CRUD Challenge: Spy Smasher
Aug. 3rd, 2025 03:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skjamSpy Smasher (1942) dir. William Witney
Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) was an American journalist working in France when Germany invaded. Unable to stay neutral, Alan faked his own death so he could operate as freelance operative Spy Smasher. As our story opens, Spy Smasher is captured by the Gestapo, tortured and sentenced to death by firing squad. The execution is faked by Free French undercover operator Captain Pierre Durand (Frano Corsaro) so that Spy Smasher can get back to the United States with information on the Nazi plan to flood the U.S. with counterfeit money.
In America, Alan makes contact with his twin brother Jack (Kane Richmond), who is the special deputy to Admiral Corby (Sam Flint) who is the newly appointed head of Foreign Intelligence. Jack's also the sweetheart of the admiral's daughter and secretary Eve Corby (Marguerite Chapman). The twins decide to keep the return of Alan secret so that he can continue operating freely as Spy Smasher. Now it's time to defeat the many schemes of the top Gestapo agent in the U.S., the Mask (Hans Schumm)!
This 1942 Republic serial was loosely based on the Fawcett Comics character Spy Smasher. The most notable change from the comic book was giving Alan a twin brother. In the comics, Spy Smasher worked directly with Admiral Corby and was Eve's sweetie. Also interestingly, the Mask's mask is off most of the time, except when directly giving orders to his minions. It's not to conceal his identity as was often the case for main villains in serials.
This serial was written and shot before December 7, 1941, when the U.S. has very obviously chosen sides in World War II, but was still officially at peace. Thus it's a plot point in one of the chapters that the American government can't just attack agents of the German government. But by the time it came out in theaters, America was very much at war with Nazi Germany, which gave the serial a boost in popularity.
It also helped that Spy Smasher is one of Republic's best serials, with tight writing, excellent stunt work and special effects, and strong cliffhangers. One of those cliffhangers late in the run is considered especially notable for reasons that will be obvious when you come to it.
That said, there are repetitive bits, so this can wear on you if you are watching the three plus hours all in one sitting. Eve is the only notable female character, and she is locked out of the loop on what's going on with the twins, so doesn't get to do much for most of the story. On the other hand, the serial only resorts to having her kidnapped once, and she's shown as smart enough to leave a clue using her typing skills.
Another interesting bit is the Mask's main field agent, Drake (Tristram Coffin). He's a reporter for Oceanic Television News, a fledgling TV service. His gimmick is leaving the camera on when he leaves Admiral Corby's office so that he and the Mask can listen in on secret meetings. Of course, at the time American civilian television was restricted to a few thousand sets in the hands of the wealthy or eccentric, so the news service itself probably wasn't very successful.
After the war, Spy Smasher got renamed Crime Smasher and fought ordinary criminals, but this didn't last long. After DC bought Fawcett's character assets, they sat on them for over a decade, and by the time they started integrating them into their comics, Spy Smasher was a long-forgotten item used only for brief cameos. He did, however, get a cool appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Patriot Act" and there was a legacy character running around in the comics a decade or so ago.
Oh, and the music's also nifty. The title theme is Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, to evoke the "V for Victory" meme of the time, and Spy Smasher's leitmotif references that, but it's not overused in the main body of the chapters.
If you're pressed for time or patience, you may want to try the edited down 1960s version Spy Smasher Returns (not a sequel despite the title). This is a rip-roaring good time with plenty of Nazi (and a few Vichy early on) punching.
Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) was an American journalist working in France when Germany invaded. Unable to stay neutral, Alan faked his own death so he could operate as freelance operative Spy Smasher. As our story opens, Spy Smasher is captured by the Gestapo, tortured and sentenced to death by firing squad. The execution is faked by Free French undercover operator Captain Pierre Durand (Frano Corsaro) so that Spy Smasher can get back to the United States with information on the Nazi plan to flood the U.S. with counterfeit money.
In America, Alan makes contact with his twin brother Jack (Kane Richmond), who is the special deputy to Admiral Corby (Sam Flint) who is the newly appointed head of Foreign Intelligence. Jack's also the sweetheart of the admiral's daughter and secretary Eve Corby (Marguerite Chapman). The twins decide to keep the return of Alan secret so that he can continue operating freely as Spy Smasher. Now it's time to defeat the many schemes of the top Gestapo agent in the U.S., the Mask (Hans Schumm)!
This 1942 Republic serial was loosely based on the Fawcett Comics character Spy Smasher. The most notable change from the comic book was giving Alan a twin brother. In the comics, Spy Smasher worked directly with Admiral Corby and was Eve's sweetie. Also interestingly, the Mask's mask is off most of the time, except when directly giving orders to his minions. It's not to conceal his identity as was often the case for main villains in serials.
This serial was written and shot before December 7, 1941, when the U.S. has very obviously chosen sides in World War II, but was still officially at peace. Thus it's a plot point in one of the chapters that the American government can't just attack agents of the German government. But by the time it came out in theaters, America was very much at war with Nazi Germany, which gave the serial a boost in popularity.
It also helped that Spy Smasher is one of Republic's best serials, with tight writing, excellent stunt work and special effects, and strong cliffhangers. One of those cliffhangers late in the run is considered especially notable for reasons that will be obvious when you come to it.
That said, there are repetitive bits, so this can wear on you if you are watching the three plus hours all in one sitting. Eve is the only notable female character, and she is locked out of the loop on what's going on with the twins, so doesn't get to do much for most of the story. On the other hand, the serial only resorts to having her kidnapped once, and she's shown as smart enough to leave a clue using her typing skills.
Another interesting bit is the Mask's main field agent, Drake (Tristram Coffin). He's a reporter for Oceanic Television News, a fledgling TV service. His gimmick is leaving the camera on when he leaves Admiral Corby's office so that he and the Mask can listen in on secret meetings. Of course, at the time American civilian television was restricted to a few thousand sets in the hands of the wealthy or eccentric, so the news service itself probably wasn't very successful.
After the war, Spy Smasher got renamed Crime Smasher and fought ordinary criminals, but this didn't last long. After DC bought Fawcett's character assets, they sat on them for over a decade, and by the time they started integrating them into their comics, Spy Smasher was a long-forgotten item used only for brief cameos. He did, however, get a cool appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Patriot Act" and there was a legacy character running around in the comics a decade or so ago.
Oh, and the music's also nifty. The title theme is Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, to evoke the "V for Victory" meme of the time, and Spy Smasher's leitmotif references that, but it's not overused in the main body of the chapters.
If you're pressed for time or patience, you may want to try the edited down 1960s version Spy Smasher Returns (not a sequel despite the title). This is a rip-roaring good time with plenty of Nazi (and a few Vichy early on) punching.
