This is another action packed cliffhanger from the Thrill Factory. Released in 1943 as Secret Service in Darkest Africa and re-released in 1954 as Manhunt in the African Jungles, this serial hardly leaves the viewer time to catch their breath! Spencer Bennet directs Rod Cameron,Duncan Renaldo , Joan Marsh and a fine supporting cast, to tell a story of Nazi treachery and intrigue.Cameron plays Rex Bennett super spy ,sent to Casablanca to stop the Nazis from taking over in North Africa. Lionel Royce plays a dual role as the Sultan and head Nazi Baron von Rommler.Many familiar actors make up the supporting cast. The pulsating music score by Mort Glickman matches the action on screen. The cliffhangers are, for the most part convincing with the resolutions likewise. Noteworthy is the actions sequences. With an average of three fights per chapter,this serial must set a record.Howard Lydeckers special effects are ,as usual, first rate. A fifteen chapter serial from Republic Pictures and not to be missed !
8 Reviews
Very enjoyable
steve-667-1019020 August 2019
I saw this for the first time August 2019.
I grew up on republic serials but never got to see this one.
Very formulaic, no surprises there But a totally enjoyable ride.
The fight sequences are worth the price of admission alone. Great stuff and very pleased to have experienced this after having eluded me for so long.
Very formulaic, no surprises there But a totally enjoyable ride.
The fight sequences are worth the price of admission alone. Great stuff and very pleased to have experienced this after having eluded me for so long.
Rex Bennett - what a guy!
generalderflieger210 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I knew I was going to be in for something special barely a few minutes into the first episode when we found out that US secret agent Rex Bennett was apparently killed in Stalingrad! Having successfully infiltrated the German army would be no mean feat in itself, but to then survive the bloodiest battle in known history is a marvel in itself. We then find out that not only has super Rex survived and escaped Stalingrad, he is in Berlin! Perhaps working in the Führer's presence! Completely undetected!
Then all is explained, Rex is now shown to be German agent G27, and wait for it, the German agent responsible for KILLING the famous American agent Rex Bennett! He is addressed as Captain, although he has an SS Lt Colonels uniform on. As German super agent G27 (I wonder what happened to German super agents G1-G26?), Rex is ordered to Africa on a secret scheme that will turn the Muslim world against the United Nations! And this is years BEFORE the United Nations was actually started! What foresight! Rex has found out Germany's nefarious plans for Africa, even though after the battle for Stalingrad, Germnany was on the ropes in Africa and just about to surrender. But wait! Suddenly the Germans discover that agent G27 really is Rex Bennett, and then the first fight begins! And it's a beauty! Chairs get smashed, desks get smashed, guys swinging off the chandelier, leaping, diving, its great! Then the final sword fight, and the German officer loses his sword, but Rex gives it back! He is not going to kill an unarmed man, not our Rex!
The sword fight continues before the Rex finally sticks the German. On his way out he then stabs a portrait of the Führer just for good measure! Rex races to the airfield and gets into a single engined American plane which he is going to fly all the way to Africa, thousands of miles away and on a single tank of gas! Only Rex could do that! All this in the first 10 minutes! My favourite German agent is Wolfe, he really takes a beating in this series! Loads of fist fights, guys jumping off tables, smashing chairs, leaping through windows, great stuff! Poor old Wolfe seemed to absorb a lot of punishment, especially from Rex, but always came back for more. His schemes to kill Rex and his loyal skirt Janet always came soooo close, yet always fail. A great show, always ending with an excellent cliff-hanger and full of action, things blowing up, all-in fist fights galore, you name it! Thoroughly recommended! I'd turn for Rex - a real man's man!
