The Flying Serpent (1946) User Reviews

Mad scientist hordes treasure, sics reptilian bird on enemies

[csteidler · 5/10 · 11 March 2012]

Archaeologist George Zucco has discovered an ancient Aztec treasure along with the mythical bird that guards it. He's mad, quite mad….He keeps the treasure hidden in a cave and visits it secretly.

Back in town, his step-daughter has noticed that he's been acting strangely—disappearing for days on end, talking about some great imminent discovery. She shares her concern with an ornithologist friend….who soon thereafter is found savagely murdered, his throat cut and all of the blood drained from his body. What is up? Did the ornithologist's death have anything to do with the mysterious feather that Zucco had dropped at his house?

Cut to New York: a radio station is sending (handsome young) mystery writer Dick Thorpe to New Mexico to investigate the strange crime and to broadcast daily reports from the field. As the plot thickens and bodies begin to pile up, Dick's daily remote broadcasts get better and better: "Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a murder at the studio. Professor Louis Havener was struck down by the feathered serpent as he stood at the window examining the feather we had just found....We'll be back on the air again tomorrow morning at the same time."

The radio writer and the step-daughter (Ralph Lewis and Hope Kramer – not household names for me, I'm afraid) eventually team up on the investigation; however, while the young couple are ostensibly the protagonists in the story, it is unquestionably Zucco who has the meaty role in the picture.

For example, why does he keep the treasure hidden? "Because it's mine. Mine, do you hear? All mine. I'm the richest man in the world!"

Oh, the bird is good, too. Special flying effects combined with a dramatic music score actually combine well enough to make the attack scenes just a bit spooky.

It's very silly, really not very good…but great fun nevertheless.

Good Fun!

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 13 January 2012]

One of my favorite Poverty Row movies. Yes, it's cheap. Yes it's corny. No, it's not a milestone in film achievement. What it is, though, is a camp classic featuring the always awesome George Zucco as an insane archaeologist using the Aztec bird-god Quetzalcoatl to kill his enemies. If that simple description doesn't pique your interest, then this isn't the movie for you. Of course the special effects are limited. It was a PRC movie shot on a shoestring budget. But if you can look past its limitations you will see that it's a good solid hour of fun. Recommended for all fans of George Zucco or 1940s horror movies in general.

Far-fetched but fairly enjoyable

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 6 November 2006]

If ever there was a far-fetched story, The Flying Serpent is it. The script-writer doesn't even bother to offer any logical explanations for the principal event, let alone gaping holes in the subsidiary story line. Even the size of the title serpent itself seems to vary considerably from that of a large parrot to a small orang-utang.

Admittedly, by the extremely humble standards of Producers Releasing Corp, production values are slightly above the usual level of extreme poverty. Director Sherman Scott (Newfield) does his best to whip up an occasional bit of interest in the lethargic proceedings and the players, led by the indomitable George Zucco, all struggle manfully to lend a bit of credibility to their roles (though often defeated by an over-talkative screenplay).

The ending is especially ridiculous as all the villain needed to do to ward off the killer serpent… well, I won't spoil the plot by telling you what a dope this guy actually turns out to be! Mind you, he has done plenty of stupid and illogical things already, so I suppose you could say he runs true to form right through to the end.

Entertaining hokum for those with a taste for the outrageous.

[youroldpaljim · 24 October 2001]

Of all the horror films cranked by the poverty row studio's in the 1940's, those made by PRC were the most outrageous. THE FLYING SERPENT is a case in point. George Zucco, who was always entertaining as the villain in these films, plays a mad archaeologist who discovers a hidden Aztec treasure and living Archaeopterx. Zucco is convinced the prehistoric bird he has found is the actual feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs. Zucco discovers the bird is very jealous of its feathers and will kill anyone who possess one and uses the bird to knock off his enemies.

A lot of people have mercilessly trashed this minor little thriller. I must confess, I have a lot of affection for it. Its actually very entertaining if viewed in the right frame of mind. Scenes of the big bird flying stiffly through the air and landing on the people, border on the surreal. George Zucco was always entertaining in these pictures and he is very entertaining here. I don't think one could say Zucco ever walked through a part.

