The Phantom Creeps

The Phantom Creeps was a 1939 12 part serial made by Universal Pictures staring Bela Lugosi as mad scientist Dr Zorka who, along with his bumbling assistant, tries to take over the world with various overly elaborate inventions like invisibility belts and overpowered robot spiders. He’s foiled by a team of G-Men, a intrepid (and beautiful) woman reporter and a fellow scientist all angry…that he won’t turn the devices over to the government for free?

Certainly a by-product of the progressive era by today’s standards there are few good guys in the movie (the reporter openly works with the government to censor news the government doesn’t want out) but entertaining enough and Dr Zorka is the template for the over the top mad scientists in fiction to this day.

Originally shown in 12 parts the series was edited down to under 80 minutes from 265 to be shown as a feature film on television in 1949. This is the edited version which does miss some of the action but is fun nonetheless.