Then all is explained, Rex is now shown to be German agent G27, and wait for it, the German agent responsible for KILLING the famous American agent Rex Bennett! He is addressed as Captain, although he has an SS Lt Colonels uniform on. As German super agent G27 (I wonder what happened to German super agents G1-G26?), Rex is ordered to Africa on a secret scheme that will turn the Muslim world against the United Nations! And this is years BEFORE the United Nations was actually started! What foresight! Rex has found out Germany's nefarious plans for Africa, even though after the battle for Stalingrad, Germnany was on the ropes in Africa and just about to surrender. But wait! Suddenly the Germans discover that agent G27 really is Rex Bennett, and then the first fight begins! And it's a beauty! Chairs get smashed, desks get smashed, guys swinging off the chandelier, leaping, diving, its great! Then the final sword fight, and the German officer loses his sword, but Rex gives it back! He is not going to kill an unarmed man, not our Rex!
The sword fight continues before the Rex finally sticks the German. On his way out he then stabs a portrait of the Führer just for good measure! Rex races to the airfield and gets into a single engined American plane which he is going to fly all the way to Africa, thousands of miles away and on a single tank of gas! Only Rex could do that! All this in the first 10 minutes! My favourite German agent is Wolfe, he really takes a beating in this series! Loads of fist fights, guys jumping off tables, smashing chairs, leaping through windows, great stuff! Poor old Wolfe seemed to absorb a lot of punishment, especially from Rex, but always came back for more. His schemes to kill Rex and his loyal skirt Janet always came soooo close, yet always fail. A great show, always ending with an excellent cliff-hanger and full of action, things blowing up, all-in fist fights galore, you name it! Thoroughly recommended! I'd turn for Rex - a real man's man!
The Action Packed of them all
mmegiraldi16 March 2005
One thing you can say about Rod Cameron character (Rex Bennett) in this serial, boy did he had to fight! All the episodes had a minimum of three fights each, and guess who was in the middle of most of them? That's right Rex Bennett. The second serial with the character was better than the first (G-Men Vs. The Black Dragon) due mostly to fights and cliffhangers but that doesn't mean that the first serial was boring, it was very good, but they made this one better. After dealing with saboteurs in the US, Bennett is sent to Northern Africa to stop the (very stereotypical) Nazi's schemes against the Allies. His main adversary is a certain Baron von Rommler, who's impersonating the local chief and friend of the Allies Sultan Abou Ben Ali. Nothing new, even for those days, true. But starting from this cliché the writers developed a series of creative and good perilous situations for Bennett and his friends (Joan Marsh and Duncan Renaldo as Janet Blake and Cap. Pierre). Plus when the fights ensued not only the stunts wanted to bring up something new, but even the cameramen! All in all, a good way to spend some hours in front of a TV.
"We must stop Wolfe before he can warn his friends about Rex"
hwg1957-102-26570419 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
A group of Nazis in Casablanca have a member Baron von Rommler impersonate the local sultan Abou Ben Ali and try in various ways to stop the allied powers from dominating North Africa. Helping them are various comrades disguised as Arabs, particularly one called Wolfe who does most of the legwork. Against them are ace American agent Rex Bennett, lively reporter Janet Blake and doughty Captain Pierre LaSalle of the French Diplomatic Headquarters.
It's an entertaining fast moving serial with good acting, detailed sets, swift chases in cars and on horses and lots and lots of fighting. Fighting where furniture is broken, guns are fired, swords are wielded and almost anything is used a a weapon. You have to admire the way the actors and stunt people engage enthusiastically with each other in conflict. They must have received many bruises if not worse. Duke Green for example played 'Sailor on Deck', 'Ambusher', 'Rama', 'Fezal', 'Karl', 'Sheik's Guard', 'Enemy Bushwacker', and 'Lobby Heavy'. He must have been punch drunk.
This was filmed before 3D film was invented but it would have made a good one as many times objects and fist and bodies are thrown directly at the camera to startling effect. It is well directed by Spencer Bennet and expertly written by six old serial hands.