For Zucco Completists Only

[ferbs54 · 3/10 · 23 October 2007]

George Zucco's archaeologist character has a major problem at the beginning of the 1946 cheapie "The Flying Serpent." He had recently discovered Montezuma's treasure horde in an Aztec cave in New Mexico, and now fears that the locals might start to get snoopy. Good thing he's also found Quetzalcoatl, the legendary Aztec serpent/bird god, and has learned that the creature will track down and kill whoever is in unwitting possession of one of its feathers. Thus, pretty soon, Zucco is planting Q plumage left and right, sitting back and enjoying the carnage... Anyway, this 57-minute film is minimally fun, and Zucco is always interesting to watch, but the picture is unfortunately done in by supercheap production values, a tediously talkative screenplay, occasional goofball humor, and the simple fact that we never get a solid, steady look at Quetzalcoatl itself. Worse, the film's resolution is asinine and inane, with Zucco behaving uncharacteristically stupid and contrary to common sense. Matters aren't helped by the badly damaged film print offered to us on the Image DVD that I just watched, with problematic sound, to boot. Many other viewers have noted the similarity between this picture and another PRC effort, "The Devil Bat," a Bela Lugosi vehicle released five years earlier. In that film, Bela had lured his flying killer to the intended victim by using a special shaving lotion; here, those darn feathers have been substituted. Bottom line: I would have to say that "The Flying Serpent" is a movie for George Zucco completists only, if such an animal exists. Other viewers who are interested in a film featuring the feathered serpent god alive and well in the 20th century would probably be better advised to seek out Larry Cohen's 1982 film "Q."

Who's Got the Feather?

[Hitchcoc · 5/10 · 22 June 2015]

George Zucco made numerous small budget horror movies. In this one he is an archaeologist who has found Montezuma's treasure (billions of dollars), but he becomes paranoid and enlists the help of a supposedly mythical bird/reptile to kill the people who may get in his way. With a little bit effort, he could have protected this treasure. After all, no one knows about it. So he finds Quetzacotl, the plumed serpent and keeps him locked up in a cage in a mountain cave. We aren't privy as to how he got hold of this thing. Feathers belonging to old "Q" cause him to root out the poor victims. Eventually, George becomes so arrogant that he tips the apple cart.

Oh, one question. Why does the hero of the story feel the need to bring along a nitwit friend to assist him. Just saying.

Bloodthirsty ancient chicken-bird attacks!

[Eegah Guy · 4/10 · 29 March 2001]

What's the only reason to watch this besides George Zucco's scenery chewing? Why it's watching a pathetic feathery prop on a string cause fear and death in its search all of its feathers. Basically this is a loose remake of DEVIL BAT with Zucco replacing Bela Lugosi as the madman.

The Flying Serpent

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 16 July 2008]

The diabolical Professor Andrew Forbes(George Zucco)holds possession over an ancient Aztec feathered flying serpent, Quetzacoatal, and Montezuma's treasure it was assigned to protect, imprisoning the beast in a cell within a hidden cavernous lair. Forbes plucks a feather from the serpent, using it to lure the beast towards victims. Anyone who threatens to expose his secret(..possession of the treasure and the serpent)are targeted. The serpent is a half-bird/half-reptile which feeds on blood..it severs the jugular vein of victims, draining their bodies of blood. A popular mystery writer, Richard Thorpe(Ralph Lewis), is hired by a radio station to solve the mysterious case of a murdered ornithologist who posed a threat towards discovering Forbes' secret. Forbes learned about how his bird follows the "scent" of his removed feathers when Quetzalcoatal murdered his wife. His step-daughter, Mary(the cute Hope Kramer)begins to question pop's odd behavior and temperament possibly endangering herself. It doesn't help that Mary and Richard begin a courtship as he sets his sights on catching her step-dad in his fiendish acts. After a successful series of murders, it's only a matter of time before Forbes leaves a trail Richard will sniff out.

Poverty row no-budgeter benefits from Zucco's sinister villain..he's quite hissable. I was hoping for stop-motion effects being a fan, but the Quetzalcoatal is mostly an embarrassing puppet. The film itself is rather talky, unatmospheric and feels a lot longer than it is. Probably for Zucco completists more than the average horror fan unless you like these little schlocky B-movies with failed attempts at slap-sticky physical humor. It'd probably help if the monstrous bird didn't look so damn silly and unconvincing(..although this might appeal to fans of cheese).

