Just what I expected

Disturbing yet enthralling

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

How can it be a spoiler if it is the first thing that occurs in the first chapter? At the start, Spy Smasher is in Gestapo headquarters. He goes around a desk, letting his cape lie on the edge. He sets his flashlight on the desk, inadvertently setting it on the cape. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he jerks backwards and the cape pulls the flashlight off the desk sending it skittering across the floor. Hearing the noise the Germans burst into the room starting what will turn out to be innumerable fist fights through out the 12 chapters.How did he get in Gestapo headquarters in the first place? What's he doing wearing that stupid cape? This is a "great" serial?Give me a break!!!

With some of the best fight scenes Hollywood ever produced, a viewer can only marvel at the quality of this excellent serial, called by many the best, or at least one of the best, ever.With both Dave Sharpe and Yakima Canutt present, although un-billed and credited only here at IMDb and among knowledgeable movie fans, we have to expect the very best in stunt work. And we get it.To repeat: Some of the best fight scenes ever produced in Hollywood.From the very beginning, we get a beautifully effective use of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, with the "V" motif, "V for Victory," which is perfect for 1942.It's very important to remember that 1942 context. Modern audiences are probably more used to pyrotechnics and glitz, of which there is none or very little.But what we get is a great story, with some truth in the basic premise of the bad guys' plot: An intention to ruin the U.S. economy by flooding the country with counterfeit money. (This has a truthful basis: Several times in the last 100 years, warring nations, or cold-warring nations, have attempted to subvert an enemy's economy just that way. For example, the Germans during World War II, and North Korea more recently. They didn't succeed, but at least a couple of U.S. administrations took over and flooded the economy with pretty-nearly worthless Federal Reserve notes in such numbers, prices soared as much as 20 percent!)We also get some good acting, some great directing, and some very great special effects from Republic's master, Howard Lydecker.The good acting comes not only from the listed stars and "withs," but from all the stunt-men-bad-guys and from the good guys who might eventually get killed by the nefarious bad guys.All in all, this is one great, one astonishingly great serial, available for home ownership, for rental from various sources, and for free at YouTube. Try to pick carefully. One uploader says his version is from a not-very-good VHS. But this is one great adventure, one exciting serial, one thoroughly entertaining, even enthralling, movie experience. From Republic. I like the sound of that word. And I highly recommend "Spy Smasher."

Possible spoilers.One of the best serials of the 1940s, Spy Smasher combines action and clever cliffhangers with a superb double role for its star, Kane Richmond, as well as an enjoyable cast. Richmond stars as twin brothers Alan and Jack Armstrong during the period just before and immediately into US involvement in the Second World War. Jack is fiancé to Eve Corby, the daughter of the recently-appointed director of foreign intelligence, Admiral Corby. Alan is a former news writer who faked his death in France during the Nazi conquest in order to begin building a network within the Resistance that will help him fight the Nazis on their own ground.Now, however, he must fight them in the US, as a Nazi intelligence officer, known as the Mask for his use of a mask when communicating with collaborators in the US, has hatched a scheme to flood counterfeit money into the US, the first of a series of sabotage efforts that bring out the intervention of Spy Smasher and Jack in a series of encounters with the Mask's henchmen.The running battle with the Mask's men, however, leads to tragedy, as Eve is kidnapped and an attempt at rescue proves fatal, leading to Eve's discovery of Spy Smasher's identity and eventually to a final showdown with the Mask amid a Nazi submarine attack on a US industrial base.

The Movie Serial, at least since the advent of sound, has always been considered a sort of poor relative of the feature, if not an out and out bastard cousin. They were always sort of viewed with the cartoons as being strictly made for the Matinée, the juvenile trade. As a result, there really is no "CITIZEN KANE" of Serials. SPY SMASHER comes close.To be sure,it is a product of Republic Pictures' "thrill factory"*, and has plenty of stock footage of explosions, fires, floods and other assorted calamities through out.All of these are skillfully woven into the final product. It still has a bright, vital out of doors look;as well as convincing indoor sets. It also has an excellent cast which is headed by energetic,athletic Kane Richmond. Next to Buster Crabbe, Mr. Richmond is probably the best leading man in the Sound Serials. He was also prolific,having been in several other serials.We have over 100 Serials in VHS or DVD formats in our household.This one is a top notch film,period. See it, but don't expect any 'Camp Humor". It's just not there.**NOTE* Republic adapted it from the popular comic book feature appearing in WHIZ COMICS. It was property of Fawcett Publications, whose CAPTAIN MARVEL was previously brought to the screen by Republc, in 1941.NOTE **See also SPY SMASHER RETURNS (1966), the edited-down feature version made for Television.