It's an entertaining fast moving serial with good acting, detailed sets, swift chases in cars and on horses and lots and lots of fighting. Fighting where furniture is broken, guns are fired, swords are wielded and almost anything is used a a weapon. You have to admire the way the actors and stunt people engage enthusiastically with each other in conflict. They must have received many bruises if not worse. Duke Green for example played 'Sailor on Deck', 'Ambusher', 'Rama', 'Fezal', 'Karl', 'Sheik's Guard', 'Enemy Bushwacker', and 'Lobby Heavy'. He must have been punch drunk.
This was filmed before 3D film was invented but it would have made a good one as many times objects and fist and bodies are thrown directly at the camera to startling effect. It is well directed by Spencer Bennet and expertly written by six old serial hands.
Great action keeps you coming back for the next episode!
ptpiers5 November 2021
fun
gormgrymme28 July 2001
serials were never known for great acting, writing or much of anything else. However there are exceptions to the rule, and this is one of them. The plot may not be the freshest, and the nazis are about as stereotypical as they come, but some of the ideas that the writers came up with are quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the fake German graveyard in Morocco loaded with explosives. Also, predictable as every fight scene is, the stunt coordinators and cameramen went out of their way to let everything look just a little bit different (my dad's got about forty serials, and Manhunt has by far the best fights of any of them, it's also in the top five for most amusing cliffhangers). No other serial has the actors fighting at the camera (pardon the grammar, but there's no other way to put it). The sets are also quite remarkable in that a large number of items are placed around for the actors to use. Again don't be looking for a great story or good acting. Just sit back and enjoy what passed for gratuitous violence in the 1940s. It's definitely a winner.
It's All About Smashing Furniture!
Chance2000esl1 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Formulaic to the max. Neither title reflects the serial's actual content, "Fighting Nazis in Morocco," (actually, the Iverson ranch). The plot is just to fill in the lulls between fistfights. The packaging claims over 40 'fistic encounters' in 15 chapters. That's at least three a chapter! Aside from seeing Duncan Renaldo cast as a Spanish accented Frenchman, watching how much furniture is overturned, smashed, thrown, burned or blown up is what this serial is really all about. When the protagonists start fighting, you can bet that everything in the room will be in it, too. So, kudos to the fight choreographer, who is the real star of this serial!
Two positive notes: the characters do sometimes lose their hats during the fights, and best of all, we have the girl side kick (often a journalist, as she is here) actually participating in the mayhem, mostly by shooting and killing the bad guys. Yet to come is Linda Stirling killing the main villain in "Manhunt of Mystery Island" (1945). On the negative side, there are just too many jump out of the way escapes-- before the slab falls, before the car goes over the cliff, before the speedboat explodes, before the building explodes, before the truck hits you, etc. etc.
It is claimed that this serial partially 'inspired' George Lucas to make the first Indiana Jones film, but that is more by implied concept than because of the actual story or the serial's development.
Rod Cameron 'shines' as a moving rock, a role he played in all his films. Other than watching all the furniture getting smashed, there's nothing really going on here, compared to other serials that have fewer fights, more story, better actors and more developed characters.
I give it a 3 for all the furniture smashing.
Two positive notes: the characters do sometimes lose their hats during the fights, and best of all, we have the girl side kick (often a journalist, as she is here) actually participating in the mayhem, mostly by shooting and killing the bad guys. Yet to come is Linda Stirling killing the main villain in "Manhunt of Mystery Island" (1945). On the negative side, there are just too many jump out of the way escapes-- before the slab falls, before the car goes over the cliff, before the speedboat explodes, before the building explodes, before the truck hits you, etc. etc.
It is claimed that this serial partially 'inspired' George Lucas to make the first Indiana Jones film, but that is more by implied concept than because of the actual story or the serial's development.
Rod Cameron 'shines' as a moving rock, a role he played in all his films. Other than watching all the furniture getting smashed, there's nothing really going on here, compared to other serials that have fewer fights, more story, better actors and more developed characters.
I give it a 3 for all the furniture smashing.
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