The Flying Serpent (1946) *1/2

[JoeKarlosi · 4/10 · 18 October 2006]

This cheapie PRC production is pretty much a re-working of the same studio's 1941 THE DEVIL BAT, only it's got George Zucco and a killer bird instead of Bela Lugosi and his lethal monster bat. Zucco is a professor who's discovered Montezuma's treasure and aims to protect it for himself by unleashing the mythological half-reptile "Quetzalcoatl" (it's funny hearing Zucco personally addressing his flying feathered serpent as such) to dispatch his enemies. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near as much fun as its predecessor. Still, there are some pretty neat attack scenes of the soaring creature flapping through the air to latch onto its victims' throats. *1/2 out of ****

"One can't chase birds and women at the same time, you know."

[Bernie4444 · 6/10 · 4 March 2024]

If the film looks familiar it is a rehash of The Devil Bat (1940), which had been one of Producers Releasing Corporation's (PRC) biggest successes.

Unlike many monster movies where you have to wait for two thirds the way through just hoping to see a shadow or hear a woman scream as the cat jumps off the refrigerator, this jewel lets you see the bad guy and gold right up front.

A professor discovers Aztec gold and feathers his nest.

As usual, no serpent, flying, or otherwise can upstage George Zucco.

The film is a tad dark and seems to be of a much earlier filming era.

Filmed in a popular location known as Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park.

How does this film manage to have a 5.0 on IMDb?!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 20 June 2010]

This is a completely craptastic film with absolutely nothing going for it. Yet, oddly it has an overall score of 5.0 on IMDb currently--and I just can't see why. After all, the film is made by PRC--perhaps the worst of the Poverty Row film studios. And, on top of that, it has perhaps the dumbest plot of any of their films--and that's saying a lot!! A maniac (are there any other types in these films playing lead?!) has discovered a creature--a flying serpent who was apparently THE Quetzelcoatl from Aztec mythology. However, unlike THE Quetzelcoatl of the Aztec tales who was able to devour planets, this flying serpent is more like the size of a flying Dalmatian. How a flying reptile the size of a medium-sized dog is scary is anyone's guess. And, while I think about it, having it take off and land like a motorized plane AND seeing the wires suspending it is amazingly dumb--even for a 4th rate production! Being a maniac, George Zucco is intent on using the beast to both kill off his enemies as well as protect the area in which the treasure of Monteczuma is supposedly buried. Eventually, though, a wise-guy radio announcer puts two and two together and is able to turn the tables on Zucco--leading to a silly and happy conclusion--happy because it puts this dopey movie to the test.

Overall, even for Zucco completists, this will be a very tough film to take. It has absolutely nothing going for it--a dumb script, bad acting and a rehashed plot that manages to make the worst of "The Bat"--the film which has been reworked into this mess. Its only value is as kitsch--a film so bad that it's good for a laugh.

Quetzalcoatl is coming to get you

[chris_gaskin123 · 8/10 · 6 March 2006]

I'd been after The Flying Serpent for some time and finally obtained it at the beginning of this year (2006) when a mate ordered it for me from Amazon. Despite reading some bad reviews, I quite enjoyed it.

A mad Professor, Andrew Forbes discovers a living example of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec flying reptile/bird god. He then gets feathers off it and gives them to people he doesn't like and sends the creature to these people and it kills them. Police are baffled by these deaths and towards the end, Forbes ends up with a feather himself...

A rather unconvincing model on strings was used for Quetzalcoatl and you can see these at times.

The cast is lead by B-horror regular George Zucco (Fog Island, Scared To Death) as Forbes. I've haven't heard of anybody else in this.

The Flying Serpent is a good way to spend an hour. Very enjoyable.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

The effects were better than I anticipated

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 1 April 2022]

The Flying Serpent (1946) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows an archeologist who finds a rare feather and decides to keep it for research. Little does he know keeping the feather will anger it's owner and cause it to go on a killing spree. Can the archeologist close Pandora's box now that it's open?

This movie is directed by Sam Newfield (Adventure Island) and stars George Zucco (The Cat and the Canary), Eddie Acuff (They Won't Forget), Henry Hall (Voodoo Man) and Milton Kibbee (The Mad Doctor of Market Street).

