GOVERNMENT AGENTS vs PHANTOM LEGION

If the weather is atrocious or I have a stinker of a hangover (it’s not unusual for these two to go hand in hand!), the remedy is usually a quaint black and white horror flick. The Universal Studios classics, Bava’s Black Sunday, or Tom Six’s heart warming Human Centipede II (!) are just a few examples. But back in 1951, it wasn’t just full length motion pictures that played at movie theatres. Weekly serials such as the previously covered JUNGLE DRUMS OF AFRICA would be listed.

Republic Pictures were the purveyors of such fare from that era and this month Cheezy Flicks have gleefully added another DVD crammed with 12 episodes to their cheap and cheerful catalogue in the form of GOVERNMENT AGENTS Vs. PHANTOM LEGION.

The complete 12 episode series is contained on Cheezy Flicks’ disc which is logically split into a dozen chapters. The saga revolves around a mysterious criminal mastermind who only meets his gang in neutral hotel venues. It is there he conducts his gang into hijacking the cargoes being carried by the numerous vehicles that are collectively known as the Truckers Association.

In what I imagine would have been very controversial twist back in the 1950’s, the nameless architect of these crimes is a double crossing SOB as he is orchestrating foreign sales as a result of these heinous robberies.

After numerous emergency meetings held by the Truckers Association, it is eventually agreed that one of their illustrious members, Hal Duncan (Walter Reed) takes up his former position of Federal Investigator. With his rather lovely personal secretary by his side Kay Roberts (Mary Ellen Kay), Duncan goes about his task as a driver in the hope he can attract the nefarious mobsters.

Of course this doesn’t take too long! Gang members Regan (Dan Curtis) and Cady (Fred Coby) are the first to take the bait as Duncan safeguards a truck full of ‘Government issue’ grenades. It kicks starts a succession of cat and mouse style escapades filled with traps, car crashes and of course some good ole fashion fisticuffs!

I have to say I felt the need to ‘strap in’ at the prospect of being faced with 167 minutes of action / crime drama from the 1950’s. I harboured a nagging fear that, considering to the standard of prints that Cheezy Flicks usually peddle, the task of ploughing through nearly 3 hours of material from them could have been a real challenge. But in all honesty, it fared pretty well on the audio and picture front.

Speech was clear and audible meaning the intricacies of the coiling plot could be effortlessly followed. The picture, although not re-mastered in any way shape or form was consistent and clear throughout. This quite possibly is down to the source material itself which I dare say has hardly had too many outing since its theatrical glory days of the 1950’s!

It’s probably not the wisest of moves but, for reviewing purposes, I sat aside 3 hours and watched the disc in its entirety. The 11 aforementioned of 12 chapters end on the proverbial ‘cliff hanger’ whose design served as a magnet for bums onto seats the following week 60 years ago.

Watching the series in one sitting obviously exposed a couple of the saga’s quirks. For example, each episode is individually titled and some truly intriguing sub plots are alluded to. "The Death Drop", "Doorway to Doom" "The Stolen Corpse" to name just a few. However, I couldn’t help but feel it would have been more apt to have simply called them "Hijack, Car Chase, Set Trap, Fist Fight 1", "Hijack, Car Chase, Set Trap, Fist Fight 2", "Hijack, Car Chase, Set Trap, Fist Fight 3" and so on and so forth until the grand "Blazing Retribution" of a finale!

On a positive note, the stunts featured along the way are executed reasonably well. There is a healthy supply of tyre screeching mayhem which invariably culminated in vehicles flying off cliffs or suffering flame engulfed fates. The action was well choreographed and in turn, these sequences injected an element of adrenaline into proceedings to counterbalance the numerous devised schemes being planned in dimly lit rooms!

In summary GAvsPL is hardly the sort of material I would urge folk to rush out and purchase. But if you have a romantic loyalty to vintage crime busting serials and have a penchant for bad guys sporting moustaches and clad in traditional gangster garb this could well be a great way to spend an evening. Personally, I prefer ass to mouth nail gun debauchery with a dose of laxative thrown in for good measure! Talking of which... where the Hell did I leave that soggy bit of sandpaper....?!

Review by Marc Lissenburg