Spy Smasher

1942
Approved
3h 35m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

422

YOUR RATING

Action Adventure Family

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.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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

422

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos14

Marguerite Chapman and Kane Richmond in Spy Smasher (1942)

Dick Purcell, Kane Richmond, and Tom Tyler in Spy Smasher (1942)

Marguerite Chapman, Kane Richmond, and Hans Schumm in Spy Smasher (1942)

Storyline

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Did you know

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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!"

Goofs
In Chapter: 3, when Spy Smasher rolls the tire with the gas can, right before the gas explodes you can see one of the movie crew moving away from the flaming gas can.

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 time to fight them here, in the United States.

Crazy credits
Opening credits are depicted as ...-, Morse code for V (victory), and the searchlights form a "V".

Connections
Edited into Spy Smasher Returns (1966)

Soundtracks
Main Title
based on Symphony No. 5 in C minor (Opus 67)
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven

User reviews23

Review

Featured review

8/10

An obscure comic book hero in a good serial

Spy Smasher is a rather good chapterplay. It features a rather obscure character from Whiz Comics (the same book that spawned Captain Marvel). From an adaptation point of view, it isn't very good, but then very few comic book-to-screen adaptations are all that true to the source material.

The cliffhangers are all acceptable and explainable from chapter to chapter (using the "they-don't-show-us-all-the-action" angle)...and the storyline is action-packed. The villain, The Mask, is a typical one spawned of both serials and comics of the times. There also doesn't seem to be a lot of stock footage use (though there is a bit of footage reuse in later chapters).

Kane Richmond isn't too much of an actor, but he is quite adequate here as the dashing identical twins and Spy Smasher. The rest of the cast isn't too noteworthy...nor do they have performances of any real note.

This is definitely a good example of a good movie serial...12 chapters that are worth the time to watch.

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