The storyline for this picture is very straight forward but the effects were better than I anticipated. There's a good use of claymation in this that's fun and the attack scenes were really good. They did a good job of making the look and feel of a animal attacking a human look natural. The serpent had a good flying dragon look to it.

Overall this was more entertaining than I anticipated. I would score this a 5.5-6/10 and recommend watching it once.

Nobody gets Zucco's treasure while he's got Quetzacoatl doing hits

[bkoganbing · 2/10 · 19 February 2012]

George Zucco who occasionally appeared in some A films, spent most of his career in B films and even lesser C to Z films lending his British accent and stage training to some god awful messes. Zucco should get an award from somebody for actually trying to give a convincing performance in a film he had to know was terrible. He was a professional if nothing else.

The Flying Serpent is a missing link between a bird and reptile, it's got colorful flamingo like plumage on a big lizard body and wings. It's also got a taste for blood and woe betide anyone who grabs one of his feathers for a souvenir. It also likes blood of all kinds and the ancient Aztecs worshiped this guy and called him Quetzacoatl. There were more of them I presume back then.

Zucco's caught one of the survivors and never mind it's murdered his wife which may have unhinged him. Zucco is an archaeologist who has discovered Montezuma's treasure and uses the creature to guard it. But a series of murders have brought a nationally syndicated radio mystery show to the New Mexico location of the crime.

Of course Zucco keeps on planting feathers on victims even after the radio show relocates to New Mexico for broadcasts. But remember he's a mad scientist. And when his stepdaughter Hope Kramer starts falling for the radio show broadcaster Ralph Lewis that puts Zucco over the edge totally.

Given all of what I told you, the climax of The Flying Serpent is unbelievably stupid. But I guess you needed a dumb finish for a dumb movie.

On a camp level this awful film is a real hoot.

Devil Bat remake

[scottmar · 10 November 2001]

All the elements from the Devil Bat are here. Madman using flying creature to knock people off. The reporter and his comic sidekick. I do think the flying creature is a step up from the flying bat of Devil Bat. Somebody said the strings were obvious in every shot. He must have been watching a different movie. SPOILER ALERT: One flaw I see in this movie is having a feather attract the serpent rather than the cologne of Devil Bat. Why wouldn't Zucco drop the feather while running away? Bela couldn't do anything about getting the cologne off, but Zucco could have just dropped that stupid feather.

Beyond Silly

[mandagrammy · 2/10 · 21 June 2020]

This has got to be one of the silliest 'horrible creature' films that I've ever watched. The plot holes are beyond huge and the acting is sad. Then again, there is no doubt that the budget for this B film was bargain basement, so it isn't fair to expect much more. Thankfully the film is very short.

George Zucco's PRC farewell

[kevinolzak · 4/10 · 26 June 2022]

1945's "The Flying Serpent" brought George Zucco's five picture reign at PRC to a close with its completion in August of that year (held back for release for several months), inspiration running dry as it turned out to be a thinly disguised remake of the company's horror debut, Bela Lugosi's "The Devil Bat" in 1940 (both sharing the same writer, John Thomas Neville). Bela's portrayal of Dr. Paul Carruthers was an absolute joy, delivering seemingly innocuous lines with sardonic aplomb to let the audience in on the joke, while Zucco as Professor Andrew Forbes is a decidedly antisocial sourpuss saddled with a daughter that Lugosi never had (perhaps paving the way for PRC's final horror outing, the outrageous sequel "Devil Bat's Daughter"). Quetzacoatl is the name of this 'feathered serpent,' half bird, half reptile, the legendary Aztec god tasked with guarding the hidden treasure of Montezuma, discovered by Zucco's Forbes some five years earlier, learning of the creature's penchant for swooping down on its victims (attracted by the scent of its own feathers) to tear out their throats and consume their blood because his own wife became its initial target. Greedily coveting the treasure for himself, the nutty professor sics the monster on anyone who gets in his way by planting a single feather on his enemies, who must rank in the dozens considering how many feathers the poor beast must retrieve! The flying effects are actually superior to its predecessor, and Quetzacoatl has a fearsome look that adds some weight to the attacks (actually clamping down on sheriff Henry Hall's neck), imprisoned within the cave beside Montezuma's treasure and only set free as an instrument of murder. Zucco's performance is intensely similar to that in "The Mad Monster," a thoroughly disagreeable fellow whose every action calls attention to the hidden location, seemingly oblivious to losing his wife, then deciding to off his daughter as well. Not as much fun as "The Devil Bat" but a more unique monster for Poverty Row, making up for the dull stretches involving the radio station's investigation.

