Space Cowboy

Just for fun I've been watching an old Gene Autry serial, "The Phantom Empire". Twelve episodes in total, it follows the adventures of Gene and his myriad sidekicks as they tangle with the forces of a secret, high-tech empire located miles below the surface of the earth.

It has all the hallmarks of a prewar serial: impossible escapes, revealed to be possible in the next reel; a dashing hero; plot holes the size of Texas, and repetitive, expository dialog, along the lines of, "we must get to the control room", for those who missed the previous reel. The sets are silly by modern standards, but made with love - there's a sense that this was done on the cheap, but with a sincerity that more elaborate effects in the modern era rarely muster.

The main plot goes something like this: A group of industrialists seek to develop the area for its radium deposits (radium being something akin to Avatar's uobtainium - that is, a miracle material). While riding out and about, Gene Autry's kid sidekicks, Frankie and Betsy, spot a group of "Thunder Riders" who disappear into a cave. Framed for murder, Gene Autry is on the run and stumbles across the cave and into the secret kingdom of Maurania, where he is captured and sentenced to death. Meantime, an opposing faction within the empire rescues Gene (shades of Flash Gordon) and the serial plays out as Gene and company dodge the law, the industrialists, and the Mauranians. Eventually, the Queen redeemed, Maurania is destroyed, and the surface dwellers return and clear Gene's name.

So far, this is pretty standard science fiction: a hero, a couple of kids, some comic relief, derring-do, and a mysterious, advanced, fantastic setting contrasting with everyday life. What's bizarre is that the film retains Gene Autry's identity as a singing cowboy. A repeated plot element has him rushing to get back to "radio ranch", where his band apparently gathers and patiently awaits for him to show up for each broadcast. Apparently if he misses even one broadcast, his backers will cancel the show and they'll lose the ranch - to the industrialists, no less. There are not less than three points where Gene either rides in at the last minute or radios in a performance, narrowly averting a cash flow crisis.