"The Phantom" opens at a prison where the notorious title character is scheduled to be fried in the electric chair. When a newspaper reporter asks the warden if the killer has shown any fear about his impending execution, the warden replies that 'the Phantom' is "totally unconcerned." A guard interrupts their conversation and informs the warden that a bi-plane is circling the penitentiary, and the warden asks if the plane has a numbers on its fuselage. The guard points out that there is no number on the plane. The next shot takes in the prison exercise yard as a prisoner scrambles over the top of the extremely high prison wall. How the prisoner managed to scale the high wall is never adequately explained, but he climbs atop the wall just as a passenger train barrels past the facility. He hurls himself off the wall onto the train while the guards armed with rifles blast away at him without any luck. Miraculously, he lands atop the train and clings to the edge while the bi-plane maneuvers itself into position. The pilot swoops down over the speeding train; the bi-plane comes equipped with a wire hook so that the convict can grab it and then the pilot wings the felon away to freedom. Although the stunt is wholly implausible, writer & director Alan James of "The Phantom Thunderbolt" stages this derring-do with considerable finesse, considering that "The Phantom" was made in 1931. This scene foreshadows a similar jailbreak scene from director Blake Edwards' Inspector Clouseau comedy "The Return of the Pink Panther." Immediately, thereafter, Police Chief Murphy (Horace Murphy of "Border Phantom") issues a radio news bulletin alerting all citizens in an otherwise unspecified city that the Phantom is at large. The chief describes the villain pejoratively as "a desperate criminal, a killer, a human tiger, take no chances and shoot to kill." The next scene occurs in the newspaper office of editor Sam Crandall (mustached Niles Welch of "Empty Saddles") as Detective Winters explains to Crandall that a tipster has informed them that the Phantom plans to go after the District Attorney John Hampton. Initially, Crandall doesn't believe it because Hampton didn't prosecute the Phantom. Nevertheless, Willis points out that the Phantom bears a grudge against the D.A.'s office, not so much the individual who sent him up, as "responsible for his conviction." Specifically, Winters wants to see society reporter Ruth Hampton (Allene Ray of "Gun Cargo") about the threat to her father. Meanwhile, trench coat-clad Police Sergeant Pat Collins (Tom O'Brien of "The Phantom of Santa Fe") shows up at the courthouse and tells Hampton that the chief has assigned him to serve as the D.A.'s bodyguard until the authorities recapture the Phantom. As it turns out, Hampton has received a telegram already from the audacious Phantom with a message that the fiend wants to meet him at 12:30 PM at his house. Later, back at Crandall's office, we learn not only that the police are going to watch Ruth, but also that the editor is in love with Ruth. Ruth, however, has her heart and eyes set on another man, Dick Mallory (Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams of "Dodge City"), a young reporter that she wants to wed. Dick wants to make good in order to impress Ruth's father, so Ruth and he can get married. Naturally, Crandall isn't happy with this revelation.
Afterward, "The Phantom" transpires in two geographic settings; first, the principals scurry about Hampton's commodious country manor with Mallory and the Phantom creating considerable commotion and then second the mystery shifts over to a creepy sanitarium for the conclusion. The mansion and the sanitarium boast several secret passages and hiding places. Mallory sneaks into Mr. Hampton's mansion and disables the alarm system, while the cloaked Phantom--walking stooped over like a dastardly vaudeville bad guy himself--lurks on the premises. The Phantom frightens Lucy the maid and tries to abduct Ruth with his writhing fingers inches from her pretty throat when she brandishes a gun. No, the daffy dame doesn't drill him between the eyes. Instead, she threatens to kill him, and he flees mere moments before Dick arrives with gun in hand. Standing behind the door, the Phantom pistol whips Dick, but the big galoot recovers quickly and slings lead at him. Nonetheless, the Phantom eludes the police, but Mallory doesn't fare so well.
Eventually, Mallory and Ruth rush off in the Hampton's limo to a sanitarium to nab the cloaked villain. Shorty, the chauffeur, and Lucy, two sources of comic relief, sought refuge in the same car earlier, and they find themselves accompanying our hero and heroine as they prowl the sanitarium. They encounter a tall, gawky, idiotic Swede who serves as another source of comic relief. Eventually, Dick meets Dr. Charles Weldon (William Gould of "Waterfront") who dreams about performing a brain operation and Ruth becomes his patient.
At this point, "The Phantom" degenerates into a contrived but atmospheric entry in the haunted house comedies inspired by the lightweight horror classic "The Old Dark House." Typically, when he appeared in B-movies, Williams took top billing, but when he played in big-budget epics, like the Warner Brothers westerns with Errol Flynn, he played either one of the sidekicks as in "Santa Fe Trail" or a villain as in "The Comancheros" (1962) with John Wayne. Williams here wears a suit and tie from start to finish. Director Alan James doesn't waste any time setting up the plot. The events depicted in the first two paragraph of this review transpire in less than ten minutes! The predictable but delightful comedy of errors concludes with a happy ending as the Phantom is unmasked. Jack Draper's black & white cinematography is uncharacteristic for its day because everything really looks dark. Interestingly enough, the entire plot takes place over the course of a single day. This is an enjoyable curiosity piece despite its age.
Afterward, "The Phantom" transpires in two geographic settings; first, the principals scurry about Hampton's commodious country manor with Mallory and the Phantom creating considerable commotion and then second the mystery shifts over to a creepy sanitarium for the conclusion. The mansion and the sanitarium boast several secret passages and hiding places. Mallory sneaks into Mr. Hampton's mansion and disables the alarm system, while the cloaked Phantom--walking stooped over like a dastardly vaudeville bad guy himself--lurks on the premises. The Phantom frightens Lucy the maid and tries to abduct Ruth with his writhing fingers inches from her pretty throat when she brandishes a gun. No, the daffy dame doesn't drill him between the eyes. Instead, she threatens to kill him, and he flees mere moments before Dick arrives with gun in hand. Standing behind the door, the Phantom pistol whips Dick, but the big galoot recovers quickly and slings lead at him. Nonetheless, the Phantom eludes the police, but Mallory doesn't fare so well.
Eventually, Mallory and Ruth rush off in the Hampton's limo to a sanitarium to nab the cloaked villain. Shorty, the chauffeur, and Lucy, two sources of comic relief, sought refuge in the same car earlier, and they find themselves accompanying our hero and heroine as they prowl the sanitarium. They encounter a tall, gawky, idiotic Swede who serves as another source of comic relief. Eventually, Dick meets Dr. Charles Weldon (William Gould of "Waterfront") who dreams about performing a brain operation and Ruth becomes his patient.
At this point, "The Phantom" degenerates into a contrived but atmospheric entry in the haunted house comedies inspired by the lightweight horror classic "The Old Dark House." Typically, when he appeared in B-movies, Williams took top billing, but when he played in big-budget epics, like the Warner Brothers westerns with Errol Flynn, he played either one of the sidekicks as in "Santa Fe Trail" or a villain as in "The Comancheros" (1962) with John Wayne. Williams here wears a suit and tie from start to finish. Director Alan James doesn't waste any time setting up the plot. The events depicted in the first two paragraph of this review transpire in less than ten minutes! The predictable but delightful comedy of errors concludes with a happy ending as the Phantom is unmasked. Jack Draper's black & white cinematography is uncharacteristic for its day because everything really looks dark. Interestingly enough, the entire plot takes place over the course of a single day. This is an enjoyable curiosity piece despite its age.