Where did P.R.C. put the batteries?

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 7 August 2015]

Remember "The Giant Claw", that radio active turkey from that turkey of a late 1950's science fiction movie camp classic? Well, check out "The Flying Serpent" which seems to be its much smaller cousin, equally ugly and equally dangerous, taking over where "The Devil Bat" left off only five years before this. In that P.R.C. classic (of which this is a re-write of), Bela Lugosi made giant bats which attacked at his will, and now we've got archaeologist George Zucco doing the same thing with the guard of ancient Aztec pyramids to get rid of his enemies. Zucco's own wife was killed by the same creature so rather than destroy it, he turns it into his own evil tool of destruction. The creature, looking like a blood-sucking flamingo (the ugly one), seems to be operated by either remote control or batteries, and when it takes off to make its first attack, it is flying so ridiculously slowly that it doesn't even appear to be really flying. P.R.C. put some thought into creating the sets, but as far as the plot or script was concerned, very little went into this. The same year, they had an unfortunately unnecessary sequel to "The Devil Bat", so this one goes hand in hand in being genuinely bad. Fortunately, there are unintentional laughs here; What happened in "Devil Bat's Daughter" just left it a tiresome bore.

Quite laughable

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 10 August 2016]

I've heard of Larry Cohen's Q, THE WINGED SERPENT, but I never realised that there was a 1940s B-movie horror film also detailing the Mexican creation of Quetzalcoatl, the bird god. Sadly, THE FLYING SERPENT isn't up to much as a movie, being far too cheap and rubbishy to be successful, although B-movie lovers might get a chuckle or two from the execution.

THE FLYING SERPENT was put out by a poverty row studio and it shows: grainy film stock, just a couple of locations and sets, and generally wooden acting from the unfamiliar cast members. The plot is a rehash of one of those Bela Lugosi movies where he played a mad scientist sending out a bat or an ape to commit murder, with Quetzalcoatl itself replacing the monster. The special effects are laughably cheesy, looking like a miniature version of THE GIANT CLAW (remember him?).

The stand-in for Lugosi is British bad guy George Zucco, who'd appeared in some of the Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies as well as lots of other B-movie fare. He's not bad value, but this film is far too poor to succeed even in a minor way. Unless you're a fan of rubbery monsters and a complete lack of excitement, suspense, and danger, that is.

Birds of a feather

[kapelusznik18 · 4/10 · 29 May 2014]

***SPOILERS*** Taking the storyline from the far better and camper movie "The Devil Bat" the movie "the Flying Serpent" doesn't anywhere measure up to it with a tired looking George Zucco playing the part of crazed archaeologist Prof. Andrew Forbes who's sitting on a pot of gold, Montazuma's Treasure, and will kill anyone who threatens to uncover it. Unlike in "The Devil Bat" where mad chemist Bela Lugosi used a bat to do his dirty work Forbes uses this turkey looking Aztec serpent named Quetzalcoatt or "Q' for short to do anyone in that he doesn't like.

Using one of the bird's feathers to plant on his victims Forbes get the bird to attack and both kill and drain them, by sucking them bone dry, of their blood supply. It's mystery writer and radio host Richard Thorpe, Ralph Lewis, who's sent to solve a number of the blood sucking murders in San Juan New Mexico who falls in love with Forbes step daughter Mary, Hope Kramer, who's mother was also a victim in fact the very first of the killer bird. It soon becomes apparent to Thrope that Forbes, who hates his guts, is behind this string of murders in and around San Juan. That's by Forbes always being on the murder scenes right after they happen as well as finding one of the bird's feathers or calling cards, that Forbes planted on them, near it's victims bodies.

