Undersea Kingdom
Entry updated 29 April 2024. Tagged: Film.
US Serial Film (1936). Republic Pictures. Directed by B Reeves Eason and Joseph Kane. Written by John Rathmell, Maurice Geraghty and Oliver Drake, based on a story by Tracy Knight and John Rathmell. Cast includes Lee Van Atta, Monte Blue, John Bradford, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, William Farnum, C Montague Shaw and Lois Wilde. 12 episodes, 226 minutes in total. Black and white.
Professor Norton's (Shaw) (see Scientists) new Invention not only predicts earthquakes but also – if he can get close enough to the source – prevent them. However, it is now detecting signals originating from Under the Sea, seemingly confirming his theory that Atlantis still exists: he believes the continent had sunk over a matter of years, thus giving its inhabitants time to construct a roof to keep out the ocean. This is indeed the case, for we cut to Atlantis where evil usurper Unga Khan (Blue) and his black-robed forces are besieging the Sacred City (see Religion) with cavalry, a tank and a flying craft; the white-robed defenders have only spears and trebuchets, though later we see they have a flame-thrower built into the walls. Unga Khan is pleased with his imminent victory: "With those religious fanatics under control I'll have no more interference with my plans to destroy the upper world." This is to be achieved by returning Atlantis to the surface where, as a minion declares, Khan will be "ruler of all things". He certainly has the Technology, such as a "disintegrator", which he uses to destroy part of a US City.
Assuming this destruction was caused by a natural earthquake, the professor hopes to prevent more by travelling in his "rocket submarine" to its source, 10,000 feet below sea level. Accompanying him are his cowardly assistant Joe (Bradford); athletic naval Lieutenant "Crash" Corrigan (Corrigan), beloved by all, and Journalist Diana Compton (Wilde) – plus a couple of comic-relief sailors (see Humour) with their parrot. There is also a stowaway, the professor's young son, Billy (Atta): his presence is discovered after Joe goes mad and tries to crash the submarine. When Unga Khan notices their approach he orders a magnetic Ray to be used to drag the submarine into Atlantis, sending horsemen and Robots (called "Volkites") to capture the crew. Joe dies; the rest are split up. The Professor and Diana are taken to Unga Khan's headquarters, a metal tower which "contains all the machinery which has enabled me to harness the atom, the most destructive force known to science" (see Nuclear Energy); he wants to use Norton's Rocket design to propel his tower to the surface, where "I'll either become supreme ruler of the upper world, or destroy it." (see Imperialism; Invasion). He then brainwashes Norton into obedience with another of his devices. After a failed attempt at rescue, Corrigan retreats to the Sacred City: he initially makes a bad impression, but wins the inhabitants over by preventing the abduction of their high priest Sharad (Farnum) – and is rewarded by being appointed Commander of the Atlantean army, for which he gets a helmet, cape and sword.
Further attempts to rescue Norton fail, enabling him to build the "rocket motors" that can lift the tower to the surface – all he needs is the priming powder to start the motors. Both sides rush to get the submarine's stock of powder, with Corrigan getting there first. Later, he and Billy succeed in rescuing Norton, so Unga Khan orders an all-out attack, with Norton recaptured and the Sacred City bombed with what looks like V-2 rockets. Looking at the carnage, Khan's men withdraw: for "there isn't a chance of anyone remaining alive after that" ... and indeed, everybody seems dead, save for Corrigan, Diana and Billy, who are merely dishevelled. Corrigan dresses up as a robot and enters the enemy's tower, successfully restoring Norton's free will: however, they are captured and the tower ascends to the surface. Corrigan had managed to radio the US navy, but the tower has a Force Field (an "invisible wall of atom rays") so is unharmed by the naval guns – until Corrigan and Norton escape, disabling the equipment in Khan's operating room, enabling the navy to destroy the tower, with our heroes leaving in a flying craft.
Diana and Billy have escaped Atlantis in the submarine: but it has been stated that if the tower lifts off it will pierce Atlantis' roof and the sea will flood in, so – as Unga Khan and his men were all presumably killed by the US Navy – the entire Atlantean race is now extinct. This does not seem to concern anybody. In the end we see Norton studying Khan's robots, hoping one day "all mankind will be relieved of the drudgery of physical labour" by using this technology. Meanwhile, Corrigan and Diane wed.
As is usual with these serial films there are numerous Clichés, Scientific Errors and logical flaws such as why Unga Khan has not already defeated Sharad (whose city has wooden gates), given his massive technological advantage: aside from the Weapons already mentioned, there are Ray Guns and a distance viewer (see Communications) that can see anywhere. There is mention of not using the most violent weapons for fear of cracking the roof, but this seems forgotten in the final assault on the Sacred City. The story is fast moving, even if it mainly involves charging around in chariots between the Sacred City and Unga Khan's tower, or Corrigan taking out black-robe warriors with a headlock, often two at a time; the Volkites have likeably clunky designs. Shaw gives a reasonable performance, but otherwise the acting is poor; Diana is underused (as are, thankfully, the comic reliefs); sadly, Billy is not. Undersea Kingdom, which was Republic's response to the success of Universal's serial Flash Gordon (1936), is amiably forgettable. Decades later it was edited down to become the television film Sharad of Atlantis (1966). [SP]
links
previous versions of this entry