While not made with an over-powering budget by any standards and populated with the dime-store variety of plot devices, mediocre special effects, and bearable, workmanlike performers, the Columbia serial Mandrake the Magician has many fun, entertaining moments and is quite thrilling at times. Isn't that what a serial is suppose to be? Warren Hull plays the dapper Mandrake in top hat and tails and seemingly an expert in every field and every form of fisticuffs. With him is his faithful Lothar, a servant who like Mandrake can fight at will and ease under any circumstances. Of course when Lothar fights - the actor playing him Al Kikume is easily seen not to be fighting as the stunt double looks nothing like him. That is just one of a host of problems with the serial in terms of direction, production, and cinematic achievement. Routinely actors are poorly doubled. Fight scenes are nothing more in some instances than actors playing patty-cake with their fists. The identity of the serial villain - the Wasp - is clearly evident in the final three or four chapters. The leading lady - Doris Weston - is as bland as cottage cheese. When would the parade of henchmen end? And some of the storyline about "a machine invented by Professor Houston to benefit mankind"(you remember those catch phrases once you have heard it 12 different times at the beginning of each chapter)was utterly ridiculous with all that nonsense about shutting off/destroying public works so as to let the Wasp take over the world and the platinite(don't ask) needed to fuel it. But despite all these things, Mandrake the Magician is a lot of fun to watch, and I must confess that for at least the first 9 chapters I had to find out who the Wasp was as three of Mandrake's circle were framed so as to suggest each one. Each episode left with some great calamity, and this serial is definitely worth a peek.
10 Reviews
Naive Adventure Based on the Newspaper Comic Strip
claudio_carvalho18 August 2013
"Mandrake" is a cinema series in twelve chapters released on DVD:
Chapter 1 – Shadow on the Wall: Mandrake (Warren Hull) is traveling on board of the S.S. Mohawk to meet his friend and associate Professor Houston (Forbes Murray), who has developed a powerful radium machine. Mandrake is bringing the material Platonite that is essential for its operation. However Prof. Houston is abducted by the gangsters of the kingpin Wasp when he is preparing to demonstrate the machine to his colleagues.
Chapter 2 – Trap of the Wasp: Mandrake fight against a gangster that is robbing the machine and the criminal explodes an oxygen vessel to escape. Mandrake follows a lead with his assistant Lothar (Al Kikume) expecting to find Prof. Houston, but it is a trap of the Wasp; however Mandrake gets away from the house. The Wasp needs Platonite to make the machine works and Mandrake plots a scheme to find Prof. Houston pretending that he has the material. The gangsters abduct Mandrake.
Chapter 3 – A City of Terror: The plan does not work and Mandrake captures the gangster Brown to interrogate him, but his house is bugged and the criminals kill Brown. Meanwhile Prof. Houston is prisoner in the Wasp headquarter at the Green Valley Rest Home. The Wasp sends a fake Prof. Fred Leland named Reagan to hypnotize Mandrake, but the magician foresees his intentions. Betty is kidnapped by the gangsters of the Wasp in a radio broadcasting station.
Chapter 4 – The Secret Passage: The Wasp uses the machine to destroy the radio station but Mandrake and Lothar rescue Betty from the debris. Mandrake seeks out Reagan and Tommy discovers where he is. But the gangsters listen to Tommy through the microphone and head to the Mill River Inn to protect the hypnotist.
Chapter 5 - The Devil's Playmate: Mandrake uses a radio detector to find the microphone hidden at his home. He lures the gangsters telling that the formula of Platonite is hidden in his bank and captures the criminal Blair. Mandrake discovers that the Wasp wants to destroy the Interstate Power House. He heads with Lothar to the place but they are overcome by the gang of the Wasp.
Chapter 6 – The Fatal Crash: Mandrake and Lothar manage to escape from the power house and the Wasp punishes the gangster that tied Mandrake. Prof. Houston contacts Mandrake but he does not know where he is trapped but he gives a clue. Mandrake takes his plane to travel faster to the spot where he believes his friend is but he is shot and his plane crashes.
Chapter 7 - Gamble for Life: Mandrake escapes from the death using the parachute and rescues Prof. Houston. Now Houston intends to build a new machine while Mandrake goes with Lothar and Webster to bring Platonite. But they discover the gang of the Wasp destroying the property and they try to stop them.
