THE PHANTOM EMPIRE

THE PHANTOM EMPIRE (advertised as GENE AUTRY AND THE PHANTOM EMPIRE). USA: Mascot, 1935. Serial in twelve episodes. Later released as feature films under titles RADIO RANCH and MEN WITH STEEL FACES (Walt Lee).

Combines "four or five" cinematic traditions by Baxter's count (71), including the Western, and the SF motifs of the lost world and the subterranean city. Significant for presenting a mechanized underworld like that of METROPOLIS (q.v) in the film equivalent of pulp fiction. The premise of TPE was recycled in "The Secret Empire" segment of Cliffhangers, a 1979 NBC-TV weekly series.

RDE, Title, 23Aug19