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Perils of Nyoka
Nyoka and the Tigermen / Nayoka, die Herrin der Beduinen / Nyoka and the Lost Secrets of Hippocrates
USA 1942
produced by Republic
directed by William Witney
starring Kay Aldridge, Clayton Moore, William 'Billy' Benedict, Lorna Gray, Charles Middleton, Tristram Coffin, Forbes Murray, Robert Strange, George Pembroke, Georges Renavent, John Davidson, George J. Lewis, John Bagni, Ken Terrell, Kenne Duncan, Avron Dale, as the gorilla Emil Van Horn, Ace, Herbert Rawlinson, Robert Barron, John Bleifer, Art Dupuis, Al Kikume, Professor, Pedro Regas, Forrest Taylor, Bud Wolfe
screenplay by Ronald Davidson, Norman S. Hall, William Lively, Joseph O'Donnell, Joseph F. Poland, based on characters by Edgar Rice Burroughs, music by Mort Glickman, special effects by Howard Lydecker
serial Nyoka
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Professor Campbell (Forbes Murray) mounts an expedition to find the
golden tablets of Hippocrates, which are said to include a cure for cancer
and which are hidden somewhere in the Libyan desert. Professor Campbell
has a papyrus that might lead to the tablets, but the only man who might
be able to read and understand the papyrus, professor Gordon (Robert
Strange) - but he's gone missing years ago, so the next best thing to hire
for the expedition would be his daughter Nyoka (Kay Aldridge), who might
have inherited some of her father's expertise, and who's more than willing
to join the expedition, trying to find a clue to her father. Of course,
there's also villainess Vultura (Lorna Gray), white leader of a desert
tribe, who with the help of Tuareg leader Cassib (Charles Middleton) wants
to get her hands on the tablets as well and who at first tries to
undermine the expedition herself posing as Nyoka, and when that doesn't
work, she installs Torrini (Tristram Coffin) within the expedition as her
eyes and ears. Eventually, the quest leads everyone, good and evil
alike, to the valley of the bedouins, where Vultura tries to seize the
situation, posing as the bedouins sun Goddess, something their high priest
contests - and wouldn't you know it, this high priest is also Nyoka's
father ... The objective of Vultura and Cassib changes when they capture
professor Gordon upon finding out who he is, and now they want Nyoka and
her pal Larry (Clayton Moore) dead, having her father for the information
on the whereabouts of the scrolls. Of cizrsem everyhing changes quite a
number of times, and among other things, Torrini dies, Nyoka's dad
remembers who he is but forgets quite a few other things, Vultura and
Cassib get their hands on the scrolls, and only tons and tons of chases,
shoot-outs and fistfights later, they pay their price for their crimes -
Vultura is even killed by her own gorilla (Emil Van Horn) - and the good
guys get their hands on the scrolls and the treasure that comes with them. Perils
of Nyoka might not be the best serial ever, but serial action at its best:
It moves along at a steady pace, the plot, while secondary to the action,
has room to develop, the action is not only well-staged but also inventive
at times, and the many pulp mainstays will make vintage serial fans make
love this one no matter what anyways. No seriously, this is really good
fun above everything else!
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