G-Men vs the Black Dragon
| G-Men vs. The Black Dragon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by |
Spencer Gordon Bennet William Witney William J O'Sullivan |
| Produced by | William J. O'Sullivan |
| Written by |
Ronald Davidson William Lively Joseph O'Donnell Joseph Poland |
| Starring |
Rod Cameron Roland Got Constance Worth Nino Pipitone Noel Cravat George J. Lewis |
| Cinematography | Bud Thackery |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
15 chapters / 243 minutes (serial) 100 minutes (TV) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $148,445 (negative cost: $156,599) |
G-Men vs. The Black Dragon (1943) is a Republic Pictures movie serial. It is noteworthy among adventure serials as containing an unusually high number of fistfights, all staged by director William Witney and a team of stuntmen.
This was Witney's last production before leaving to serve in World War II, he actually shipped out before filming was complete. It also sees Witney's wife, Maxine Doyle, returning to acting for the first time since they met on the set of an earlier serial, S O S Coast Guard (1937).
Rod Cameron's characterization of federal agent Rex Bennett was so successful that Republic hurriedly made changes to Cameron's next serial, already in production. It became an unofficial sequel, Secret Service in Darkest Africa, with Cameron's character renamed Rex Bennett, and the feminine lead Joan Marsh becoming a British character, as in G-Men vs. the Black Dragon.
In 1966 the serial was edited into a feature titled Black Dragon of Manzanar. It played on television as part of Republic's "Century 66" package of 100-minute serial adaptations.
After Japanese spies from the infamous Black Dragon Society infiltrate United States borders, Federal Agent Rex Bennett is enlisted by the government to capture them. As Oyama Haruchi, leader of the dangerous paramilitary group, begins to destabilize the United States war effort through sabotage and corruption, Bennett must team up with British special agent Vivian Marsh and Chinese special agent Chang Sing to stop them and help win the war.
G-Men vs. The Black Dragon was commissioned based on the success of the serial Spy Smasher, although the production team preferred to have a non-costumed character.
G-Men vs. The Black Dragon was budgeted at $148,445 although the final negative cost was $156,599 (a $8,154, or 5.5%, overspend).
It was filmed between 26 September and 4 November 1942. The serial's production number was 1198.
...
Wikipedia