THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN! (1941)

 

The mythos of the Green Hornet also originated under George Trendle's aegis, and as I commented in my review of the first serial, was something of a reversal on the Ranger-formula: whereas the Ranger donned a mask to become a symbol of justice, the Hornet donned a mask with the idea of becoming a "stealth crusader," pretending to be a crook competing with other crooks and "accidentally" sending them into the arms of Lady Justice.  I don't know whether or not the 1940 serial was the first to introduce the idea that the Hornet undertook his crusade as compensation for guilt-- a guilt that, to be sure, is passed over very quickly-- but it did give the original serial a little more psychological heft than one could usually expect from an adventure-serial.

In terms of villains the 1941 sequel is no better than the 1940 original: once again the Hornet and his aide Kato are pitted against a group of undistinguished racketeers-- which seems to have been a particular theme beloved by Trendle. However, it's generally more watchable than the Ranger sequel, perhaps benefiting from the crisp cinematography of Jerome Ash.  Of the co-directors responsible, one of them, John Rawlins, never worked on another serial before or after this one.  Senior director Ford Beebe had ample experience in serials, not only in the 1940 HORNET but about a dozen others as well. However, even Beebe's best serials-- probably 1936s ACE DRUMMOND and 1939's THE PHANTOM CREEPS-- don't come anywhere near the best of Witney and English. But the two Hornet films remains reasonably good entertainment even without strong villains, in part due to the Hornet's special gimmick of sending crooks into dreamland with a puff from his gas-gun.

An odd coincidence about the two sequels, respectively from Republic Pictures and Universal Studios: the non-white sidekicks get a little more action than in their first outings. Additionally, at least the actors were racially close the characters they portrayed, with Chief Thundercloud, self-identitified as a Cherokee, playing Tonto and Chinese Keye Luke essaying the once-Japanese-turned-Filipino valet Kato.