a5c7b9f00b When the ancient continent of Mu sank beneath the ocean, some of its inhabitant survived in caverns beneath the sea. Cowboy singer Gene Autry stumbles upon the civilization, now buried beneath his own Radio Ranch. The Muranians have developed technology and weaponry such as television and ray guns. Their rich supply of radium draws unscrupulous speculators from the surface. The peaceful civilization of the Muranians is corrupted by the greed from above, and it becomes Autry's task to prevent all-out war, ideally without disrupting his regular radio show. CHAP. 1 SINGING COWBOY: Professor Beetson and his associates arrive at Gene's Radio Ranch looking for a buried city and a fortune in radium. When Gene helps them look for the secret entrance to Murania located 25,000 feet below Radio Ranch, the Muranian Queen sends her men to kill Gene. CHAP. 2 THUNDER RIDERS: Wanting everyone off Radio Ranch so they can investigate in private, Beetson frames Gene for murder. CHAP. 3 LIGHTNING CHAMBER: In Murania Lord Argo is planning a revolution while on the surface Gene flees from the Sheriff in a car without brakes. CHAP. 4 PHANTOM BROADCAST: Still fleeing from the Sheriff Gene must make his radio broadcast or lose his contract and the ranch. CHAP. 5 BENEATH THE EARTH: Switching clothes with a Muranian, Gene is taken to the underground empire where the Queen sentences him to die. CHAP. 6 DISASTER FROM THE SKY: Gene tries to stop the radium bomb the Queen has sent to kill the riders on the surface. CHAP. 7 FROM DEATH TO LIFE: Declared dead the Queen sends Gene to the revival chamber so she can learn the name of the traitor that previously released him. CHAP. 8 JAWS OF JEOPARDY: Reaching the surface Gene takes Beetson's airplane but the Queen sends a ray that kills the engine and the plane crashes. CHAP. 9: PRISONERS OF THE RAY: Frankie and Betsy are taken to Murania. Escaping their captors they throw the switch that will enable Gene to find the secret surface entrance only to be apparently electrocuted. CHAP. 10 REBELLION: Gene tells the Queen that Argo is the traitor and learning of this, Argo starts the revolution. CHAP. 11 QUEEN IN CHAINS: Argo takes over control Murania and sentences the Queen to death. CHAP. 12 END OF MURANIA: Gene saves the Queen and locks Argo and his men in the room with the death ray which gets out of control. With the end of Murania imminent the Queen refuses to leave. Gene and the others reach the surface where Gene must still face the murder charge. So awful it is excellent… so it scores a 5. Please also read the other comments for the startling blend of ingredients to be screamed at in the dizzy 1935 serial spectacular from backyard shed studio MASCOT Pictures. One could almost pass out in a frenzy of 'where do I start' alarm in trying to even begin to describe what I saw…. but here I go…. (oooh! tingles!)…. A gang of kid horseback riders with buckets on their heads. A funny farm of single men who - every day at 2pm - sing songs about each other. A secret cave with a glass elevator to a picture of an underground art deco city. Hillbilly inspired robots with tin hats and noses. (noses! why would a robot need a nose?) Big zizzy ray-gun and a torpedo launcher that spits striped flying frankfurters. An evil queen (a real one) still dressed for that nightclub date that never happened. Men in tinsel miniskirts. Tubby old men. Like Uncle Wally. Big screen art deco TVs everywhere… even on a cave wall. …. etc… etc…. all 1934/5 madness. Made before UNDERSEA KINGDOM and made before FLASH GORDON this serial clearly made so much money that Repubic bought Mascot and remade the film immediately using the same sets and storyline. (bummer if you saw both in 1936… what a gyp!) … and of course, Universal restructured and remade both with a budget and Buster Crabbe and FLASH GORDON history was made. But is it cheap littler Mascot Pictures who got there first and Hollywood me and you are never the same once you get through this entire serial. "The Phantom Empire" is a unique genre mixture of western, SF, musical and adventure serial. Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, discovers Murania, an underground kingdom whose queen sends her whole army after him so he won't tell the "surface people" about the existence of her secret empire. Because a serial with 12 parts needs a few complications, there is a conspiracy against the queen. The rebels need to silence Autry because he knows their plans, but Autry is also in danger from "surface people" who wouldn't stop at anything to get hold of the valuable radium in Murania. Thus chased by everyone, the most important thing to our hero is nevertheless to be at the radio station in time for the 2 pm broadcast! Hilarious fun with clumsy bucket-head robots, ray guns and country songs, a must for fans of 30s serials.
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