Theatrical trailer for Republic Pictures’ second serial, UNDERSEA KINGDOM, starring Ray “Crash” Corrigan. Republic was formed in 1935 through a merger of independent studios Mascot, Monogram, Liberty, Majestic, Chesterfield and Invincible, all of whom had carved out audience followings in various genres, but, arguably, the most important of which were Monogram — which had John Wayne as the star of its Lone Star western series — and Nat Levine’s Mascot, a force to be reckoned with in motion picture serials, had newcomer Gene Autry under contract and possessed the former Mack Sennett lot, a compact, but state of the art facility in the San Fernando Valley. Republic wasted no time in establishing itself as the leader in both the western and serial genres, with Wayne and Autry starring in box-office hits whose technical excellent belied their meager budgets/ They simply looked better than the competition. So did Republic’s serials. Thanks in large part to imaginative scripting, efficient production values and the special effects genius of resident visual wizards, Howard and Theodore Lydecker, soon became the best in the field. UNDERSEA KINGDOM called upon the Lydercker’s visual wizardy to create the the lost, but scientifically advanced civilization of Atlantis, now resting at the bottom of the sea and currently embroiled in a violent civil war. Into this maelstrom venture surface world explorers — by means of a rocket-powered submarine — headed by daring US Naval officer …
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