Secret Agent X-9 [VHS]

Secret Agent X-9 is a 13-chapter serial from Universal, released in 1937, based on the newspaper comic strip created by Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond, often mentioned in connection with this serial, but credited in the film to Charles Flanders. The film stars Scott Kolk in the title role and was directed by Ford Beebe and Clifford Smith. Universal made another serial with the same title in 1945.An international jewel thief, Victor Brenda, who recently robbed the National Bank of Belgravia (not to be confused with any real places of that name), is believed to be in the U.S. when his close associate Blackstone (Henry Brandon) is spotted. Secret Agent X-9 (Scott Kolk), who goes by the name "Dexter" in this serial, is assigned to the case, turning over his "routine" task to a young agent. The "routine" task is to accompany shipment of the Crown Jewels of Belgravia, which had been on display in the U.S., back to their home country. While the jewels might seem like a potential target for Brenda, they are being guarded on the ship by a squad of Marines and the Federal agent is considered a formality. But though his door was guarded and the portholes closed, the bad guys drilled a hole from the adjoining cabin, killing the young agent with poison gas. They manage to steal the jewels, which are placed in a safe deposit box by one of Brenda's men, the proprietor of an Art Shop. Through good detective work Blackstone is temporarily captured, and a bag he was carrying is traced to the Art Shop. The proprietor ends up getting killed, and nobody else knows the location of the jewels, other than that the receipt for the safe deposit box was hidden beneath the pigment of an oil painting. The search for the jewels involves not only Brenda's men and the FBI, but also Belgravian Baron Karsten (Monte Blue) and his associate, Shara Graustark (Jean Rogers) who was working in the Art Shop, and they seem unwilling to cooperate with the FBI.The plot has the usual complexity of those from Universal in the late 1930's, and in this one the object of pursuit, the Crown Jewels, has aesthetic as well as monitary value, so the chase itself provides more interest than is often the case, further enhanced by requiring that the receipt be found first. The antagonistic attitude of Baron Karsten and questionable loyalties of Shara Graustark in the earlier chapters help keep up a sense of mystery. The acting, by serial movie standards, is fine. While Scott Kolk does not make a strong impression, one would hardly expect a "secret" agent to run around dressed and acting like Spy Smasher. He and the rest of the cast tend to underplay their roles, as would be expected of Henry Brandon. Even Monte Blue is fairly reserved, and the "comic relief" is kept within reason by David Oliver as Pidge, a taxi driver who assists X-9. The restraint helps give a feeling of "reality" and the plot moves along very well, with no sense of "padding" anywhere in the twelve chapters. There are a few lapses of logic, such as why known gang hangouts aren't guarded once they have been identified, but nothing unusual for serial movies, which rely on being watched one chapter at a time to help cover such minor issues.Universal's serials lacked the polished look of what Republic was making, even in 1937. The city in the background of the studio "rooftop" set has obvious seams and some dirt, and grainy stock footage is used for many of the street scenes. But the gang's hideout, the waterfront "pirate ship" attraction is effective, as is the mansion of the "Raymond Estate" with its secret passage to the boat house.VCI's edition on DVD, # 8341, is supplied on two discs. The image is mostly good, sharp and clear, and while a couple chapters are a bit dark it is never much of a problem. It is easy enough to read even the small print in the credits. The top of the picture bends slightly; this may vary with the TV set used, and appears to be caused by the Macrovision copy-protection. The sound has a little distortion, mostly noticed in the title music of some chapters and not uncommon on transfers from existing prints, but the frequency response is fairly good; there is no problem in understanding the dialogue except when the language is "Belgravian."This is not a serial to watch when an "over the top" experience is desired, but it is a good example of Universal's serials from the late 1930's; a different feel, not simply better or worse than those from Republic or Columbia, here in an excellent transfer, well worth the price.

old time serialmost of the episodes are on the second disc

Leonard J. Kohl, in his book "Sinister Serials" (2000), declared that this serial "is officially considered lost". Well, thanks in large part to the great collector and preserver of old radio shows and movies, Fred Shay, we now have a clear, clean print of this "lost" serial."Secret Agent X-9" began as a newspaper comic strip drawn by Alex Raymond, who had also created "Flash Gordon". Although Dashiell Hammett was apparently hired to help with the plot, he ended up contributing very little. Too bad, because this is one very boring serial. (Universal was just not very good at producing effective stories for this very tricky genre.) The plot has to do with a mysterious jewel thief, the crown jewels of some imaginary country, examining paintings with a ray-beam device to find a bank receipt, boat chases, G-men, etc. It's all rather ho-hum, if you ask me. However, the serial gains in historical significance much of what it lacks in entertainment value, for one of the minor characters is a thug named Marconi who is played by none other than Lon Chaney, Jr. Two years after this serial was released, Chaney would portray Lennie in the movie and stage versions of Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", and he would go on to become a very popular B-movie star who would also make some significant A-movies.Each episode on this two-DVD set begins with the serial's titles and credits and, starting with episode 2, a comic strip that outlines what happened during the last episode. This is exactly the way serials were shown in theaters in the "old days", and the way they should be watched today.Oh sure, sometimes a scene or two is a bit dark, and the framing of the picture is not always perfect, and the crispness of a print made from the original nitrate negative may not be present, still, all in all, this is a top-notch version of a serial that is no longer "lost".A great addition for anyone collecting old serials, but newcomers to this form of entertainment may wish to begin with one made by Republic Pictures. Now THEY knew how to make a serial!

