The Phantom Creeps Complete

- this isn't a silent movie! If there's no work being done on fixing this, please issue a refund.

Bela Lugosi did some of his best and most delicately nuanced work for Monogram, Republic, and PRC. But, not in this Serial. In "Phantom" it's a delightfully over-the-top mastermind lunatic Lugosi, taking over the world with great relish. He's surrounded by a fine supporting cast, including Edward Van Sloan (of "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" fame), Regis Toomey and Dorothy Arnold, who bring a credibility to the peculiar proceedings. The real star of the show, however, are Lugosi's delightful interventions, including a death ray and a magnificent mechanical man, certain to delight the kid in all of us. The oddly uniform and highly codified sets evoke a world that could only be Monogram. the same could be said of the script, which is surprisingly taught, and comparatively well written, with strong characters and a strong, archetypal storyline. Okay, I know you could start this film and say "how campy, how hokey, it's grade-B kid stuff!" But I guarantee you, if you watch the first episode, you will watch all 12 episodes. You will discover a synthesis and a distillation of all things Poverty Row, and the thrill of a bygone era that never was. Poverty Row produced thousands of films with no time or money, and thousands of them are substandard. But hundreds of them are real gems which should be preserved. This Serial is one of the most precious of those gems.