Chapter 8 – Across the Deadline: Two criminals come to Mandrake's house telling that they will repair the telephone line and Betty lets them in. They actually want to steal Platonite, but when Mandrake arrives, the guys flee. Then the Wasp blows up the dam and Mandrake and Lothar are surprised by the water when they are getting Plantonite in the canyon.
Chapter 9 – Terror Rides the Rails: Mandrake asks for a clue about the Wasp in a gas station and when he is ready to receive information, the gangsters blow up the place. Mandrake, Lothar and Webster escape from the criminals and the magician and his assistant take the train. However the Wasp uses the machine against the train causing an accident.
Chapter 10 – The Unseen Monster: Mandrake is taken unconscious by men of the Wasp and brought in an ambulance to his headquarter in the Green Valley Rest Home. Webster is also captured by the criminals. Meanwhile his friends are seeking Mandrake out and they reach the Green Valley. Betty is abducted but Mandrake escapes and meets her. But the Wasp explodes the wing to where they are running to escape.
Chapter 11 – At the Stroke of Eight: Mandrake and Betty meets their friends outside the sanatorium. Mandrake and Webster find a secret passage that ends in a garage. The Wasp tries to destroy Mandrake house with his friends inside.
Chapter 12 – The Reward of Treachery: The house collapses but everybody survives. Prof. Houston and Mandrake suspect that one of their friends is the Wasp. Who might be the Wasp?
"Mandrake, the Magician" is a naive adventure based on the newspaper comic strip created by Lee Falk, who is also the author of The Phantom. However Mandrake and Lothar of this movie are very different from the cartoons. There is no Narda, the costumes are not like in the strip and Mandrake spends most of the time in car races or coming to blows with criminals instead of using his hypnotic technique to fight. The music score annoys after 215 minutes running time. In times of home theaters, it is impressive to think that the audiences had to go to the movie theaters to follows the chapters of the movie. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Mandrake, o Mágico" ("Mandrake, the Magician")
Chapter 1 – Shadow on the Wall: Mandrake (Warren Hull) is traveling on board of the S.S. Mohawk to meet his friend and associate Professor Houston (Forbes Murray), who has developed a powerful radium machine. Mandrake is bringing the material Platonite that is essential for its operation. However Prof. Houston is abducted by the gangsters of the kingpin Wasp when he is preparing to demonstrate the machine to his colleagues.
Chapter 2 – Trap of the Wasp: Mandrake fight against a gangster that is robbing the machine and the criminal explodes an oxygen vessel to escape. Mandrake follows a lead with his assistant Lothar (Al Kikume) expecting to find Prof. Houston, but it is a trap of the Wasp; however Mandrake gets away from the house. The Wasp needs Platonite to make the machine works and Mandrake plots a scheme to find Prof. Houston pretending that he has the material. The gangsters abduct Mandrake.
Chapter 3 – A City of Terror: The plan does not work and Mandrake captures the gangster Brown to interrogate him, but his house is bugged and the criminals kill Brown. Meanwhile Prof. Houston is prisoner in the Wasp headquarter at the Green Valley Rest Home. The Wasp sends a fake Prof. Fred Leland named Reagan to hypnotize Mandrake, but the magician foresees his intentions. Betty is kidnapped by the gangsters of the Wasp in a radio broadcasting station.
Chapter 4 – The Secret Passage: The Wasp uses the machine to destroy the radio station but Mandrake and Lothar rescue Betty from the debris. Mandrake seeks out Reagan and Tommy discovers where he is. But the gangsters listen to Tommy through the microphone and head to the Mill River Inn to protect the hypnotist.
Chapter 5 - The Devil's Playmate: Mandrake uses a radio detector to find the microphone hidden at his home. He lures the gangsters telling that the formula of Platonite is hidden in his bank and captures the criminal Blair. Mandrake discovers that the Wasp wants to destroy the Interstate Power House. He heads with Lothar to the place but they are overcome by the gang of the Wasp.
Chapter 6 – The Fatal Crash: Mandrake and Lothar manage to escape from the power house and the Wasp punishes the gangster that tied Mandrake. Prof. Houston contacts Mandrake but he does not know where he is trapped but he gives a clue. Mandrake takes his plane to travel faster to the spot where he believes his friend is but he is shot and his plane crashes.
