THE MYSTERIOUS MISTER M (1946)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *cosmological*

This was the last serial from Universal Studios, the same entity that had launched the Golden Age of Serials with the classic FLASH GORDON ten years previous. It's a fairly ignominious end to the studio's chapterplays, largely because the story has so much unused potential.

The opening chapter begins with an almost Mabuse-level aura of mystery. In a hidden basement of an upper-class estate dwells a reprobate member of the family, Anthony Waldron (Edmund MacDonald), who has organized a plot against the interests of his country. Waldron and a handful of his henchmen have kidnapped one Doctor Kittredge in order to interrogate him as to steal his plans for a revolutionary new submarine, later described as being able to run underwater without batteries and thus capable of being built as large as a battleship (for whatever tactical value that would have). Waldron hopes to sell the invention to a foreign power, and he's acquired an exotic drug, hypnotrene, that can sap its victims of their will, making them virtual slaves. Waldron has already used the drug on his elderly aunt, the apparent mistress of the mansion above, in order to keep her pliable to his will (and to make sure the audience knows what a deep-dyed villain he is). However, things go wrong and Kittredge dies, disclosing only that various other scientists have discrete sections of the submarine plans. This provides the usual motive force for the serial, as Waldron sends his pawns (some of whom are hypnotized innocents) out on errands to collect all the information, while the good guys-- mainly G-man Grant Farrell (Dennis Moore) and insurance investigator Shirley Clinton (Pamela Blake)-- seek to head them off and protect the submarine for the U.S. of A.

All the above is typical enough serial fare, including Waldron's decision to use an alias, "The Mysterious Mister M," through which he gives orders. The Mabuse-like twist comes when Waldron starts getting messages from an unknown plotter who claims to be the true "Mysterious Mister M," and the second Mister M knows enough about Waldron's scheme that he can force the reprobate to follow his remote orders, at least up to a point. 

The idea of a three-way conflict between some good guys, some bad guys and a mysterious third party could have taken the plot in some interesting directions. Unfortunately the only way it could have worked would have been if the "Mister M impostor" had some forces of his own to throw into the fray. But he never becomes anything but a voice kibitzing in Waldron's operation, and I suspect this angle only came about the writers were told to come up with complications that would burn up lots of time with expository scenes.

For, like many forties serials from Universal, action is often sacrificed for scenes of actors standing around filling each other in on what happened in the last episode. Central villain Waldron has no strong motive for his evildoing, and while goodguy Farrell is initially moved to avenge the death of his brother at Waldron's hands, in the later episodes in the serial the brother is not brought up again. It doesn't help that Dennis Moore, the actor we see the most of, is a thoroughly dull performer. (One can imagine how much more personality another contemporaneous Moore, name of Clayton, would have brought to the simple protagonist.) Pamela Blake's Shirley is at least painted as a resourceful investigator, but when any violent scenes begin, she cowers to one side, not even trying to bash a bad guy with a vase. And because Mister M stays "off the grid" so to speak, there are no substantive clues to his identity, which when disclosed seems arbitrary.

There are a few pluses to counter the considerable minuses. Even though Waldron is largely confined to his lab, he always seems a menacing presence as played by MacDonald. Though no super-submarine ever appears on-screen, the will-draining hypnotrene proves a marvelous means of turning innocents into helpless minions of the villain. The opening episode also sports a scene in which the hypnotized brother of Farrell lures the G-man into some sort of power station and then tries to kill Farrell by unleashing numerous bolts of electricity. The genesis of the electrical bolts doesn't make any sense, but it's the most exciting scene in the whole serial. There are various decent if unexceptional fight-scenes scattered throughout the chapters, even if the dull exposition spoils their effect. Finally, investigator Shirley gets the best cliffhanger, when the villain traps her aboard a plane with no pilot, and she, with zero pilot's training, has to save her own life as Farrell talks her down via radio.

I've not seen all American sound serials, but despite a few strong points, MYSTERIOUS MISTER M rates as one of the dullest I've encountered thus far.