“Have no fear — Doc Savage is here!”
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Synopsis:
Doc Savage (Ron Ely) and his associates, the Fabulous Five, travel to the South American country of Hidalgo to investigate the death of Doc’s father.
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Genres:
- Comics and Comic Strips
- George Pal Films
- Murder Mystery
- Satires and Spoofs
- Superheroes
Response to Peary’s Review:
This adventure film — George Pal’s last production, bringing “Kenneth Robson’s pulp hero to the screen for what was supposed to be the beginning of a series” — is clearly meant to be a spoof, but falls flat on all counts. While I’m occasionally in the mood for enjoying a truly “bad movie”, this one can’t seem to make up its mind if it wants to be camp or straight-action drama. Plus, as Peary points out, “square-jawed” Ron Ely has zero charisma:
… there are “few interesting story twists”, and it “has the static studio-look of a cheap, kiddle adventure TV show.” Other than a few diehard Doc Savage fans, most IMDb contributors seem to agree with Peary that this cult film is a “dull disappointment”.
Redeeming Qualities:
- A bizarre image of a villain sleeping in an oversized crib and sucking his thumb
Must See?
No, unless you happen to be a Doc Savage fan.
Links:
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One thought on “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975)”
First viewing. A disappointment, indeed. Skip it.
To carry off this sort of homage to superheroes of the past, a good script is paramount – and this film just doesn’t have it. Something more sophisticated is required – say, on the level of Monty Python or the animated series ‘The Venture Brothers’. Without that, you’re left with this result: a very mildly engaging walk down the memory lane of escapist adventure.
Director Michael Anderson does what could be done under the circumstances to keep it from being a crashing bore. The photography is competent-enough. As noted, the production design seized an opportunity in creating the huge, rocking crib to reflect the infantile nature of the Latin nemesis – it’s odd that such visual humor wasn’t capitalized on throughout.
I doubt that even young film fanatics would get much out of this one.