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:

George H. Plympton (screenplay) (as George Plympton), Basil Dickey (screenplay)

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Robert Kent, Dorothy Arnold

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Alex Zorka
Robert Kent	...	Capt. Bob West
Dorothy Arnold	...	Jean Drew
Edwin Stanley	...	Dr. Fred Mallory
Regis Toomey	...	Jim Daly
Jack C. Smith	...	Monk
Edward Van Sloan	...	Jarvis [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 | explosion | 

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Taglines:

A BLAZE OF DYNAMITE ACTION! Crashing...smashing...dashing through 12 spine-shivering chapters!

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Shadow Creeps

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

This was released less than one week before Bela Lugosi's "come back vehicle," Son of Frankenstein, in which Lugosi first played the monster's broken-necked BFF, Ygor. Phantom Creeps opened January 7 and Son of Frankenstein debuted Friday, January 13, both in 1939.

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Goofs

Anthony Averill and his two co-henchmen wear heavy mustaches that appear and disappear from one chapter to another, and even from one scene to another in the same chapter, #7, for example.

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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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Alternate Versions

This serial was edited down to a feature film running 78 minutes and also titled "The Phantom Creeps."

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Connections

Featured in Mad Scientist Theatre: 50 Movie Mega Pack (2016)

User Reviews

As a modest collector....

Another original serial with a different theme and another best because of Bela Lugosi who made it work. Plots in serials tended to be stale later on. This was an exceptionally good plot and well written for the cliffhanger serial age. Invisibility and one of the robot theme scripts added to the thrills. I always thought it emulated Joe Louis.