The Crimson Ghost
| The Crimson Ghost | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by |
Fred C. Brannon William Witney |
| Produced by | Ronald Davidson |
| Written by |
Albert DeMond Basil Dickey Jesse Duffy Sol Shor |
| Starring |
Charles Quigley Linda Stirling Clayton Moore I. Stanford Jolley Kenne Duncan Forrest Taylor Sam Flint Joseph Forte |
| Cinematography | Bud Thackery |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
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Release date
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $161,174 |
The Crimson Ghost is a 1946 Republic film serial directed by Fred C. Brannon and William Witney with Charles Quigley and Linda Stirling playing the leads. This was Witney's last serial, after a career that left him one of the most praised of all serial directors. The serial was re-released as a six-episode television series in the 1950s and as a television film called Cyclotrode "X" in 1966. In the 1990s The Crimson Ghost was one of only two Republic serials to be colorised. The villain of the serial, the Crimson Ghost of the title, is one of the most visually striking of the medium. The horror punk band Misfits adapted his visage as their skull logo, and he has appeared in the music video for the song "The Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden.
A mysterious villain, the eponymous Crimson Ghost, is determined to steal a counter atomic device known as Cyclotrode X, which can short out any electrical device.
The Crimson Ghost was budgeted at $137,912, although the final negative cost was $161,174 (a $23,262, or 16.9%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1946. It was filmed between March 28 and April 24, 1946 under the working title The Scarlet Shadow. The serial's production number was 1597.
In order to prevent the audience deducing the identity of the Crimson Ghost, the studio (Stanford Jolley) provided the voice, and was behind the costume Jolley's role was minor but he received fourth-billing and was therefore highly suspect. When The Crimson Ghost was unmasked in the 12th and final chapter, he proved to be yet another actor entirely, Joseph Forte, who had played a character seemingly above suspicion at that point in the serial.
Television's future Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore, played a rare villainous role in this serial as one of the Crimson Ghost's henchmen, a cold-hearted gangster named Ashe. This was director William Witney's last serial. His first was The Painted Stallion in 1937 and prior to this production had temporarily left the serial business to serve in World War II.
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