Chapter 7 - Gamble for Life: Mandrake escapes from the death using the parachute and rescues Prof. Houston. Now Houston intends to build a new machine while Mandrake goes with Lothar and Webster to bring Platonite. But they discover the gang of the Wasp destroying the property and they try to stop them.
Chapter 8 – Across the Deadline: Two criminals come to Mandrake's house telling that they will repair the telephone line and Betty lets them in. They actually want to steal Platonite, but when Mandrake arrives, the guys flee. Then the Wasp blows up the dam and Mandrake and Lothar are surprised by the water when they are getting Plantonite in the canyon.
Chapter 9 – Terror Rides the Rails: Mandrake asks for a clue about the Wasp in a gas station and when he is ready to receive information, the gangsters blow up the place. Mandrake, Lothar and Webster escape from the criminals and the magician and his assistant take the train. However the Wasp uses the machine against the train causing an accident.
Chapter 10 – The Unseen Monster: Mandrake is taken unconscious by men of the Wasp and brought in an ambulance to his headquarter in the Green Valley Rest Home. Webster is also captured by the criminals. Meanwhile his friends are seeking Mandrake out and they reach the Green Valley. Betty is abducted but Mandrake escapes and meets her. But the Wasp explodes the wing to where they are running to escape.
Chapter 11 – At the Stroke of Eight: Mandrake and Betty meets their friends outside the sanatorium. Mandrake and Webster find a secret passage that ends in a garage. The Wasp tries to destroy Mandrake house with his friends inside.
Chapter 12 – The Reward of Treachery: The house collapses but everybody survives. Prof. Houston and Mandrake suspect that one of their friends is the Wasp. Who might be the Wasp?
"Mandrake, the Magician" is a naive adventure based on the newspaper comic strip created by Lee Falk, who is also the author of The Phantom. However Mandrake and Lothar of this movie are very different from the cartoons. There is no Narda, the costumes are not like in the strip and Mandrake spends most of the time in car races or coming to blows with criminals instead of using his hypnotic technique to fight. The music score annoys after 215 minutes running time. In times of home theaters, it is impressive to think that the audiences had to go to the movie theaters to follows the chapters of the movie. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Mandrake, o Mágico" ("Mandrake, the Magician")
Abracadabra!
strong-122-4788856 October 2012
Mandrake, the Magician features a dashing, young hero who may not have any super-powers to speak of, but, being a magician (the worlds' best, of course) he does manage to foil the bad guys with a well-timed magic trick, or two. And if that happens to fail, Mandrake can certainly be counted on to throw a mean punch, sometimes heroically taking on up to five of The Wasp's ruthless henchmen all at one time.
Presented in 12 super-exciting chapters, this enjoyable, 1939 "Cliffhanger" has Mandrake and his loyal pals taking on The Wasp, a dastardly evil criminal, who will stop at nothing in order to get his greedy hands on Prof. Houston's amazing radium-energy machine.
For plenty of laughs and excitement, check out all of the B-Grade action!
Presented in 12 super-exciting chapters, this enjoyable, 1939 "Cliffhanger" has Mandrake and his loyal pals taking on The Wasp, a dastardly evil criminal, who will stop at nothing in order to get his greedy hands on Prof. Houston's amazing radium-energy machine.
For plenty of laughs and excitement, check out all of the B-Grade action!
When you get trapped by a stuck door in a sauna-like antique shop attic . . .
oscaralbert12 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
. . . and no one can hear you yelling and stomping for help because of the noisy, cattle-barn-sized fans clanking downstairs, leaving you with nothing to do but pore over stacks of old newspapers from the 1900s featuring MANDRAKE, THE MAGICIAN comic strips on the back page, if you survive the ordeal and later have an opportunity to see a film version of the newspaper feature more or less contemporaneous with the newsprint magic man's heyday, you take it. However, if Episode One (SHADOW ON THE WALL) is any indication, this late 1930s movie "serial" totally lacks the science fiction underpinnings of its tabloid model. SHADOW ON THE WALL might as well be a two-bit Western, for its wall-to-wall nonstop fisticuffs. I do not think that the MANDRAKE comic strip itself would have endured even a single month if it was as repetitiously boring as this. Coupled with the embarrassingly cheap and cheesy "special effects" of "The Wasp" and "Professor Houston's" radium disintegrator machine, there is little if anything to recommend this incarnation of MANDRAKE, THE MAGICIAN.
