The first installment of this chapter play nearly delivers what they all promise – a thrill a minute! The robot is of intelligent design, and doesn’t look the usual conglomeration of vacuum cleaner parts.  We get gangsters, gunfights, fistfights, abductions, secret laboratories, and death by killer ape. That’s all prior to the first cliffhanger.

Predictably the pace slows down a bit for chapter 2, got to pace to make the long stretch (15 chapters).  The robot (‘Monster’) turns out to be the McGuffin rather than a key player. Willie Best starts to get screen time, though his chauffeur character is at once more subdued and more courageous than his usual role; more character than caricature. Still, he gets detained by the police and “They grill’d me like a poke chop”, and he can always be counted on for his patented bug eyed reaction take.

The cast is strong, with the leads comprised of [then] unknowns who would become veteran players with long pedigrees in features and television. The good guy is Robert Lowrey (House Of Horrors), Carole Mathews the love interest, and George Macready the evil mastermind. Ray Corrigan is uncanny in his gorilla performance, though he had lots of practice beginning with Tarzan The Ape Man (’32). For fifties monster buffs, not only did Corrigan portray It! The Creature From Beyond Space, but Eddie Parker is here as well – he played a Mole Man and the Monster On Campus.

The DVD:

The presentation is good, though slightly soft throughout. Some chapters are very good, and some have more blemishes. Chapter three, for example, has significant run lines throughout, where chapter one looks like it may have been digitally scrubbed. The audio is generally very good and dialog is easily discernible except where the bombastic soundtrack overpowers it. Overall this is an above average serial presentation and certainly enjoyable.

The sensational title is intentionally misleading, and the actual sci-fi quota rather low. This is still a  disciplined and noteworthy attempt to deliver a respectable product, especially when predestined to be pelted with Cracker Jack by a juvenile matinee audience.