Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc

Infobox Film
name = Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc.


director = Fred C. Brannon
producer = Franklin Adreon
writer = Royal K Cole
Basil Dickey
William Lively
Sol Shor
starring = Kirk Alyn
Rosemary La Planche
Roy Barcroft
Carol Forman
cinematography = John MacBurnie
distributor = Republic Pictures
released = Flagicon|USA 29 January 1949 "(serial)"cite book
last = Mathis
first = Jack
title = Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement
origyear = 1995
publisher = Jack Mathis Advertising
isbn = 0-9632878-1-8
pages = pp. 3, 10, 108-109
chapter = ]
Flagicon|USA 1966 "(TV)"
runtime = 12 chapters / 167 minutes "(serial)"
100 minutes "(TV)"
language = English
budget = $156,120 (negative cost: $155,807)
awards =
imdb_id = 0041352

"Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc." (1949) is a 12-episode black and white film serial produced by Republic Pictures during July of 1948 and released in January 1949, an original screenplay written collaboratively by Royal K. Cole, Basil Dickey, William Lively and Sol Shor as a crime story with elements of "the mysterious Orient" incorporated in the plot.

Plot

Nila, an Abistahnian criminal, and Spade Gordon, an American gangster, conspire to form a super-mob dubbed Underworld, Incorporated, funded by the treasure of Kurigal I of Abistahn, instructions for the location of which are contained in hieroglyphics written on two golden statues in the shape of hands, found in Kurigal's tomb. When the professor in charge of the tomb's dig disappears under mysterious circumstances while translating the writing on one of the hands back at his American office, a team of special government agents led by David Worth and his aide Steve Evans, assisted by the professor's aide Laura Keith, set out to find the professor and the now-missing hands.

Cast

* Kirk Alyn as Inspector David Worth
* Rosemary LaPlanche as Laura Keith
* Roy Barcroft as Spade Gordon
* Carol Forman as Nila
* James Dale as Agent Steve Evans
* Bruce Edwards as Prof Paul Williams
* James Craven as Prof James Clayton
* Tristram Coffin as Frank Chambers

Production

"Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc." was budgeted at $156,120 although the final negative cost was $155,807 (a $313, or 0.2%, under spend). It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1949.

It was filmed between 6 July and 27 July 1948 under the working title "Crime Fighters vs. Underworld, Inc." The serial's production number was 1701.

tunts

*Tom Steele as Inspector David Worth/Spade Gordon/Frank Chambers (doubling Kirk Alyn, Roy Barcroft & [Tristram Coffin)
*Dale Van Sickel as Inspector David Worth/Prof Paul Williams (doubling Kirk Alyn & Bruce Edwards)
*John Daheim as Agent Steve Evans (doubling James Dale)

pecial Effects

The special effects in this serial were created by the Howard & Theodore Lydecker, Republic's in-house effect team.

Release

Theatrical

"Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc."'s official release date is 29 January 1949, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.

Television

"Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc." was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to "Golden Hands of Kurigal". This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.

Chapter titles

# The Golden Hands (20min)
# The Floating Coffin/Criminals' Lair (13min 20s) ["The Floating Coffin" is recorded as the title of the second chapter in William C. Cline’s "In the Nick of Time" while "Criminals' Lair" is recorded as the title in Jack Mathis’ "Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement".]
# Death in Disguise (13min 20s)
# Fatal Evidence (13min 20s)
# The Trapped Conspirator (13min 20s)
# Wheels of Disaster (13min 20s)
# The Hidden Key (13min 20s)
# The Enemy's Mouthpiece (13min 20s)
# The Stolen Hand (13min 20s)
# Unmasked (13min 20s)- a re-cap chapter
# Tombs of the Ancients (13min 20s)
# The Curse of Kurigal (13min 20s)_Source: [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 248
chapter = Filmography ]

ee also

* List of film serials by year
* List of film serials by studio

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0041352|title=Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc.

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Republic Serial
before=Adventures of Frank and Jesse James (1948)
years=Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949)
after=Ghost of Zorro (1949)