Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders
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| Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders | |
|---|---|
 Original poster |
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| Directed by | Franklin Adreon |
| Produced by | Franklin Adreon |
| Written by | Ronald Davidson |
| Starring | William Henry Susan Morrow Arthur Space Dale Van Sickel Pierre Watkin |
| Music by | Stanley Wilson |
| Cinematography | John MacBurnie |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1953 |
| Running time | 12 chapters (167 min) |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $172,795 (negative cost: $167,669) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders (1953) is a Republic Movie serial starring Bill Henry and both produced and directed by Franklin Adreon. It was the sixty-second serial (of sixty-six) produced by Republic. Despite the title, this is not a science fiction serial. The plot is a northern cold war adventure involving secret missile bases and a planned invasion of the United States.
This serial, like any produced in the 1950s, is not considered the best of its kind. It is seen as "nice" [1], "pedestrian"[2] and "not the greatest" but it is not the worst serial made by Republic in the post-war period.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A foreign power, represented by their agent Marlof, attempts to set up secret missile bases in Canada to target the United States for their planned summer invasion. Meanwhile, acting on intelligence following the smashing of a spy ring in Montreal, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers Don Roberts and Kay Conway go undercover in a settling party headed for the Yukon. Marlof also has agents, Beck and Reed, in the party enroute to the site of the planned missile bases.
[edit] Cast
- Bill Henry as Don Roberts, Sergeant in the RCMP
- Susan Morrow as Kay Conway, undercover operative of the RCMP
- Arthur Space as Marlof, agent of a foreign power masquerading as Smoky Joe a senile trapper
- Dale Van Sickel as Beck, one of Marlof's two key henchmen.
- Mike Ragan as Reed, the other of Marlof's two key henchmen.
[edit] Supporting cast
- Pierre Watkin as Morrison, Commissioner of the RCMP
- Stanley Andrews as Anderson, lead headed for the Yukon
- Edmund Cobb as Warner, a settler headed for the Yukon
- Jean Wright as Betty Warner, a settler headed for the Yukon
- .Fred Graham' as Mason, a henchman embedded with the settlers to keep them from reaching the Yukon
- Hank Patterson as Jed Larson, an wizened Yukon trapper
- Gayle Kellogg as Guy Sanders, a Corporal in the RCMP
- Harry Lauter as Clark, a Mountie
- Tom Steele as Mac, Marlof's truck driving henchman
[edit] Production
Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders was filmed between 24 March and 13 April 1953. The sixth chapter was released to film exchanges on 8 July 1953 and this date is now considered to be the official release date for the entire serial. In 1966, material from the serial was re-edited into a 100-minute feature film from Century 66 and released under the name Missile Base at Taniak.
The budget was set at $172,795 but production manage to come in at a negative cost of $167,669 making this the most underbudget of all Republic serials (by $5,126 or 3%). The next most under budget was, in fact, the preceding Jungle Drums of Africa at $5,082 (2.9%) under budget. Those were the only two Republic serials released in 1953, although the studio did re-release Adventures of Captain Marvel (as Return of Captain Marvel) and Captain America (as Return of Captain America) to pad out their release schedule, not to mention the serial Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe, which was originally intended to be a television series.
[edit] Chapter titles
- Arctic Intrigue (20 min 00s)
- Murder or Accident? (13 min 20s)
- Fangs of Death (13 min 20s)
- Underground Inferno (13 min 20s)
- Pursuit to Destruction (13 min 20s)
- The Boat Trap (13 min 20s)
- Flame Versus Gun (13 min 20s)
- Highway of Horror (13 min 20s)
- Doomed Cargo (13 min 20s)
- Human Quarry (13 min 20s) -- Re-cap Chapter
- Mechanical Homicide (13 min 20s)
- Cavern of Revenge (13 min 20s)
[edit] Cliffhangers
[edit] Cliffhangers
- Arctic Intrigue: Beck buries Don and Kay in an avalanche.
- Murder or Accident?: Don is lured into a trap and falls down a concealed mineshaft.
- Fangs of Death: Beck knocks Don unconscious and commands his lead sled dog to kill.
- Underground Inferno: Don is caught in a cave full of burning ammunition as it explodes.
- Pursuit to Destruction: In a car chase, Don's tyre is punctured sending it over a cliff.
- The Boat Trap: While intercepting a boat, the Mounties come under grenade attack from Beck.
- Flame Versus Gun: Beck shoots Don with a rifle, knocking the Mountie over a cliff.
- Highway of Horror: Kay is knocked unconscious in a car, which crashes and explodes.
- Doomed Cargo: Don knocks beck and Reed overboard but the boat he's on crashes into the rocks.
- Human Quarry: Don is caught in a bear trap and triggers a spiked deadfall trap as he tries to escape.
- Mechanical Homicide: Marlof rolls his car into the rock Don is using for cover, sending everything over a cliff.
[edit] Solutions
- Murder or Accident?: Don and Kay survive the avalanche.
- Fangs of Death: Don grabs a root as he falls and climbs back out.
- Underground Inferno: Kay disperses the pack of dogs with gun shots (Don's thick coat protected him from a mauling).
- Pursuit to Destruction: Don runs out of the cave just in time.
- The Boat Trap: Don jumps clear of the car before it goes over the edge.
- Flame Versus Gun: The Mounties jump overboard before their boat explodes.
- Highway of Horror: Don lands in a river. His cartridge case caught the bullet.
- Doomed Cargo: Don rides alongside and rescues Kay.
- Human Quarry: Don dives overboard before the boat crashes.
- Mechanical Homicide: Don jams the falling trap with a piece of firewood and Kay frees him from the bear trap.
- Cavern of Revenge : Don dives safely into a river below.
[edit] Stunts and effects
Special Effects by the Lydecker brothers
[edit] References
- ^ IMDb User Comments, retrieved 10/04/07
- ^ All Movie Guide, retrieved 10/04/07
- Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement; Mathis, Jack, 1995, ISBN 0-9632878-1-8
[edit] External links
- Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders at the Internet Movie Database
- Brief review of Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders at Quirk's Reviews
| Preceded by Jungle Drums of Africa (1953) (Serial) |
Republic Serial Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders (1953) |
Succeeded by Trader Tom of the China Seas (1954) |
| Preceded by Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (1953) (Intended to be a TV series) |
