Review of The Adventures of Smilin' Jack

Set just before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jack Martin helps the Chinese obtain the Mandon Secret, a secret route from China to India, lying in an isolated Chinese sector, which would aid the Chinese in the war effort or cause disaster if fallen into the hands of the Black Samurai, a Japanese espionage organization in partnership with the Nazis, and its leader the elusive Fraulein Von Teufel, who assumes the guise of Trudy, a press correspondent and friend of Jack. For thirteen chapters, Jack goes in and out of danger in order to assist the allied war effort. The serial's main drawback is that it didn't follow the comic strip (with a Jack Holt looking Jack, a Peter Lorre-ish villain called The Head, and aerial escapades) and its characters, which suggests that the character was tied in to the serial, just so it could be used. Its a good serial, but could have been better. A decent cast this serial has was capable of better, but at the same time kept my interest. Rating, based on serials, 6.