Comic's First Super Hero...
kidboots19 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
...a pity it didn't transfer like that to the big screen. Lee Falk created Mandrake in 1924 but, not trusting his own talent, he sold the strip to King Features in 1934 and bought in commercial artist Phil Davis to draw it. Mandrake always seemed to be in the papers when I was growing up - he usually hypnotized the bad guys into exposing themselves.
This serial wasn't quite how I remembered Mandrake - for a start Warren Hull looked nothing like the Mandrake I remembered. Comic strip Mandrake looked very swarthy with a pencil thin moustache, sort of like the stuntman who doubles for Hull in the fights, of which there are many. Gone also is Narda, Mandrake's very, very patient girlfriend (who after a wait of over 50 years finally wed her reluctant suitor in 1997). She is replaced by the far more conventional Betty Houston, daughter of the doctor whose ray gun invention has the crooks on his tail!! She was played by Doris Weston, whose career highlight was as Dick Powell's leading lady in "The Singing Marine" (1937), one of his lesser efforts (I thought she was quite cute in it anyway). Fortunately Lothar, Mandrake's very loyal and constant companion was not given a "make over".
Every serial had to have a hidden villain, one who wanted world domination etc and Mandrake's nemesis was "The Wasp", a quietly spoken man hidden in cloaks and the obligatory mask. He seemed to be always two steps ahead of Mandrake and caused some spectacular disasters - a dam exploding, an avalanche, a mountain skylift falling, a plummeting airplane!! Then you start to wonder who "The Wasp" is?? The two candidates are, of course, Mandrake's oldest friends - James Webster (Kenneth MacDonald) and Dr. Andre Bennett (Edward Earle) who dislike each other intensely and who are both always missing when trouble is afoot!!
As usual, with these serials, there is always an eager young kid, probably to appeal to the boys in the audience. This time it is Betty's younger brother and he has more get up and go than half the cast. At one stage he hides in the boot of the villain's car, hears just enough info to relay the plans to Mandrake, then jumps from the car - without the crooks even knowing they have had an eavesdropper!! Even though Mandrake doesn't have any super hero tricks - his magicianship is put to good use and all in all it is an enjoyable serial.
This serial wasn't quite how I remembered Mandrake - for a start Warren Hull looked nothing like the Mandrake I remembered. Comic strip Mandrake looked very swarthy with a pencil thin moustache, sort of like the stuntman who doubles for Hull in the fights, of which there are many. Gone also is Narda, Mandrake's very, very patient girlfriend (who after a wait of over 50 years finally wed her reluctant suitor in 1997). She is replaced by the far more conventional Betty Houston, daughter of the doctor whose ray gun invention has the crooks on his tail!! She was played by Doris Weston, whose career highlight was as Dick Powell's leading lady in "The Singing Marine" (1937), one of his lesser efforts (I thought she was quite cute in it anyway). Fortunately Lothar, Mandrake's very loyal and constant companion was not given a "make over".
Every serial had to have a hidden villain, one who wanted world domination etc and Mandrake's nemesis was "The Wasp", a quietly spoken man hidden in cloaks and the obligatory mask. He seemed to be always two steps ahead of Mandrake and caused some spectacular disasters - a dam exploding, an avalanche, a mountain skylift falling, a plummeting airplane!! Then you start to wonder who "The Wasp" is?? The two candidates are, of course, Mandrake's oldest friends - James Webster (Kenneth MacDonald) and Dr. Andre Bennett (Edward Earle) who dislike each other intensely and who are both always missing when trouble is afoot!!
As usual, with these serials, there is always an eager young kid, probably to appeal to the boys in the audience. This time it is Betty's younger brother and he has more get up and go than half the cast. At one stage he hides in the boot of the villain's car, hears just enough info to relay the plans to Mandrake, then jumps from the car - without the crooks even knowing they have had an eavesdropper!! Even though Mandrake doesn't have any super hero tricks - his magicianship is put to good use and all in all it is an enjoyable serial.