***SPOILERS*** Finding the place where Forbes keeps the killer bird caged Thorpe plans to do a broadcast from it and expose Forbes as the man behind the mysterious killings in the area. Forbes who has developed a strong dislike of his step-daughter Mary in her sticking her nose in his business with the bird and also in danger of exposing his hidden treasure to the world. Forbes now also plans to have the bird murder her as well as the pesky Thrope in order to shut them up.The by now quickly losing it Forbes in order to keep his secret, Montezuma Treasure, and his responsibly for the bird murders plans to murder both Thrope and Lewis to keep his secret hidden by using the bird to do it. Predictable ending that's a carbon copy of the movie "The Devil Bat" where the crazed and murderous Prof. Forbes ends up getting the bird and Thorpe the girl as well as the big scoop behind the bird murders.

THE FLYING SERPENT (Sam Newfield, 1946) **

[Bunuel1976 · 4/10 · 12 October 2011]

This very minor PRC horror film (which the prolific director actually signed under the alias Sherman Scott!) was basically a variation on an earlier popular effort from the same company i.e. the average Bela Lugosi vehicle THE DEVIL BAT (1941), replacing the star with George Zucco and its monster with Quetzalcoatl, the titular Aztec legend (though retaining its blood-draining habits and, hilariously, miniscule size!) that would also be featured in Larry Cohen's much superior Q – THE WINGED SERPENT (1982). Indeed, the bird/reptile hybrid is never shown in detail: it is either conveniently hidden inside the darkness of a cave or otherwise taking to the air to hunt its prey. The latter, then, is another fount of amusement as Zucco has to pluck out one of its feathers and plant it on the person of his next chosen victim (curiously enough, the method is not too dissimilar from that in Jacques Tourneur's marvelous NIGHT OF THE DEMON {1957}) in order to get it to do his bidding and, needless to say, the monster does not take kindly to having its priceless plumage snipped!

Anyway, Zucco is the usual wild-eyed Professor with a passion for something or other (in this case, archeology, which has led him to Montezuma's treasure) and a grudge against most anyone (beginning with an ornithologist whose writings about both Quetzalcoatl and the fabled fortune are likely to attract curious/greedy outsiders thus interfering with the villain's plans) The irony is that, with the mysterious murder – which soon multiply, as more and more people 'get on his back' – a radio personality/mystery writer by the name of Richard Thorpe(!) turns up to 'broadcast' the investigations, with even one of the deaths occurring 'on air'!

As always, Zucco's female ward (in this case, his stepdaughter – there is, in fact, a whole 'nother puzzle surrounding her mother's death, at the hands of Quetzalcoatl itself, but which is never properly unraveled) falls for the intrepid hero and, in the end, the misguided Professor succumbs to the very creature he had unleashed (albeit unconvincingly since, for no obvious reason other than as a plot contrivance, he flees the scene upon being exposed carrying one of the proverbial feathers in his hand!), which is then dispatched (via nothing more remarkable than normal bullets) by Thorpe. Regrettable comic relief is provided by the radio guy's engineer partner and their flustered Head Of Programs, who keeps moaning about why nobody is more concerned with Montezuma's wealth and calculating how big his own cut will be!

Ultimately, while this is certainly nothing to write home about, at least it is not as embarrassingly goofy as the somewhat similar Sam Katzman-produced cheapie THE GIANT CLAW (1957)

A hoot (get it) of a horror, monster movie.

[warlorde · 10/10 · 24 April 2003]

I remember this movie from when I was a kid, and enjoyed it immensely. George Zucco was superb as ever as the villain, and even though the monster was less then convincing it still creeped me out, because everytime I went outside I'd look up in the sky just in case it wanted to swoop down on me. So if your looking for simple entertainment check out this movie.

10 out of 10. Viva el monstro bird!

Derivate and very light, but passively/passably enjoyable

[I_Ailurophile · 5/10 · 29 September 2023]

While there were certainly exceptions, cinema in the 1940s wasn't exactly known for its horror. Not least following the introduction of the Hays Code, discrete visualization of genre elements was commonly reduced to a small corner of any picture, with a very light tone characterizing all too many. Factor in substantial dialogue that spoke of events and violence instead of scenes that showed them, and the lasting value that titles of the era can claim for modern viewers is generally fairly little. In the case of 'The flying serpent,' consider as well that despite whatever we might imagine to follow from the premise (something more closely related to Larry Cohen's 1982 film 'Q: The flying serprent,' perhaps, or 1957's 'The giant claw'), the story that writer John T. Neville devised actually borrows very heavily from 1940 Bela Lugosi film 'The devil bat.' Suffice to say that by the time only part of the runtime has elapsed great doubts are surely cast in one's mind, and this 1946 feature treads on thin ice.

