The Phantom (serial)

1943 film by B. Reeves Eason

The Phantom is a 1943 15 chapter cliffhanger superhero serial, produced by Rudolph C. Flothow, directed B. Reeves Eason, and starring Tom Tyler in the title role. It is based on Lee Falk's comic strip The Phantom, first syndicated to newspapers in 1936 by King Features Syndicate. The serial also features Jeanne Bates as the Phantom's girlfriend Diana Palmer, and Ace the Wonder Dog as the Phantom's trusty German shepherd Devil (who is a wolf in the original comic strip).

Professor Davidson plans an expedition to find the Lost City of Zoloz. The location of the city is contained on seven pieces of ivory, three of which Davidson already possesses. Doctor Bremmer, however, intends to find the lost city and use it as a secret airbase for his unnamed country. To remove him as an obstacle, he kills The Phantom, only for his recently returned son, Geoffrey Prescott, to inherit the family identity and take over the mantle of The Phantom. Three of the remaining ivory pieces are owned by Singapore Smith, who initially steals Davidson's pieces. The seventh, and most important, piece is missing at first but turns up in the possession of Tartar (which The Phantom acquires by wrestling Tartar's pet gorilla).

Like most serials, The Phantom had a low budget. Most of the serial was filmed in the Hollywood hills, which doubled as the African jungle. For the serial, the Phantom's real name is Geoffrey Prescott. In the comic strip, his real name had not yet been introduced. He added that Tyler had an "almost uncanny" resemblance to the comic strip character. However, Pasko said that he "seems old beyond his years, and not at all the vigorous young man who could plausibly do what the script demands of him". Phantom creator Lee Falk disliked the serial, commenting that "it looks like it was shot in a phone booth". Despite the legal issues, The Adventures of Captain Africa incorporated a considerable amount of stock footage from the original Phantom series, including footage of Tyler in costume as the Phantom.