The Phantom Creeps (1939)

A military intelligence officer and a pretty reporter try to find a scientist whose inventions can destroy the world.

Directors:

Ford Beebe, Saul A. Goodkind

Writers:

Wyllis Cooper (story), George H. Plympton (screenplay),

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Robert Kent, Dorothy Arnold

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Alex Zorka / Dr. Zane
Robert Kent	...	Capt. Bob West
Dorothy Arnold	...	Jean Drew
Edwin Stanley	...	Dr. Fred Mallory
Regis Toomey	...	Lt. Jim Daly
Jack C. Smith	...	Monk
Edward Van Sloan	...	Jarvis - Spy Chief [Chs. 2-12]
Dora Clement	...	Ann Zorka [Chs. 1-2] (as Dora Clemant)
Anthony Averill	...	Rankin - Henchman [Chs. 2-12]
Hugh Huntley	...	Perkins - Mallory's Lab Assistant [Chs. 2-12]
Monte Vandergrift	...	Al - Guard [Ch. 5]
Frank Mayo	...	Train Engineer [Ch. 6]
Jim Farley	...	Skipper [Ch. 9] (as James Farley)
Eddie Acuff	...	Mac - AMI Agent [Chs. 2-12]
Reed Howes	...	Signalman [Ch. 10]

Storyline

"The Phantom Creeps" was Universal's 44th sound-era serial (between "The Oregon Trail" and "The Green Hornet") and was re-issued to theaters in 1949 by Commonwealth Pictures Corporation, a distribution set-up handling primarily Universal re-issues. Commonwealth had no hand at all in the production of this serial (as incorrectly shown on site) as they were a distribution company only. Some sources mistakenly identify them as the serial producer because all of the 1949 re-issue prints (and the 16mm prints sold to television circa 1952) show "Commonwealth Pictures Corp. Presents" above the title.There is a whole lot of difference between "presenting" and "producing", a fact that some sources appear to not know or don't care. The serial is of interest to some collectors as it re-unites Bela Lugosi and Edwin Stanley from 1931's "Dracula", and the crater-discovery of the meteorite fragment by Zorka in the serial is stock footage from Universal's 1936 "The Invisible Ray." The stock footage ...

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Plot Keywords:

serial | meteorite | spy | laboratory | reporter | 

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Taglines:

12 SPINE-SHIVERING ACTION THUNDERBOLTS! Sinister scientists...foreign spies...federal agents...and a pretty girl...crashing through amazing adventures!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Shadow Creeps

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

265 min 265 min (12 episodes) 78 min (edited feature film)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last of Bela Lugosi's five serials, shot April 24-early June 1939, after Lugosi returned from England, where he completed "The Dark Eyes of London."

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Goofs

During the car chase the reporter is shown driving on the right side of the car, although before and after the chase plus in overhead shots she is shown correctly on the left side.

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Quotes

[after surviving a car crash, Zorka notices the hitch hiker they picked up, who looks like him, is dead.]
Dr. Alex Zorka: How fortunate, this will simplify everything!

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Connections

Featured in Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (1997)

User Reviews

How fortunate! This will simplify everything!

As serials go, this really isn't bad. The plot, though goofy, at least makes sense and isn't repetitive (unlike the mind-bogglingly boring "Commando Cody" serial). By this time, poor Lugosi was already typecast, and he hams it on up screen but you never tire of his antics. The rest of the cast unfortunately is off the typical serial "bad-acting" crowd.

Are there any good prints out there of this? The version I saw was terrible and half the time it was too dark to make sense of what was going on.