In fairness, "Quetzalcoatl" looks decent enough, if nothing special. The production values here aren't the top of the line among contemporary fare, but they're not bottom dollar, either. The art direction is pretty swell, and the costume design, hair, and makeup are nice. The cast give earnest performances. One would prefer more originality, but in and of themselves the root ideas of the story are suitably enjoyable. Then again, the movie requires viewers to take a significant amount at face value, for the storytelling rather falls apart in the details. We go from a prologue establishing ancient lore, to a modern day setting in which an Aztec god is manipulated by men; it's unclear to me why Dr. Forbes would be called before the grand jury, let alone his daughter. And so on, and so on, as the narrative involves a lot of Just So story beats and plot development. 'The flying serpent at least carries itself more sincerely than some of its kin, with a more appropriate tone, but that only gets one so far.

I don't think this is bad. It's just not particularly remarkable, and strictly speaking the writing is notably stronger in that horror flick from which it lifts key ideas. It comes of better than some other 40s horror in some important ways, but still shares much in common with its brethren, and it doesn't bear enough especial strength to stand out in a crowd. All the right parts are here, and there's simply too little vitality to make much of an impression. Still, for better or worse 'The flying serpent' is effectively par for the course when it comes to genre pieces of the timeframe; you could do better, but for something very light, it's decent enough for an hour on a lazy afternoon. By no means should anyone go out of their way for this, but if you do come across it, leave it for an occasion when you want to "watch" something without any need to actively engage with it, and maybe that's the best way to appreciate it.

Zucco + Newfield + PRC = Dud

[BrianG · 28 January 2000]

PRC Pictures, the cheapest of the B studios in the '30s and '40s, specialized in "horror" movies, few of which were "horrible" and most of which were barely movies. British actor George Zucco starred in many of them, and Sam Newfield--the brother of PRC president Sigmund Neufeld--directed many of them; neither Zucco nor Newfield had reason to be proud of any of them. The one thing they all had in common was shoddy production, technical ineptness and fifth-rate storytelling. This one is no different. The "story" concerns a mad doctor who has captured Quetzlcoatl, a mythical Mexican bird god of death, and uses it to kill his enemies. The bird model is laughable, with the strings used to move it clearly visible in almost every shot. Flubbed lines, pauses where actors forgot their lines for a second are all left in; in fact, there is one scene where the camera follows someone walking down a city street, and as the person walks by a plate glass store window, the reflection of the entire crew is clearly visible! Director Larry Cohen used the basic idea for his film "Q" in the 1980s, but with far better results. The fact that Cohen remade the film is astounding enough; the realization that he actually must have sat through to the end of this movie in order to do so is absolutely mind-boggling.

Mercifully short.

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 11 November 2017]

George Zucco plays archaeologist Prof. Andrew Forbes, who has discovered the treasure of Montezuma in the sleepy town of San Juan, New Mexico. Keen to keep his horde a secret, Forbes has been sending an ancient half-lizard/half-bird creature, the Quetzalcoatl of ancient legend, to kill anyone who gets in the way. According to the daft plot, the serpent is particularly proud of its plumage, and will suck the blood from anyone who is in possession of one of its feathers, making it a cinch for Forbes to pick off his victims.

Hero of the piece is radio mystery writer Richard Thorpe (Ralph Lewis), who tries to solve the case, broadcasting his progress over the airwaves; damsel in distress and token eye candy is Forbes' step-daughter Mary (Hope Kramer), who is oblivious to the archaeologist's nefarious deeds.

Even by 'poverty row' standards, The Flying Serpent is cheap—a shoddy and wholly unoriginal piece of nonsense, ostensibly a loose remake of the Bela Lugosi flick The Devil Bat (1940). While there is a little fun to be had from the grade-z special effects (the serpent being a disappointingly small model flapping in an unlifelike manner as it scoots along a wire), the film is, for the most part, instantly forgettable, with lots of dreary waffle between the lamentable monster moments. Thank heavens that it clocks in at under an hour.