Anyone who knows this type of film knows that they were made on the cheap---"B" minus, minus movie status. so, a lot of production vaues---like sets, costumes etc---were at a bare minimum. Despite this handicap, serials managed to entertain with energetic action---one serial director was quoted as saying; "Walk into a room, have a fight. Walk out of a door, have a chase." Thrills in the air, on the roads, and thrills in fast moving boats. I enjoyed serials as a boy, sixty plus years ago, and I still enjoy them. If you just give in to the flow, pocket your critical eye, the way you might give in to a rolloer-coaster ride you can have blast.A mark of a good "chapter play" is the appeal of the hero, and Secret Agent X-9 is likable. His morality and ethics are within grasp of the child in us withou cheapening them: as adults today we want to believe such naive values if only because of the absence of them in contemporary times. That's what makes them so appealing. SAX-9 makes them clear to us by his impassioned crime fighting, AND important, important enough for us to want to help stop the shenanigans of the bad guy.Penny for penny this is the best bang for one's tough to come by buck. The picture and sound are good, the action exiting, the dialogue is crisp. This is a five-bags-of-popcorn quality 'movie'.

A couple good death traps,Fairly good twists, and decent fight sequences.

The early Secret Agent X-9 has a more crime/spy based plot.Scott Kolk plays X-9 as a sometimes weary agent.Good dialogue, smooth moving if slow plot and decent acting.VCI's usual great restoration of the early Universal serial makes this a fun serial to watch.

第2次大戦中の1943年。東京のハカヒマ博士(ベンソン・フォン)は、航空機燃料の研究中に、偶然、722という元素を生成する。722が、航空機の燃料として戦況を有利に導くと睨んだ日本軍は、その元素の製法を唯一知る米国の科学者アルバート・レイモンド博士の資料を手に入れようとする。ちょうどその頃、中国沿岸にある中立地帯のシャドウ島には、米国の諜報員X-9ことフィル・コリガン(ロイド・ブリッジス)を始めとする世界各国の秘密諜報員が集まり、日本の動きを探っていた…。ミステリー作家のダシール・ハメットやレスリー・チャータリスらが原作を手掛けた同名新聞連載漫画の映画化(連続活劇版)作品。ユニバーサルの連続活劇版として、すでに1937年に『 国際探偵X9号 』が作られたが(ただし、話や登場人物の設定などはかなり違う)、本版は、時局を反映したリメイクとなる。日本劇場未公開。主演のロイド・ブリッジスは、メジャーA級作品では助演に甘んじたものの(何と言っても、『 真昼の決闘 』の若い保安官補役が有名だろう)、B級作品やTVシリーズなどでは主演として活躍し、息の長いキャリアを築いた俳優(ボーとジェフの父親としても有名だ)。目と目の間隔が狭く、どちらかというと端正な二枚目というよりは、ファニー・フェイスの好青年という感じだが、その親近感のある軽い感じの個性が、本作の諜報員役には合っている。戦時の作品とはいえ、例によって、悪役である日本人の描き方がおかしいのは気になるものの(「ハカヒマ」や「タカハリ」など名前もおかしい)、連続活劇らしく、アクションが豊富で、毎話の終わりに、X-9が絶体絶命に陥るお決まりの展開も楽しい限りで、気軽に観ることが出来るスパイ活劇だ。本DVDは、全13話を2枚のディスクに収めたもの。【Disc1】：・第1話”Torpedo Rendezvous”・第2話”The Flaming Lake”・第3話”Death Curve”・第4話”Floodlight Murder”・第5話”Doom – Downgrade”・第6話”Strafed by a Zero”【Disc2】：・第7話”High Pressure Deadline”・第8話”The Dropping Floor”・第9話”The Danger Point”・第10話”Japanese Burial”・第11話”Fireworks for Deadmen”・第12話” Big Gun Fusillade”・第13話”Zero Minute”本DVDは、パブリック・ドメイン作品(連続活劇も多く含まれる)を良質の35mm素材からテレシネ、レストアして発売することで定評のある米VCIのもの。ただし、本盤は、米ユニバーサル所蔵の状態の良い35mm素材からフィルム・スキャン、レストアして作られたマスターを使っているわけではないようだ。しかし、白黒諧調、ディテール表現ともに比較的良好で、鑑賞には全く問題のない画質。音声も平板ながら、明瞭でセリフが聴き取りづらいということもない。英語字幕は未収録。特典には、以下のものが収録。●ミステリー作家マックス・アレン・コリンズによるコメンタリー(Disc1のみ)●息子のボー・ブリッジスとの電話インタビュー(15分09秒)●スタッフ・キャスト情報(テキスト)●フォト・ギャラリー●VCI発売の連続活劇予告編(7分07秒)本DVDは、北米盤ながら、R-All仕様なので、日本製のR-2 プレーヤーで問題なく視聴可能だ。 国際探偵X9号真昼の決闘

Super

This serial is realistic to a point but amusing to watch. The backgrounds and cars of the day are all real and brings you back to the day. It is in very good condition visually and sound quality. For the price, I would buy it.

Good old story