The "Spy Smasher" serial is probably the only movie serial series I have seen start to finish. While the old serials were all good fun, they also were quite long when you put all 12 or 13 episodes together--too long. And, they also suffered some with logical and pacing problems. So, the idea of taking one of the series and condensing it into a full-length film isn't a bad idea. While I enjoyed "Spy Smasher" in its original form, I would easily admit that it was not an especially great series--enjoyable yes, but not all that good. Too often, you'd SEE the hero killed at the end of one episode only to see that he ACTUALLY somehow miraculously survived! Cheesy, that's for sure--especially since the original nearly 4 hours of film was made at a paltry $156,000! Here in the edited film, however, logical inconsistencies are removed and the film actually plays a bit better--and looks a bit better. It is, at times, a bit episodic because of the severe editing but it works. However, it is odd that they waited 24 years to do this! Most edited serials were done shortly after the original run of the serial.
Kane Richmond plays Alan Armstrong--a masked super-hero. He just happens to have an identical twin brother, Jack, who THINKS Alan was killed in a plane crash. However, it turns out the crash was staged--in order to allow Spy Smasher to work undercover to destroy the Axis menace--and Nazi spies in particular. Why Spy Smasher has to dress up on a mask, goggles, skullcap and the like is beyond me--but he's dandy at uncovering these creeps. But why didn't the baddies just grab him by the cape to stop him whenever they got in fights?! This film finds Alan investigating a Nazi counterfeiting ring run by 'The Mask'--the obligatory masked leader. Additionally, you'll see early television (a favorite gadget in B-movies of the time), trap doors, explosions, chases, a whip, more explosions, the good guys NEVER shooting the bad guys when they catch them, LOTS of narrow escapes, a bat plane, LOTS of fighting, a disruptor ray, motor cycle chases and so much action that it make your head spin! In each case, he beats up a group of baddies--only to find yet another group of the Mask out to do something else wicked! Will our intrepid hero stop the Mask or will international fascism reign supreme? Overall, this is a very silly film but also one that nostalgia buffs will enjoy. It's not brilliant or deep but it is entertaining.