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

Adventures of Smilin’ Jack

Ep. 04: Knives of Vengeance

Although Smilin’ Jack and his Chinese friends appeared to have crashed their vehicle in chapter three, in this chapter reveals that all emerged unscathed from the Japanese bombing attack. His Nippon kidnappers arrested, Mah Ling is brought before General Kai Ling. Although Mah Ling is generally willing to help his country against the Japanese enemy by revealing the secret passage from China to India, the estimable governor of Mandon wishes to think the matter over for the sake of his peaceful constituents and the general gracefully allows him a bodyguard. Fearing that Axis spy Fraulein Von Teufel will attempt to assassinate the governor, Jack sends a fake radio message stating that Mah Ling has already revealed his secret. In retaliation, the fraulein has a henchman, Hito (Rico de Montez) bring Jack to her quarters, where she threatens him with torture. As Tommy and Captain Wing desperately search for their friend, Jack is being lowered into a pit filled with dangerous looking spikes.

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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