King of the Congo

King of the Congo is a 1952 American 15 chapter movie serial, the 48th released by Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Wallace Grissell, and stars Buster Crabbe. The serial also co-stars Gloria Dea, Leonard Penn, Jack Ingram, Rick Vallin, Nick Stuart, William Fawcett, and Rusty Wescoatt. King of the Congo was based on the comic book character "Thun'da", created by Frank Frazetta, and published by Magazine Enterprises.

For the 1929 Mascot serial, see The King of the Kongo.
King of the Congo
Theatrical release insert poster
Directed by
Written by
Produced bySam Katzman
Starring
CinematographyWilliam Whitley
Edited byEarl Turner
Music byMischa Bakaleinikoff
Color processBlack and white
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • May 1, 1952 (1952-05-01)
Running time
252 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

King of the Congo centers around a U.S. Air Force captain and his quest to find missing microfilm containing information vital to the United States government. His journey takes him across the Atlantic all the way to a jungle in Africa.

Plot

Captain Roger Drum (Buster Crabbe) shoots down an enemy plane carrying microfilm while on its way to Africa to deliver it an enemy of America. Intent on revealing this subversive group for whom the microfilm's message is intended, Drum assumes the enemy pilot's identity. He flies his twin-engine aircraft across the Atlantic, where he is forced to crash it in a remote African jungle. Drum is rescued by the all- female Rock People, led by Princess Pha. He is renamed Thunda, King of the Congo, after he repeatedly rings a temple gong using a large stone mallet, sounding the alarm to an attack by the primitive, all-male Cave Men. With the subversives believing Thunda is their missing pilot, and with the Rock People under constant attack from the Cave Men, Captain Drum plots to bring down the subversives who are searching for a new metal more radioactive and powerful than Uranium. At the serial's conclusion, Thunda (Drum) clears the jungle of America's enemy and is able to reunite, as one tribe, the all-female Rock People and all-male Cave Men.

Cast

Chapter titles
  1. Mission of Menace
  2. Red Shadows in the Jungle
  3. Into the Valley of Mist
  4. Thunda Meets His Match
  5. Thunda Turns the Tables
  6. Thunda's Desperate Charge
  7. Thunda Trapped
  8. Mission of Evil
  9. Menace of the Magnetic Rocks
  10. Lair of the Leopard
  11. An Ally from the Sky
  12. Riding Wild
  13. Red Raiders
  14. Savage Vengeance
  15. Judgment of the Jungle

Source:[1]

Production

King of the Congo was both the last Tarzan-style serial made and last serial to star Buster Crabbe.[2] Crabbe starred in nine serials between 1933 and 1952:

Filming locations

See also

References
  1. Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 253. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
  2. Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "6. Jungle "Look Out The Elephants Are Coming!"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.


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