Todd’s Serial Blog

DOC SAVAGE: A COLUMBIA SERIAL IN 15 CHAPTERS

Producer: Larry Darmour
Director: James W. Horne
Photography: James S. Brown, Jr.
Script: Basil Dickey
George H. Plympton
Wyndham Gittens
Music: Lee Zahler

Cast:

Doc Savage: Larry “Buster” Crabbe
Pat Savage: Iris Meredith
Tarnack: James Craven
Natalia: Veda Ann Borg
Renny: Roy Barcroft
Ham: Tristram Coffin
Monk: Charles King
Long Tom: Guy Wilkerson
Johnny: William Bakewell
Brown: Ray Teal
Taylor: Al Ferguson
Butch: Jack Ingram
Karl: George Magrill
Wheeler: Dick Botiller
Meeks: Kit Guard
Lyle: Lester Dorr
DA Warwick: Forbes Murray
Inspector Nolan: Robert Fiske
Judge Watkins: Selmer Jackson
Tuka: Al Kikume
Narrator: Knox Manning

Recap: “After rescuing Pat from certain death, Doc and his Fabulous Five brainstorm a new strategy to track down criminal genius Tarnack, unaware that the evil mastermind has decided to strike at them first!”

CHAPTER 12: FANGED JEOPARDY

At Doc’s penthouse, Ham and Monk are engaged in their favorite hobby, insulting each other. While they heap unflatteringly appraisals on each other, Renny, Johnny, and Long Tom ignore them, preferring to watch Doc pace back and forth thinking. Suddenly they hear a strange trilling whistle that stops Ham and Monk in mid insult, commenting that the musical sound signals that Doc has had a brainstorm. Doc quickly spreads out a map and begins to detail a complex plan to bring Tarnack out into the open.

On a near by roof, a man with a rifle takes careful aim at Doc through his penthouse window. Aiming directly at Doc’s head the assassin pulls the trigger. The bullet punches through the window and embeds itself in the wall, three inches away from where Doc was standing.

Doc spots the man on the opposite roof, he tells the Fab Five to cover the exits in the other building then heads for his own roof. The Fab Five race for the stairs, Renny commenting that it was a good thing Doc built those special windows for the penthouse that make everything look three inches to the right of where they really are.

Once on the roof, Doc uses his belt to slide along a steel cable that connects the radio tower on his roof to the one on the other building. Dropping harmlessly to the roof, he finds that the assassin has fled down the stairs. Prying open the elevator door he sees that the elevator is in the basement. Wrapping his coat around the elevator cables, Doc slides down the elevator shaft to the ground floor and pries open that door. Meeting the man as he comes out of the stair well, the two fight.

Doc uses his expert knowledge of human pressure points to paralyze the assassin. The Fab Five enter the building lobby as Doc is questioning the man. The assassin says his name is Lyle. He was hired by Tarnack to get rid of Doc. He doesn’t know anything about Tarnack’s next crime, except that he had overheard something about hiring a motor boat for that evening. After Doc makes arraignments to send the man to his rehabilitation clinic, he pulls out a schedule of ship arrivals to see if he can discover what Tarnack is planning.

That night Tarnack and his men are in a motor launch heading toward the open sea. Using a device that shorts out the ship’s electricity, Tarnack and his gang board the disabled ship and knock all of the crew unconscious with their stolen dart guns. While his men load the ship’s gold cargo into their launch, Tarnack gloats that this is one time he can be sure that Doc Savage won’t be interfering. Natalia tells him not to be too sure and points into the distance. Tarnack’s eyes pop out of his head as he sees a large gyrocopter approaching.

The copter, piloted by Pat, is carrying Doc and the Fab Five. While she holds it steady, out of range of any bullets, Doc and his pals slide down ropes to the ship’s deck. Tarnack is beside himself with rage and demands to know how Doc knew he would be on this ship. Doc says it wasn’t too difficult, once he learned from the assassin Tarnack had hired that Tarnack was renting a boat, it was simple to figure out that he would be attacking the SS Nautica for its publicized shipment of gold bullion. He then tells Tarnack to forget about using the dart guns as he and his men are immunized against the effects of the drugged darts.

Tossing the gun aside in disgust, Tarnack orders his men to attack Doc. Everybody engages in a massive fist fight. Spotting an open cargo hold, Tarnack plays dirty and trips Doc into falling down it. Doc lands on top of a tiger cage, knocking it over and freeing the deadly jungle cat that was locked inside. Doc sits up and shakes his head to clear it. Startled by the low growl he hears, he turns in time to see the large predator jump on him.

“Are the Fabulous Five now destined to carry on the fight alone? Tarnack seems to have gotten the upper hand, is there anyone left to rescue them? Find out in THE ELECTRIC ROOM! The next exciting episode of DOC SAVAGE, at this theater next week!”

Tags: Fiction //