"PHANTOM EMPIRE"

This has to be, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the strangest film ever made. It is the only Musical/Science Fiction/Western serial. Supposedly concocted by screen writer Wallace MacDonald while under the influenc of nitrous oxcide while at the dentist, it seems more likely that with science fiction becomming more and more popular in serial that Mascot head Nat Levine decided to add a western element to hedge his bet in case the sci-fi plot doesn't interst the audience they might stay for the western part. What ever the reason, "Phantom Empire is a real hoot to watch.

Singing cowboy Gene Autry plays himself, as he would in all of his subsequent films. He broadcasts a daily radio show "Radio Ranch" from his ranch of the same name. It also doubles as a tourist attraction. The only trouble is that a mysterious band of masked horse men called the Thunder Riders continually gallop around the countryside making a lot of noise. They come from the lost and hidden city of Murania, a futuristic civilization where everyone wears togas, that lies 20,000 feet under Autry's ranch.

Newly arrived ranch guest Prof. Beetson (Frank Glendon) just happens to know of this city's existence. He wants to get rid of Autry so that the ranch will shut down and he can excevate freely. Muranian ruler Queen Tika (Dorothy Christie) also wants to get rid of Autry so that people won't stumble upon the hidden entrance to the lost city. What she doesn't know is that her trusted advisor Lord Argo (Wheeler Oakman) is secretly plotting a revolution to take over Murania and then conquer the surface world.

Beetson has Gene show him around the prarie. A hidden sniper shoots Gene. Beetson returns to the ranch sure that Autry has died. Gene was only knocked unconscious by the bullet grazing his skull. He revives but is too weak to make it back to the ranch. He lights a signal fire which is seen by Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Betsy (Betsy King Ross), the children of Autry's business partner.

Quickly adjurning a meeting of their newly formed club, the Jr. Thunder Riders, the two siblings race to help Gene yelling their battle cry, "To the rescue!". Picking him up they rush to get back to the ranch in time for Gene to make his next broadcast otherwise he'll lose his radio contract and the ranch.

Queen Tika, monitoring the action via televison, sees her chance to get rid of the prarie crooner and orders out her Thunder Riders to capture him. Gene and kids hide from the masked horsemen by haging off a cliff with a rope. Unfortunately the passing horses's hoofs cause the rope to snap. The trio almost fall to their deat but Gene is able to grab hold of a small tree nearby, saving them.

The rest of the Jr. Thunder Riders, who wear buckets on their heads to emulate the real Thunder Riders, show up and toss ropes to thier trapped friends and pull them to safety. Riding like the dickens Gene manages to make it just in time for the broadcast where he sings a cheerful ditty about his goofy pals Pete (William Moore) and Oscar (Smiley Burnette). During the broadcast Gene is framed for the murder of his partner by Beetson. Gene makes a run for it but is captured by Muranian Thunder Riders.

The local sheriff borrows Beetsons plane and pilot to try and get Autry away from his capturers. Frankie and Betsy, beliving Gene is innocent, stow away on the plane in an attempt to help his escape. Queen Tika has a radium powered misslie fired at the plane. Hit, the plane starts to crash dive. Frankie and Betsy manage to find a coule of parachutes and bail out. The sheriff and pilot are knocked unconscious by the crash.

Before rescuers can arrive Gene ties up and hides the pilot. Disguising himself as the pilot and pretending to be injured so no one can see his face, Gene is taken back to the ranch. He hopes to find the evidence to prove his innocence but is watched constantly and do little investigating.

Frankie and Betsy find the gun that killed their father in Beetson's room. They show it to the sheriff. Before they can say where they found it the pilot, having freed himself, returns to the ranch. Cover blown Gene steals the sheriff's car which now contains Beetson's gun. What Autry doesn't know is that Oscar had just unhooked the break lines to fix them. Before the car can go over a cliff and kill Gene he is again rescued by the Jr. Thunder Riders. Unfortunately the gun that can prove his innocence was destroyed in the crash.

Meanwhile down in Murania Queen Tika orders the Thunder Rider Captain who let Autry escape to be electricuted in the Lightning Chamber. He is saved from death by the treacherous Lord Argo who has him join the rebels, mostly made up of other soldiers supposed to have been executed by Argo.