Crime pays when vigilantes cannot shoot straight . . .
cricket3012 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
. . . we learn from THE REWARD OF TREACHERY (the ACTUAL title of this live-action short film--MANDRAKE--is the villainous character IN it!). When a larcenous bozo named "Mandrake" launches a home invasion about 9:01 into TREACHERY (by kicking out a window), the startled "Dr. Bennett" soon gets "the drop" on the Voldemort-like miscreant with his trusty firearm. That is the Good News. The bad news is that the unskilled doc wouldn't be able to hit the broad side of the Fat Lady, even if she were singing! This begs the question, "What good is a gun if you shoot like a nun?" Doc B. gets off five rounds, but he might as well be shooting blanks. Alarmed at his own ineptitude against the punch drunk\slap-happy Mandrake, Bennett flees the refuge of his own home castle. After pummeling "James Webster," serial felon Mandrake flies off for a bout of road rage, committing multiple crimes of felonious reckless driving in a wild pursuit endangering dozens of innocent by-standers. To top this all off, crack shot Mandrake this uses HIS OWN peacemaker to blow out one of Doc Bennett's tires! The good doc immediately is immolated in a fiery crash. The moral of this story is to be sure to use AT LEAST $100 worth of ammo per month at your local firing range, so that YOU'RE properly prepared to face weasels such as Mandrake!
Not the Mandrake I remember
aventer-111 June 2009
If you have stumbled upon this title and think you will see the hero of your comic book youth brought to the screen you will be disappointed. Mandrake has been shoehorned into a stock serial plot that could have used any one of a dozen heroes from Batman to Dick Tracy. Once again, a wonder invention cooked up by a solitary recluse in his basement is stolen from a mostly unguarded private residence and now the world is threatened. The police and the FBI are apparently helpless so it falls upon Mandrake to set things right. Alas, this Mandrake is a pale imitation of the comic wizard. The hypnotically gesturing magus of the comics has become a stage magician, doing card tricks on an ocean liner. Instead of confusing his enemies with black magic, he slugs it out with his fists, implausibly whipping two or three thugs at once, all without displacing his top hat.
This is not to say the serial isn't entertaining. But most will likely view it as a 70 year old curiosity rather than the exciting thriller it was meant to be. Whether you want to invest almost 4 hours of your life watching it is the question. Incidentally, the title music would later be reused in the Columbia serial "The Vigilante, Fighting Hero of the West" in a somewhat re-orchestrated form. The story, of course, would be recycled again and again.
This is not to say the serial isn't entertaining. But most will likely view it as a 70 year old curiosity rather than the exciting thriller it was meant to be. Whether you want to invest almost 4 hours of your life watching it is the question. Incidentally, the title music would later be reused in the Columbia serial "The Vigilante, Fighting Hero of the West" in a somewhat re-orchestrated form. The story, of course, would be recycled again and again.
An intriguing and magical cinema serial
paulorcbarros7 January 2006
"Mandrake, the Magician"(1939 - 214 minutes - 12 episodes), is one of the classics B&W cinema serials of Columbia, directed by Sam Nelson and Norman Deming. Based on the known Comics created by Lee Falk and Phill Davis in 1924 and written by Joseph F. Poland, Basil Dickey and Ned Dandy. Mandrake (the actor Warren Hull) is a sagacious detective who is traveling in a maritime cruise when he knows the professor Hudson (the actor Forbes Murray), the author of a machine that uses the energy of the radio waves. Developed for the good, the powerful device becomes a dangerous weapon when it falls in the hands of an evil genius known as "Wasp". Mandrake and his faithful assistant, Lothar (the actor Al Kikume), will fight Wasp and his gang, living an intensely battle between the good and the evil. The Mandrake's dress style with the black and red layer, ternary and top-hat, had immortalized the figure of the magician. The English word "Mandrake" is the name of a root that was always associated with magical powers and miraculous cures. Lothar was an African prince and one of the first black character treated in a serious way in Comic books, he was always considered as an intelligent and loyal ally. With original special effects for that time, the film deserves reverence to the great performance of Warren Hull, that gave life to one of the biggest icons of the Comic books of all times.
Very disappointing!
JohnHowardReid7 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
SYNOPSIS: Mandrake battles "The Wasp" who is after a new destructor ray.
COMMENT: Very disappointing. Mandrake jettisons his trademark top hat soon after the introductory chapter and never once - never once, mind you - gestures hypnotically. Thus the whole reason for the comic strip's existence is negated in one fell blow. Further indignities are the complete absence of Mandrake's companion, Princess Narda, and the demotion of Lothar from Mandrake's giant Nubian servant to a humdrum, discreetly clothed chauffeur.
