The Phantom Empire (1935)

Directors:

Otto Brower
B. Reeves Eason

Writers:

Wallace MacDonald (story) &
Gerald Geraghty (story) ...

Release Date:

23 February 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Sci-Fi | Western | Family

Tagline:

A Nation 20,000 Feet Underground

Plot:

When the ancient continent of Mu sank beneath the ocean, some of its inhabitant survived in caverns beneath the sea...

Plot Keywords:

Ranch | Radium | Death Ray | Contract | Radio Show

Cast

Gene Autry	...	Gene Autry
Frankie Darro	...	Frankie Baxter
Betsy King Ross	...	Betsy Baxter
Dorothy Christy	...	Queen Tika
Wheeler Oakman	...	Lord Argo
Charles K. French	...	Mal
Warner Richmond	...	Rab
J. Frank Glendon	...	Professor Beetson (as Frank Glendon)
Smiley Burnette	...	Oscar (as Lester 'Smiley' Burnett)
Peter Potter	...	Pete (as William Moore)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Cooper (as Edward Piel, Sr.)
Jack Carlyle	...	Saunders

Also Known As:

Gene Autry and the Phantom Empire

Runtime:

245 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Ranch, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Mascot Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: - 1. The Singing Cowboy - 2. The Thunder Riders - 3. The Lightning Chamber - 4. Phantom Broadcast - 5. Beneath the Earth - 6. Disaster From the Skies - 7. From Death to Life - 8. Jaws of Jeopardy - 9. Prisoners of the Ray - 10.The Rebellion - 11.A Queen in Chains - 12.The End of Murania

Quotes:

Queen Tika: Gene Autry! How do you like our world?
Gene Autry: I think the dampness and dead air of your land is more suited for rats and moles.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gene Autry: White Hat, Silver Screen (2007) (TV)

A most unique combination of SciFi and the Cowboy Musical

I first saw Phantom Empire back in the 1970s when it was included in a local museum series of vintage films. I was totally enthralled by it and the incredible underground world below Gene Autry's "Radio Ranch". (The ranch was the site of weekly broadcasts of great oldtime cowboy music.) I'm more a fan of old cowboy movies than I am of science fiction, but I was really taken by the sci-fi set, with wacky multi-story elevators, ray guns, and metal robots. I was particularly smitten by the beautiful but evil Queen Tika, ruler of Murania, who had a magical spinning circle on the floor which she would visit and ask to show her anything she wished. The wheel would spin, complete with a spiraling graphic, which then turned into a real-time view of -- Gene Autry, of course, and his whereabouts, providing the Muranians the opportunity to capture him. (Seeing the spinning circle reminded me that as a six year old, I conjured up similar powers from spinning circle, and had forgotten all about it. Since then, my alter ego is. . Queen Tika!) I recommend the Phantom Empire series as an experience in true, though "kitschy", entertainment! Sincerely yours, Queen Tika