Gene sneaks back to the ranch where Frankie taps into the broadcast equipment so Gene can broadcast while hidden in the barn. Beetson discovers the ruse and tries to track down fugitive entertainer. While making his getaway Gene is almost blown to bits by some accidentally ignited gunpowder.

Gene hides out at a deserted shack where he and Frankie plan to make the next broadcast. A Thunder Rider discovers Gene and tries to capture him but is knocked unconscious. Gene puts on the man's uniform when the rest of the patroling Thunder Riders show up so that he can lead them away from Frankie and Betsy.

After he is sure they are safe Gene to escape from the Thunder Riders but is quickly caught and taken to Murania. He doesn't have much time to marvel at the city's wonders as he is taken before the qween and sentenced to death. Argo saves Gene to use in his rebellion but Gene doesn't really cotton to the idea and escapes.

Gene attempts to gain access to the super elevator that brought him to the city while avoiding both the queen's guards and the rebels. Before he can get to the surface Gene over hears Argo order a missile to be fired at the ranch. He gets to the missle control room where he manages to fight off the controller and recall the missle. It strikes the control room. Gene dies in the explosion.

This is undoubtably the only serial where the hero actually dies halfway into the story. But since this is science fiction somebody just takes the body to a radiium revival machine and he is simply brought back to life. "Phantom Empire" also does something else no other serial ever attempted, make social commentary. Chapter One has Queen Tika viewing seens of homeless people and other problems happening because of the depression, saying how horrible they are. Only science fiction ever seems to be able to get away with such a critique of society.

This serial has an interesting setup. Though the story is fantastic the sci-fi aspects of the plot are kept to a minumum in the early chapters, focusing more on the western storyline. This allows the audience to gradually come to accept the fantasy elements of the story. After Chapter most of the serial takes place in Murania with only occasional returns to the surface for those iimportant broadcasts.

The idea of Autry having to canstantly drop everything, rush back to the ranch and sing a song, then rush back to Murania is one of the more contrived plot devises ever used. It is more amusing than suspenseful.

The broadcasts themselves are some of the most sureal scenes ever put on film. All the action is acted out around the ranch even though most of it is nowhere near the mike set up for the broadcast. Autry even goes to the extreme of putting on a fake mustache to play a villain. It is almost as if the filmamakers think that people wouldn't understand what would be happening in a realistic portrayal of radio.

The western part of the plot is the familar framing the hero for murder to steal his land. After the early chapters it takes a backseat to the revolt fermenting in Murania. It's resolution at the end is so quick it feels like an after thought, as if they had forgotten to resolve the problem. It takes less than thirty seconds for Autry to get Beetson to confess in front of witnesses.

The sci-fi plot is more interesting with court intrigue mixed with Autry just wanting to return home. While doing this he gets to see such Muranian wonders as goofy robots that look like they're wearing top hats, ray guns that can blind people, and the obligatory death ray that will eventually destroy the entire city at the serial's end. Lost cities are always destroyed when they are discovered by our society.

The special effects are marvelous. The minitures of the super elevator to the surface and the radium millses are excellent. There are two realy great mat paintings, one for the cavernous appearing throne room and one for the missle control room that looks like it is amongst huge machines. Best of all is the destruction of Murania where everything melts into sludge.

The acting has good and bad points. Wheeler Oakman is the best of the villains, obviously relishing his Shakespearian dialogue. It just rolls off his tongue as he happily plots everyone's downfall. Conversely Dorothy Christie seems to have confused the idea of being regal as shouting your lines as if the boom mike is in another room. Frank Glendon acts and looks so sinister it strains credulity that he is able to constantly fool the sheriff about his true intentions.

William Moore and Smiley Burnette are annoying comedy relief. They do stupid things like stteing off a crate of tear gas grenades and then standing over them while they cry. It's hard to believe Autry would actually trust them to help him as much as he does. Occasionally Burnette will show some that great comedic talent he would bring to the B-westerns he made at Republic and Columbia, like his constantly being outwitted by his horse when he tries to ride.

Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross, old hands at acting, give professional and assured performances. They are great support to the inexperienced Autry. Though he would eventualy develop into a competent actor at this early point in his film career the only time he seems relaxed is when he is singing such pleasant tunes as "Uncle Noah's Ark" and "Moon's Eye View of the World". The rest of the time he seems stiff.

Though not a great serial it is different, fun ,and has a certain innocence about it. NBC would later use the plot as one of the three stories featured in their short lived 1979 series "Cliffhangers".