Spy Smasher is a 12-episode 1942 Republic movie serial based on the Fawcett Comics character Spy Smasher which is now a part of DC Comics. It was the 25th of the 66 serials produced by Republic. The serial was directed by William Witney with Kane Richmond and Marguerite Chapman as the leads. The serial was Chapman’s big break into a career in film and television. Spy Smasher is a very highly regarded serial. In 1966, a television film was made from the serial footage under the title Spy Smasher Returns.

Plot
Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) as the Spy Smasher is a costumed vigilante and freelance agent, not associated with the US government as the country has not yet joined its allies in World War II. After discovering information about Nazi activities in occupied France, he is captured and ordered to be executed. However, with the help of Pierre Durand (Franco Corsaro), he escapes back to the United States, meeting with his twin brother Jack (Kane Richmond). Jack is incorrectly recognized and attacked by a Nazi agent on American soil. The agent works for a sabotage leader codenamed The Mask (Hans Schumm), who operates a U boat near the coast. Eve Corby (Marguerite Chapman) plays Jack’s fiancé.

The Mask’s attacks on the United States begin with an attempt to flood the country with forged money and destroy the economy. When this is defeated, he continues with other attacks including destroying aircraft, oil and munitions intended for Britain. Constant defeats at the hands of Spy Smasher, with support from Jack Armstrong and Admiral Corby (Sam Flint), also leads the villain to take the fight back to the masked hero. In the end, the villain is killed aboard his own U-Boat in a sea of flaming oil.

Cast
Kane Richmond as “Spy Smasher”, his secret identity Alan Armstrong and his twin brother Jack.
Marguerite Chapman as Eve Corby, Admiral Corby’s daughter and Jack Armstrong’s fiancé.
Sam Flint as Admiral Corby
Hans Schumm as “The Mask”. The Nazi villain of the serial “appeared just as often without the disguise as with it, the only purpose of the mask seemed to be to make him familiar to comic book fans.”
Tris Coffin as Drake, The Mask’s spearhead heavy. Drake is a reporter working for the Ocean-wide Television Network. One of his espionage techniques was to leave the camera rolling after an interview inside Admiral Corby’s office or a report from a crime scene. The broadcast was then picked up by the Mask in his submarine (“and presumably by the sets of any home viewer tuned into the proper channel”).