Mandrake the Magician

The popular Lee Falk-Phil Davis comic strip Mandrake the Magician first came to the screen by way of a 12-chapter Columbia serial. Warren Hull stars as the top-hatted, splendidly caparisoned Mandrake, who "gestures hypnotically" to thwart his various enemies. The head villain is a mystery man known as "The Wasp," who'll stop at nothing to steal the radium-energy machine invented by kindly Professor Houston (Forbes Murray). But no matter how hard he tries, The Wasp is always one step behind the resourceful Mandrake and his hulking assistant Lothar (Al Kikume). After facing numerous perils alone and in the company of Houston's daughter Betty (Doris Weston), Mandrake ascertains the true identity of The Wasp.