Spy Smasher (1942)

Alan Armstrong, aka Spy Smasher, battles a Nazi villain known as The Mask, who heads a gang of saboteurs determined to spread destruction across America.

Director:

William Witney

Writers:

Ronald Davidson (original screenplay), Norman S. Hall (original screenplay),

Stars:

Kane Richmond, Marguerite Chapman, Sam Flint

Cast

Cast overview:
Kane Richmond	...	Alan Armstrong (Spy Smasher) / Jack Armstrong
Marguerite Chapman	...	Eve Corby
Sam Flint	...	Adm. Corby
Hans Schumm	...	The Mask
Tristram Coffin	...	Drake (as Tris Coffin)
Franco Corsaro	...	Capt. Pierre Durand [Chs. 1-4]
Hans von Morhart	...	Capt. Gerhardt [Chs. 1, 8, 12]
Georges Renavent	...	Gov. LeComte [Ch. 3]
Rudolph Anders	...	Dungeon Col. Von Kohr [Ch. 1] (as Robert O. Davis)
Henry Zynda	...	Lazar [Ch. 1]
Paul Bryar	...	Lawlor
Tom London	...	Crane
Richard Bond	...	Henchman Hayes
Crane Whitley	...	Hauser
John James	...	Henchman Steve

Storyline

Alan Armstrong, aka Spy Smasher, battles a Nazi villain known as The Mask, who heads a gang of saboteurs determined to spread destruction across America.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | railroad hand car | mock execution | superhero | interrupted hanging | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

El terror de los espías

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$156,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

215 min 215 min (12 chapters)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Mask, the villain of this serial, was the longest-running foe of Spy Smasher. Unfortunately, by the time the serial was made, the Mask was already dead - he had been strangled to death by Spy Smasher after he had exposed him to his "brainograph" machine and ordered Spy Smasher to "Kill!"

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Quotes

[Spy Smasher has rescued Jack Armstrong from a Nazi spy]
Jack Armstrong: I'm mighty grateful.
Spy Smasher: That's all right. Jack.
Jack Armstrong: You know who I am?
Spy Smasher: I should. I'm your twin brother.
[Spy Smasher shows Jack his ring, which matches the wing Jack is wearing, and Jack suddenly recognizes Spy Smasher's identity]
Jack Armstrong: Alan! But I thought you were killed in that plane crash in France last year.
Spy Smasher: So did everyone, including the news agency I reported for. That's why I became Spy Smasher, to fight the Nazis on their own ground. Now it's ...

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Connections

Edited into J-Men Forever (1979)

User Reviews

terrible but fun,...

This movie earns its 3 for lousy writing, poor technical merit and continuity problems. Some people have given this movie a 10--and perhaps that is okay if you are simply scoring it for its fun factor. However, technically this is an inept movie serial from start to finish--produced by 3rd-rate writers, actors and crew. That really was true of nearly all the serials because they were meant as low-brow entertainment particularly aimed at the kids. And there's nothing wrong with that, but "high art" it ain't!! Spy Smasher earns a lower than average score compared to other serials because it is of even lower quality and has MAJOR continuity problems--even for a serial. It was common for a serial to have a "cliff hanger"--i.e., a moment at the end of the episode that looked as if the good guy dies but miraculously survives when the next episode began. BUT, in this film, it's much hokier and ridiculous. You would literally SEE the hero die in the last episode, but in the next, they re-shot the scene and showed he actually DIDN'T die (even though they clearly showed him buy the farm in the last one)! Again and again in SPY SMASHER he seems to die but in the next episode they show it from a different angle and he somehow avoided death--even if he fell 1500 feet into a river, fell into a buzz saw or whatever.

Watch this movie not for its quality but either for a good laugh or to learn what it was like to go to the movies on Saturday mornings decades ago.

By the way, a heavily edited version of this film was released in 1966 as a full-length film. Almost 2/3 of the original film was tossed but the new product did make more sense and lacked the impossible escapes that made the original laughable at times. Well worth seeing if you don't want to devote 3 1/2 hours to seeing the entire serial.