USA, 1955
15 x 2 reel serial
35mm film, black and white, 1.37:1
mono, English
An American fantasy serial directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet using the abbreviated version of his name Spencer G. Bennet. Michael Fox is credited in some sources as playing the “prime minister”, those sources often noting that he is credited throughout but doesn’t appear at all. His name does not appear on any of the prints we’ve seen so far.
Plot Summary
Trapper Nat Coleman and government agent Ted Arnold battle the lookalike of the Caliph Abdul el Hamid who is planning to seize power in an African nation. They are occasionally aided by masked crime fighter Captain Africa.
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directed by: Spencer G. Bennet
Columbia Pictures Corporation presents
Produced by: Sam Katzman
Story and Screen Play by: George H. Plympton
Assistant Director: Horace Hough
Set Continuity by: Ruth Brownson
Director of Photography: Ira H. Morgan
Film Editor: Earl Turner
Music Conducted by: Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Sound Engineer: Josh Westmoreland
Western Electric Recording
Art Director: Paul Palmentola
Set Decorator: Sidney Clifford
Unit Manager: Jack Erickson
Cast
John Hart (Captain Africa)
Rick Vallin (Ted [Arnold])
Ben Welden (Omar)
June Howard (Princess Rhoda)
Bud Osborne (Nat Coleman)
Paul Marion ([Abdul el] Hamid)
Lee Roberts (Boris)
Episodes
1. Mystery Man of the Jungle!
2. Captain Africa to the Rescue!
3. Midnight Attack!
4. Into the Crocodile Pit!
5. Jungle War Drums!
6. Slave Traders!
7. Saved by Captain Africa!
8. The Bridge in the Sky!
9. Blasted by Captain Africa!
10. The Vanishing Princess!
11. The Tunnel of Terror!
12. Fangs of the Beast!
13. Renegades at Bay!
14. Captain Africa and the Wolf Dog!
15. Captain Africa’s Final Move!
Alternative Titles
The Adventures of Captain Africa
Capitão África – Portugal
Urja, kuoleman mies – Finland
Links
Includes extracts from
The Phantom (1943)
Production Notes
Pre-production
The serial was originally intended to be a sequel to Columbia’s earlier serial The Phantom (1943) and went into production with that intention. Very late in the day, Columbia learned that its rights to the Phantom character had lapsed and the owners, King Features, were asking for more money than the studio was willing to pay. The existing material was re-edited and new material shot to make John Hart, who was playing The Phantom, look less like the copyrighted character who was now redubbed Captain Africa. Possibly as a result of the rewrites and reshoots, The Adventures of Captain Africa Mighty Jungle Avenger! features not one “cheater” episode (one which consists of nothing but flashbacks to earlier episodes, frequently included to keep costs down) but four.
Production
Although the evil doppelgänger of the Caliph is the main villain and spoken about frequently, he doesn’t actually appear in any of the 15 chapters.
References
Books
- Cliffhanger: A Pictorial History of the Motion Picture Serial by Alan G. Barbour pp.106, 206, 235 – notes
- The Columbia Checklist: The Feature Films, Cartoons, Serials and Short Subjects of Columbia Pictures, 1922-1988 by Len D. Martin p.405 – credits
- Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1982 by Michael R. Pitts p.288 – credits
- The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury by Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut pp.271-273 – notes
- In the Nick of Time: Motion Picture Sound Serials by William C. Cline pp.36, 75, 156; 257 – notes; credits, chapter titles
- Lexikon des phantatischen Films 2 by Rolf Giesen p.201 – credits
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.3 – credits
- Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912-1956 by Buck Rainey p.9 – credits, synopsis, chapter titles
