Daredevil stunt pilot Smilin’ Jack Martin takes on the air war in China during the darkest days of WWII.

Adventures of Smilin’ Jack

Ep. 03: Attacked by Bombers

Although he appeared to have been shot by Japanese agent Yoshudo in chapter two, our hero was only faking and quickly gets the upper hand. En route to Chungking with Janet and Mah Ling, the governor of Mandon, Smilin’ Jack’s radio communication is intercepted by Axis agent Fraulein Von Teufel and her Japanese cohort Kageyama. Although the latter is at first dubious, the fraulein uses her powers to order a Japanese bombing raid on Chungking. Believing that he is communicating with the Chinese, Smilin’ Jack is rerouted to Fuchang, where Japanese soldiers kidnap Mah Ling and Tommy, Janet’s brother. Having remained in the airplane, Janet and Smilin’ Jack avoid capture and are able to track the hijackers’ vehicle from the air. Leaving the plane behind to follow in a Chinese truck, the pursuers are surprised by an enemy bombing attack, and their vehicle careens out of control.

Set just before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jack Martin helps the Chinese obtain the Mandon Secret, a secret route from China to India, lying in an isolated Chinese sector, which would aid the Chinese in the war effort or cause disaster if fallen into the hands of the Black Samurai, a Japanese espionage organization in partnership with the Nazis, and its leader the elusive Fraulein Von Teufel, who assumes the guise of Trudy, a press correspondent and friend of Jack. For thirteen chapters, Jack goes in and out of danger in order to assist the allied war effort. The serial’s main drawback is that it didn’t follow the comic strip (with a Jack Holt looking Jack, a Peter Lorre-ish villain called The Head, and aerial escapades) and its characters, which suggests that the character was tied in to the serial, just so it could be used. Its a good serial, but could have been better.

Cast and Crew:

* Tom Brown/’Smilin’ Jack’ Martin
* Rose Hobart/Gertrude Muller
* Edgar Barrier/Tommy Thompson

Director: Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor
Producer: Ford Beebe
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Audio/Visual: sound, black & white
Date Release: 1943

Additional details in: IMDB
Video streaming: courtesy of www.finemoviesonline.com

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