...ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...return with us, once again, to the thrilling golden days of yesteryear, when sandwiched in between each and every classic double-feature bill, yet another grueling and suspense-instilling serial chapter...gripping the audience with anticipation, and gasp-inducing thrills & chills. During that exciting time, famed Republic Pictures held a pretty respectable gamut, in the genre of multi-chaptered cliffhangers, with the best of them amongst the lot, including 1939's "Zorro's Fighting Legion", 1936's "Undersea Kingdom", 1946's "The Crimson Ghost", 1950's "Desperadoes of the West" (...covered earlier, on this webpage), 1949's "King of the Rocket Men", 1945's "The Purple Monster Strikes", and several others. For the most part, known for being quite fast-paced, as well as being crammed with as much easily-digestible story into each chapter, the Republic serials very much stood out amongst their peers, which included the likes of Universal Pictures, Pathe Exchange, Columbia Pictures, Astra Films and Mascot Pictures, just to name a few. And it was gripping and action-packed entries, such as 1949's "Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc...one of Republic's latter-end serials...which firmly cemented their reputation, as far as their respected and well-received contribution to this genre...
...we open up this compelling episode set of adventures with a most sinister and diabolical union: Nila (Carol Forman), a most beautiful, albeit quite devious femme fatale from the small Mid-Eastern country of Abistahn, and leader of an international crime syndicate, joins forces with the notorious stateside domestic gangster, Spade Gordon (Roy Barcroft), in an unholy collaboration bent upon world domination. To accomplish this, they relentlessly seek an ancient treasure piece: one of two solid gold clasping hands of Kurigal (...an ancient and long-forgotten Abistahn revolutionary), which is inscribed with hieroglyphics that will lead them to Kurigal's long lost treasure, by which the evil duo would finance their proposed underground organization, and it's nefariously prerequisite operations. The only known persons, who reportedly possess the knowledge of the location of the second gold hand...archaeologist Professor James Clayton (James Craven), and his assistant, Professor Paul Williams (Bruce Edwards), who both have spearheaded their own sleuth, in search of the Kurigal treasure. Already in possession of one of the famed golden hands, Nila...adeptly skilled at concocting hallucinogenic and mind-manipulative potions & powers...makes determinant use of her new partner's henchmen forces, and kidnaps Professor Clayton, in her search for the matching piece, as well as thwarting the interfering efforts of those who might try to stop her...including a most daring, heroic and determined team of special government agents, led by Federal Agent David Worth (Kirk Alyn), his trusted assistant, Steve Evans, and the missing archeologist's assistant, Laura Keith (Rosemary LaPlanche). Spanning the globe, from the States to the exotic locale of Abistahn, our intrepid agents take to the chase, and instigate their search for the missing professor, as well as unravel the underworld's fiendish scheme...and the mystery associated with the two golden hands, especially once they are joined...
...as engaging and suspenseful as this rapid-fire, fast-paced chapter serial is, there's clearly a deliciously thick slice of 'cheese', evident here, which naturally and amiably fits quite well into the eclectically varied cadre of genre selections, carried by the serial's present distributor, Cheezy Flicks. Well dressed gangster henchmen are shown to almost always go for the 'fake out', in setting up and instigating a fist fight (...I guess, in this film's 'world', the good guys just don't do that, 'cause it's just too sneaky). The barreling juggernaut 'tank'-like automobiles, which make up the street vehicles in this film, seem almost incredibly monstrous and indestructible at high speeds, that is until they are careened off the nearest available cliff, and seem to blow up as easily as a late '70's Mazda, hit from behind. And those escapes...oh, those tense, nail-biting narrow escapes, from chapter to chapter, seem so insanely contrived and so well fitted to the death-defying situations, as to deem the survival factor in these featured escapes, much more evident of outright dumb luck, rather than clever convenience...and that's just for starters, as far as the overall cheesy campiness...
...actress Carol Forman easily steals the show here, in her exotically alluring role as the beautiful, albeit deadly Nila, the film's villainous protagonist; in fact, Carol's role as Nila...seemingly almost an extension of her equally alluring 'Spider Woman' character, in Republic's 1947 thriller, "The Black Widow"...marks a notable milestone in chapter serials, with the character of Nila being the first time a female villain is so prominently featured, in such chapter-segmented proceedings. In contrast to the devilishly devious Nila character, and most able-bodied impervious, in resisting her fatally hypnotic charms, is actor Kirk Alyn, as the heroically intrepid, keenly inquisitive and square-jawed Federal agent, David Worth. Of course, as most film aficionados are already most privied, Kirk Alyn possesses the acclaimed honor of his very own 'first' in cinematic history, which is having been the first movie actor to portray the Man of Steel himself, Superman, in the 1948 & 1950 serials, "Superman" & "Atom Man vs. Superman" (...the latter of which ALSO starred Carol Forman); however, in "Federal Agents...", Kirk is amusingly relegated to a role much more stereotypical of firm-to-the-cause, feature-film law enforcement, dedicated to the cause of might makes right, and ready to do whatever it takes, no matter how reckless and dangerous...yes, very much cliched, especially with the smart, sharply pressed, double-breasted suits (...which actually seem to hold up quite well, when engaging the respectable number of rough & tumble fisticuff bouts, well-choreographed in the film; in the world depicted in this film, dry cleaners just HAVE to love guys like this), snappy brimmed hats, and slightly monotone inflection (...definitely predating the Joe Friday character, in TV's "Dragnet")...
...with a supporting cast quite adequate and applicably interactive to the events herein, coupled with a most engaging, action-packed and entertaining storyline intrigue, "Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc" most assuredly demonstrates it's capable muster, as one of the best of the old-time cliffhanger serials. The chapters may have once been relegated to week-by-week presentation, but lucky us...with the technological advance of home video, the entire chapter set lies waiting to engage...and much like a good book, these chapters are irresistible page turners...up to the oh-so thrilling conclusion...
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