My experience of "The Phantom Empire" comes from the two hour movie pieced together from the twelve chapter serial, so admittedly, there is much I didn't get to see. To say that the film is unique is an understatement; where else do you have a Western blending with sci-fi and dating back to 1935?
Gene Autry stars in one of his earliest films, hosting a daily broadcast adventure with his Radio Riders. He's also assisted by Frankie and Betsy Baxter (Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross), who are the young leaders of the National Thunder Riders Association. The group is fashioned along the lines of the Boy Scouts, taking their name from the thundering sound of horses ridden by an underground race called the Muranians. Viewers are also treated to an early pairing of Gene with a very young Smiley Burnette, though his screen time is limited as one of Gene's Radio Ranch singers.
As typical with "B" Westerns and serials of the era, the emphasis is on action and danger, here provided by unscrupulous men who invade Gene's ranch because of radium discovered there. Meanwhile underground, the action on the ranch is monitored by Queen Tika of the Muranians (Dorothy Christy), who must protect her stronghold from the people of the surface world, while at the same time fending off a revolutionary advance by one of her ministers, High Chancellor Argo (Wheeler Oakman).
Science fiction tangles with science fact at all levels here, and it's a hoot trying to make sense of it. For example, the elevator that transports the Muranians back and forth travels a distance of 25,000 feet in about three seconds, that translates to about 6,000 miles per hour! However there's one very interesting statement made by Queen Tika that proves to be entirely prophetic - "Get the captain of the Thunder Riders on the wireless cell phone!"
Before it's all over, Gene escapes from such terrors as the D-Ray Lithium Gun and the Chamber of Death, while impersonating a Muranian himself along the way. He obviously takes his role seriously, pay attention to an early scene when he's shot off his horse; he hangs on to his hat while tumbling all the way down a hillside.
If you don't have the patience for the five hour serial, the recently made available DVD from Digiviews offers a reasonable alternative, though purists may not think so. However the gist of the Phantom Empire experience is presented well enough here with acceptable quality, and enough songs by Gene Autry to make your viewing time worthwhile.
Gene Autry stars in one of his earliest films, hosting a daily broadcast adventure with his Radio Riders. He's also assisted by Frankie and Betsy Baxter (Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross), who are the young leaders of the National Thunder Riders Association. The group is fashioned along the lines of the Boy Scouts, taking their name from the thundering sound of horses ridden by an underground race called the Muranians. Viewers are also treated to an early pairing of Gene with a very young Smiley Burnette, though his screen time is limited as one of Gene's Radio Ranch singers.
As typical with "B" Westerns and serials of the era, the emphasis is on action and danger, here provided by unscrupulous men who invade Gene's ranch because of radium discovered there. Meanwhile underground, the action on the ranch is monitored by Queen Tika of the Muranians (Dorothy Christy), who must protect her stronghold from the people of the surface world, while at the same time fending off a revolutionary advance by one of her ministers, High Chancellor Argo (Wheeler Oakman).
Science fiction tangles with science fact at all levels here, and it's a hoot trying to make sense of it. For example, the elevator that transports the Muranians back and forth travels a distance of 25,000 feet in about three seconds, that translates to about 6,000 miles per hour! However there's one very interesting statement made by Queen Tika that proves to be entirely prophetic - "Get the captain of the Thunder Riders on the wireless cell phone!"
Before it's all over, Gene escapes from such terrors as the D-Ray Lithium Gun and the Chamber of Death, while impersonating a Muranian himself along the way. He obviously takes his role seriously, pay attention to an early scene when he's shot off his horse; he hangs on to his hat while tumbling all the way down a hillside.
If you don't have the patience for the five hour serial, the recently made available DVD from Digiviews offers a reasonable alternative, though purists may not think so. However the gist of the Phantom Empire experience is presented well enough here with acceptable quality, and enough songs by Gene Autry to make your viewing time worthwhile.