The Masked Marvel (1943)

Director:

Spencer Gordon Bennet

Writers:

Royal K. Cole (original screenplay) and
Ronald Davidson (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 November 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

WHI IS THIS FEARLESS MAN WHO RISKS HIS LIFE AT EVERY TURN TO THWART JAP ATTEMPTS AT SABOTAGE? (original poster-all caps)

Plot:

A superhero called The Masked Marvel battles Japanese saboteurs intent on blowing up America.

Plot Keywords:

Saboteur | Japanese | Factory Worker | Cigarette Smoking | Diamond Theft

Cast

William Forrest	...	Martin Crane
Louise Currie	...	Alice Hamilton
Johnny Arthur	...	Mura Sakima
Rod Bacon	...	Jim Arnold
Richard Clarke	...	Frank Jeffers
Anthony Warde	...	'Killer' Mace
David Bacon	...	Bob Barton
Bill Healy	...	Terry Morton
Howard C. Hickman	...	Warren Hamilton (as Howard Hickman)
Kenneth Harlan	...	Gas Works Policeman [Ch. 1] / Police Car 7 Driver [Ch. 3]
Thomas Louden	...	Matthews - the Butler
Eddie Parker	...	Meggs
Duke Green	...	Carl - Delivery-Truck Thug [Ch. 1] / Spike - Gas works saboteur [Ch. 1] / Kaler - Roof-top thug [Ch. 8]
Dale Van Sickel	...	Tall Gas-Works Saboteur [Ch. 1] / Station-Wagon Thug [Ch. 3] / Super-X Warehouse Thug #1 [Ch. 8]
Wendell Niles	...	Newscaster [Ch. 1]

Also Known As:

Sakima and the Masked Marvel (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

197 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9451-9462) (12 Chapters) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: - 1) The Masked Crusader - 2) Death Takes the Helm - 3) Dive to Doom - 4) Suspense at Midnight - 5) Murder Meter - 6) Exit to Eternity - 7) Doorway to Destruction - 8) Destined to Die - 9) Danger Express - 10) Suicide Sacrifice - 11) The Fatal Mistake - 12) The Man Behind the Mask

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Near the end of the first chapter, the Masked Marvel falls off a large fuel storage tank onto a canvas-top truck parked on the ground below. The stunt is "performed" by a dummy, whose hand catches on a bracing girder along the side of the tank, ripping its entire arm out of its coat sleeve.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Sakima and the Masked Marvel (1966) (TV)

I'm back again with something to observe......

Previously, I noticed that many times they changed the ending and not too cleverly. In chapter 8 when the Marvel took the dive off the roof the action the next week was different and obviously sneaky, not a true cliffhanger! Oh yes, the agent who knifed the thug in bed after he identifies the Marvel was the Marvel technically. Tom Steele played the assassin and of course was killed again in the car crash. He is as you know the man behind the mask in all the action scenes. If you watch closely you can identify his stance, body language and physical running attitude. He was never mentioned in the credits at all. Most curious.