time to be surprised after he’s thrown from the train. We then learn that Spy Smasher is really Alan Armstrong, an American war correspondent who supposedly died in a plane crash in France a year ago but who has really been working against the Nazis as the mysterious Spy Smasher. His lookalike is his twin brother Jack, who is very pleased to learn that Alan is still alive, and agrees to help him in his fight against the Nazi spies, who, as Alan has learned, are now infiltrating the United States. From this point on, Spy Smasher and Jack do almost constant battle against the spies, who are headed by a Nazi officer known as the Mask (Hans Schumm), and smash one villainous plot after another.

It’s amazing to note how much of SPY SMASHER’s greatness rests on the shoulders of just three men--star Kane Richmond, stuntman David Sharpe, and director William Witney. Richmond is onscreen for almost the entire serial, and has to carry many scenes by himself. Fortunately he’s completely up to the challenge. Richmond not only looks every inch a classic action hero, but is also fully capable of handling dialogue with talent and conviction. He does a fine job here of differentiating his twin brother characters, making Jack more easy-going and impetuous than the serious and level-headed Alan. Sharpe does yeoman’s work in this serial, doubling “both” Richmonds and turning in incredibly spectacular stuntwork in every chapter. And Witney keeps the serial going at an incredible rate of non-stop action, devising one startling sequence after another, and setting many of them in actual plants and factories that provide almost unlimited scope for races, chases, and shootouts. It’s impossible to select a highlight among the action scenes that dot every single chapter. The sequence in which Spy Smasher climbs up a unique tower-like building to do battle with henchman Ken Terrell? The fight at the restaurant in Chapter Five that leads to a chase which leads to another fight which leads to a memorable shootout in a narrow hall? The incredible fight/chase in the warehouse in Chapter Eight? The protracted gunfight at the clayworks in Chapter Ten? The climactic fight between Spy Smasher and villain Tristram Coffin? Any one of these--and many more besides--could easily be one of the best action scenes in any serial.

I mustn’t forget to give credit to Ronald Davidson, Norman S. Hall, William Lively, Joseph O’Donnell, and Joseph Poland, the writing team responsible for SPY SMASHER. They provide a very effective framework to hang the action on, moving the scene from one interesting location to the next, from Paris to the United States to the French island territory of “Martinidad” and back to the States again. They also are restrained--and therefore more effective--in the use of wartime propaganda, leaving the heroes and villains to show by their actions which side is good and which side is bad, and not resorting to flag-waving speeches. The final scene is particularly effective for its simplicity; instead of reciting a patriotic speech as stirring music plays in the background, Richmond quietly remembers a key supporting character who died to help bring about the happy ending.

The supporting cast of the serial is excellent, although most of the supporting characters take a minor part and let Richmond and Richmond carry the principal action. SPY SMASHER features a fine pack of henchmen, who assume active leadership of the villainous forces at different points in the serial. Quiet-spoken Paul Bryar is the chief henchman, Lawlor, and is very effective as in a cagy, underplayed way. Tom London and Richard Bond appear throughout the serial as well, while Crane Whitley, Carleton Young, and George J. Lewis have smaller showcases as other points in the cliffhanger. The chief villain, Hans Schumm as the Mask, does little more than give orders and concoct schemes for his henchmen to follow, but is properly snarling, arrogant, and fiendish in his part. Tristram Coffin is oily and suave as Drake, the television reporter who is really the Mask’s top espionage operative, and John James is good as his furtive assistant.

Sam Flint is upright, dignified, and intelligent as the Naval Intelligence chief, retired Admiral Corby. Marguerite Chapman, as his daughter, has little screen time but is so intelligently beautiful that she’s pleasant to watch no matter how briefly she’s on film. Her display of emotion at the death of that aforementioned supporting character is truly touching; the look of lost and hurt sorrow on her face is something few serial heroines could have pulled off.

Rudolph Anders plays a Nazi officer in the first chapter, and Henry Zynda is the Gestapo man Lazar. Franco Corsaro is enthusiastic and likable as Durand, Spy Smasher’s partner and ally during the Martinidad sequence, and Georges Renavent is perfect as the slimy, treacherous Martinidad governor. Yakima Canutt, Duke Taylor, Bud Wolfe, Jimmy Fawcett, Tom Steele, Johnny Daheim, Loren Riebe, Ken Terrell, and David Sharpe all put in appearances as henchmen as well as providing the wonderful stuntwork, as does Carey Loftin, who doubles Richmond in the motorcycle-riding scenes. Vinton Haworth, later the evil Carlos Galindo on Walt Disney’s Zorro TV show, appears as an honest camera store clerk, and Western fans should look for a very young Bob Wilke (HIGH NOON, LONE GUN, and many other first-class Westerns) as one of Admiral Corby’s men.

Mort Glickman provides a stirring score for SPY SMASHER, taking Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony as a central theme. In conclusion, I can only say that SPY SMASHER is certainly well-entitled to its popular position as the third greatest, second greatest, or just plain greatest ever made. It’s absolutely smashing!