The aim seems to have been to get rid of the costumes and make Mandrake and his pals as ordinary as possible. True, Mandrake still performs a few magic tricks, but even these are colorless and dull.
We could put up with all these waterings-down, if only the serial had the one quality all fans demand, namely thrills. But not only are all the cliffhangers -- well, almost all of them, the miniature work isn't bad and the explosive special effects are startlingly real, but there are not nearly enough of them -- tame, but there's little intermediate action. A car chase in the middle of Chapter 1 in which the pursuing vehicle plunges over an embankment is the best of them, but even this is undermined by clumsy process screen work.
Technically, the serial is extremely amateurish. The photography is flat, the sets are dull, the 2nd unit work minimal, the action scenes few and far between. As for the acting, Warren Hull makes a colorless Mandrake, whilst the support players seem to hang around merely to waste our time. True Dick Curtis appears briefly, but most of the heavies, including "The Wasp" himself, are even more tepid than Mr Hull. As for the identity of the poorly-costumed "Wasp", who cares?
OTHER VIEWS: Trite, banal, pinch-penny, penny-dreadful serial. Having blown the budget purchasing the rights, Columbia set out to make the picture as cheaply as possible. The players vary from the second-rate Hull to the fifth-rate Weston and Kikume. The directors are Sam Nelson, quite a proficient action specialist, but here forced to work with a minuscule budget; and Norman Deming, a no-talent quickie megaphoner, promoted from the assistant director ranks. Writer Joseph Poland, a specialist in cutting corners, was shortly to join the Republic serial unit. Benjamin Kline, who could light a set faster than you or I could strike a match, was an old Mascot veteran..
As for theater owners, luckless enough to book this serial on the strength of its title, let's hope there are no Mandrake fans in their audiences.
COMMENT: Very disappointing. Mandrake jettisons his trademark top hat soon after the introductory chapter and never once - never once, mind you - gestures hypnotically. Thus the whole reason for the comic strip's existence is negated in one fell blow. Further indignities are the complete absence of Mandrake's companion, Princess Narda, and the demotion of Lothar from Mandrake's giant Nubian servant to a humdrum, discreetly clothed chauffeur.
The aim seems to have been to get rid of the costumes and make Mandrake and his pals as ordinary as possible. True, Mandrake still performs a few magic tricks, but even these are colorless and dull.
We could put up with all these waterings-down, if only the serial had the one quality all fans demand, namely thrills. But not only are all the cliffhangers -- well, almost all of them, the miniature work isn't bad and the explosive special effects are startlingly real, but there are not nearly enough of them -- tame, but there's little intermediate action. A car chase in the middle of Chapter 1 in which the pursuing vehicle plunges over an embankment is the best of them, but even this is undermined by clumsy process screen work.
Technically, the serial is extremely amateurish. The photography is flat, the sets are dull, the 2nd unit work minimal, the action scenes few and far between. As for the acting, Warren Hull makes a colorless Mandrake, whilst the support players seem to hang around merely to waste our time. True Dick Curtis appears briefly, but most of the heavies, including "The Wasp" himself, are even more tepid than Mr Hull. As for the identity of the poorly-costumed "Wasp", who cares?
OTHER VIEWS: Trite, banal, pinch-penny, penny-dreadful serial. Having blown the budget purchasing the rights, Columbia set out to make the picture as cheaply as possible. The players vary from the second-rate Hull to the fifth-rate Weston and Kikume. The directors are Sam Nelson, quite a proficient action specialist, but here forced to work with a minuscule budget; and Norman Deming, a no-talent quickie megaphoner, promoted from the assistant director ranks. Writer Joseph Poland, a specialist in cutting corners, was shortly to join the Republic serial unit. Benjamin Kline, who could light a set faster than you or I could strike a match, was an old Mascot veteran..
As for theater owners, luckless enough to book this serial on the strength of its title, let's hope there are no Mandrake fans in their audiences.
Terribly Dated, but Entertaining - Mandrake the Magician
arthur_tafero1 April 2022
This serial does not hold up well in the 21st century. However, Mandrake and Lothar make up for the silly villain, The Wasp (he is more of a pest than a villain). This combination may have been responsible for the development of the Marvel character, Dr. Strange. However, in this film, we are only given conventional Hollywood devices to work with. A cruise ship, a series of crimes, and the inevitable solution by the hero. All rather predictable and dated stuff, but still fun.
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