The Phantom Empire!

This classic 1935 serial starring Gene Autry the singing cowboy in his movie lead debut is a exquisite blend of pulp elements.

The story briefly is that Autry and his band have a radio show called "Melody Ranch" which is broadcast live each day at 2 pm from the ranch of the Baxter family. It's an audience affair and folks have been showing up on the ranch to see the producton which strangely offers up live action for the radio show. Also on hand are Frankie and Betsy Baxter, two siblings who lead the Thunder Riders Club named after a mysterous troop of bizarre horsemen who sometimes "thunder" across the ranch's outlying areas. Also showing up are some scientists interested in radium deposits located on the ranch and possibly a lost underground world of Mu in which this radium can be found.


There's a lot going on and it never much stops once it kicks off, despite a four-hour length. The twelve chapter serial offers up a neat array of cliffhangers and gets everyone in the act. The action gets a bit more serious when Mr.Baxter, the owner of the ranch and the parent of the kids is murdered by the scientists. Autry is blamed for it and spends the balance of the movie running from the sheriff. He also ends up getting captured by the Thunder Riders who take him 25,000 feet below ground to the "super scientific city" of Murania which is ruled by the bitchy Queen Tika. Also on hand are some outrageous robots, possibly the worst ever filmed. These robots though apparently originally appeared in the movie Dancing Lady starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford. This is apparently the movie in which Fred Astaire debuted. Sheesh! All that goodness and these robots. I'll confess they have a goofy charm, and fit right into the weirdness of this story.

Gene spends lots of time running around the ranch and Murania but ultimately with help from his comedic sidekick friends Oscar and Pete and the kids ends up not only defeating the scientists, clearing his name, but also utterly destroying Murania. There's lots more that happens, but it really needs to be seen.

This time watching it, though I had a thought about its utter weirdness. The way the story moves in and out of the radio drama and works in elements ostensibly from the real world into that drama makes me suspect at the end that the whole affair is to be understood by the audience as part of that overarching tale, part of the radio/movie story and not really what we thought happened to the real people. Like sideways bending of the fourth wall. It's a complicated notion, but the movie is really curious and this gives it an interesting tone.


I love this serial. I found it years ago I think on TV and soon after got a VHS copy. I've not yet gotten it on DVD, but since my dvd player is bust, it's a perfect time to dig out the old tapes and enjoy them again. I heartily recommend this movie to anyone who wants to have a good time watching a fun sci-fi/western/musical. It's perhaps unique in cinema, and a rollicking good time.

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