King of the Congo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the 1929 Mascot serial, see The King of the Kongo.
King of the Congo
Thunda.jpg
Theatrical release insert poster
Directed by
  • Spencer Gordon Bennet
  • Wallace Grissell
Written by
  • Arthur Hoerl
  • George H. Plympton
Produced bySam Katzman
Starring
  • Buster Crabbe
  • Leonard Penn
  • Jack Ingram
  • Rick Vallin
  • Nick Stuart
  • William Fawcett
  • Rusty Wescoatt
Cinematography
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 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 , 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.

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 deliver it to Africa. Intent on revealing the subversive group for whom the microfilm's message is intended, Drum assumes the pilot's identity. He flies his twin-engine aircraft across the Atlantic, where he crashes his aircraft in a remote African jungle. Drum is rescued by the primitive Rock People, led by Princess Pha (Gloria Dea). He is renamed Thunda, King of the Congo, after he repeatedly rings a temple gong with a large stone mallet to sound an alarm. With the subversives believing Thunda is their missing pilot, and under constant attack by another primitive tribe called the Cave Men, Captain Drum plots to bring down the subversive group, who are searching for a new metal more radioactive and powerful than uranium. At the serial's conclusion, Thunda (Drum) clears the jungle of the villains and reunites the Rock People and Cave Men.

Cast[]

  • Buster Crabbe as Thunda/Capt. Roger Drum
  • as Princess Pha
  • Leonard Penn as Boris
  • Jack Ingram as Clark
  • Rick Vallin as Andreov
  • Nick Stuart as Degar
  • William Fawcett as High Priest
  • Rusty Wescoatt as Kor
  • Alex Montoya as Lipah
  • Frank Ellis as Ivan
  • Lee Roberts as Lt. Blake
  • Neyle Morrow as Nahee

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[]

  • Iverson Movie Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles.

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.

External links[]

Preceded by Columbia Serial
King of the Congo (1952) 		Succeeded by
Blackhawk (1952)


Stub icon

This article about an adventure film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Stub icon

This comics-related film article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""