The Flying Serpent ** (1946, George Zucco, Ralph Lewis, Hope Kramer, Eddie Acuff, Wheaton Chambers, James Metcalf, Henry Hall, Milton Kibbee) – Classic Movie Review 3,747

George Zucco stars as demented archaeologist Professor Andrew Forbes in Sam Newfield’s similarly suitably demented 1946 Poverty Row horror movie The Flying Serpent.

The ripe and admirable George Zucco enlivens a Z-grade black and white horror flick as demented archaeologist Professor Andrew Forbes, who gets a godly Aztec ancient bird, Quetzalcoatl (Q, the winged serpent), to kill those after his riches in director Sam Newfield’s similarly suitably demented 1946 Poverty Row B-movie The Flying Serpent.

Forbes discovers a living, breathing, flying serpent creature known to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl (the killer bird god) and discovers he can knock his wife down with a feather – permanently! He accidentally kills his wife Mary (Hope Kramer) by giving her one of the flying serpent’s feathers, so it tracks her down and slaughters her.

Forbes’s over-earnest step-daughter is Mary Forbes (Hope Kramer), who hangs around with Ralph Lewis (Richard Thorpe) and tells Doctor Lambert, (James Metcalfe): ‘I wish there had never been any such thing as Aztec Indians! Father does nothing but think, dream and talk Aztecs!’

Professor Forbes has imprisoned the serpent creature behind bars in a cave for five years, occasionally taunting it gleefully. Forbes nicks one of its feathers and releases his killer bird to strike down the interfering Dr Lambert, and then next Richard Thorpe arrives to investigate his death.

Though cheap and ridiculous, with shockingly rotten effects and some dodgy performances, this campy, rousingly done old chiller is still amusing and appealing for all that, certainly bad enough to be funny. The incredibly daft outdoor footage of Quetzalcoatl (a puppet model on sometimes visible strings) flying to and from its lair is hilarious. The Flying Serpent could land comfortably in the So Bad It’s Good collection, because it is very, very bad, but nevertheless still quite enjoyable.

Also in the cast are Eddie Acuff, Wheaton Chambers, Henry Hall, Budd Buster, Terry Frost and Milton Kibbee.

The original story and screenplay are by John T Neville, though its originality is in question, as the film is very similar to The Devil Bat (1940), one of Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC)’s biggest successes.

Sam Newfield [Samuel Neufeld] is credited as Sherman Scott as director. His brother was Sigmund Neufeld, head of PRC, where Sam made so many of his films that he used pseudonyms so audiences wouldn’t notice that only one man directed so much of their output.

See also Q: the Winged Serpent (1982), which, though written by Larry Cohen, is sometimes regarded as a loose remake.

See also The Giant Claw (1957), which is in the same spirit.

See also PRC’s similar The Devil Bat (1940).

Release date: January 4, 1946 (Los Angeles) and February 1, 1946 (US).

Runtime: 59 minutes.

It was shot at PRC Studios, 7324 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, California, at Iverson Ranch, 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California (for the temple exterior scenes), and Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park, 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles (for the outdoor footage of Quetzalcoatl flying to and from its lair).

It is also known as Killer with Wings (recut version).

The cast

The cast are George Zucco as Professor Andrew Forbes, Ralph Lewis as Richard Thorpe, Hope Kramer as Mary Forbes, Eddie Acuff as Jerry ‘Jonsey’ Jones, Wheaton Chambers as Louis Havener, James Metcalfe as Dr John Lambert, Henry Hall as Sheriff Bill Hayes, Milton Kibbee as Superintendent Hastings, Budd Buster as Dr Wagner, and Terry Frost as Vance Bennett.

The Flying Serpent is directed by Sam Newfield (credited as Sherman Scott), runs 59 minutes, is made by Sigmund Neufeld Productions, is distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation (US) and Pathé Pictures (UK), is written by John T Neville, based on a story by John T Neville, is shot in black and white by Jack Greenhalgh, is produced by Sigmund Neufeld, and is scored by Leo Erdody, with Art Direction by Edward C Jewell.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3,747

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