Desert Command (1946), a feature version of a early John Wayne serial, was one of Republic's attempts to cash in on the box office appeal of one of their stars. In 1933, John Wayne, a struggling B actor, was working in serials for Mascot Pictures, the forerunner to Republic. The Three Musketeers was an updated version of Dumas' adventure classic using Foreign Legionnaires instead of royal swordsmen. The serial was the third of three chapter-plays Wayne made at this time. In 1946, he had become a major star, producing his own films at Republic. Desert Command was designed to play the bottom half of a double bill at second run theaters at a Saturday matinée, where a Roy Rogers or Gene Autry film might be the main feature. Autry had also appeared in a sci-fi western serial for Mascot, "Phantom Empire" which was re-edited into a 1940 feature, "Men With Steel Faces." Other Republic serials re-edited as features included "Hi-Yo Silver" (The Lone Ranger, 1938), Lost Planet Airmen (King of the Rocketmen, 1949), and Zorro Rides Again (same title as 1937 serial). In 1966, to cash in on the Batman "camp" craze, Republic re-released several of their serials as features under different titles for television in the "Century 66" package.
Review of Desert Command
