Two American government agents, Hal Duncan and Sam Bradley, must prevent agents of a foreign power, led by Regan and Cady, from hijacking trucks and stealing defense materials being transported by truck. They are hired by an interstate trucking association whose constituent truck lines have been principal targets of the hijacking, and it becomes evident that one of the four directors of the association is "the Voice," the secret leader of the gang who provides them with shipment and route information necessary for the gang's success.[2]
Republic had been economizing on its serials, shortening the running time from an average of 18 minutes per chapter to 13, and reusing cliffhanger endings from older serials to avoid staging new ones. The studio also stopped licensing expensive comic-strip and radio properties (like The Lone Ranger, Dick Tracy, and Captain America) and instead filmed generic cops-and-robbers adventures and original science-fiction stories. The studio scaled back production as well, from four new serials per year to three. (The fourth would now be a reissue of an older serial.)
Republic's serials of the 1930s and 1940s had been scripted by writers working in teams, with as many as seven authors contributing to a single screenplay. Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion was written by only one man: Ronald Davidson. Davidson was the ideal choice because he had written and/or produced many Republic serials, and therefore knew where to consult the old film footage, and how to work it into his new screenplay.
Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion was budgeted at $153,083 although the final negative cost was $153,612 (a $529, or 0.3%, overspend). It was the least expensive Republic serial of 1951,[1] filmed between May 1 and May 23, 1951 under the working titleGovernment Agents vs. Underground Legion.[1] The serial's production number was 1931.[1] All special effects in Government Agents vs Phantom Legion were produced by Republic's in-house team of the Lydecker brothers.
Release
Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion's official release date was July 4, 1951, although this was actually the date upon which the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]
The film was followed by a re-release of Haunted Harbor, retitled Pirates' Harbor, instead of a new serial. The next new serial, Radar Men from the Moon, followed in 1952.[1]
Chapter titles
River of Fire (20 min)
The Stolen Corpse (13 min 20s)
The Death Drop (13 min 20s)
Doorway to Doom (13 min 20s)
Deadline for Disaster (13 min 20s)
Mechanical Homicide (13 min 20s)
The Flaming Highway (13 min 20s)
Sea Saboteurs (13 min 20s)
Peril Underground (13 min 20s)
Execution by Accident (13 min 20s) (a recap chapter)
