Cast:

Tom Steele as The Masked Marvel [uncredited]
Louise Currie as Alice Hamilton
Johnny Arthur as Sakima
David Bacon as Bob Barton, later revealed to be The Masked Marvel

The Masked Marvel (1943):  This is praised by movie buffs to be one of the better made serials, and it is.  It's certainly watchable, and there's no lack of action.  In several ways, this goes against the grain of traditional serials.  In most serials, there is a mystery villain who is revealed in the last chapter.  In THIS serial, the identity of the hero is a mystery.  We are informed that The Masked Marvel is, in reality, one of the four special insurance investigators.  At the very end of the serial we see that Bob Barton is The Masked Marvel.

    The cliffhangers of this serial's chapters are also a bit different.  Especially Chapter 4, which has no cliffhanger at all.  The villain Sakima merely assumes, incorrectly, the true identity of The Masked Marvel.  The great advantages of this serial is that it had a great budget (for serials), great acting, great stuntwork and effects, an interesting story, and little stock footage used.

    Johnny Arthur was the standout in the cast.  I love Johnny's work.  He mostly played funny, effeminate-type characters in movies.  In this movie, he played a top Japanese spy.  It was quite a departure from most of his work, but he did it extremely well.  Sakima was a cool character.  I also love Louise Currie as Alice Hamilton.  She's one of the few B-movie queens that was equal parts looks and action.  Her character, Alice, could dish it out as good as she could take it.  Tom Steele did an incredible job as The Masked Marvel.  He played The Masked Marvel in every scene except for the end where he removes his mask; then MM was played by David Bacon.  Steele was primarily a stuntman in movies, and in this serial he had an unusually large part as the hero.  He also had several bit parts in this serial as henchmen.

Chapters:

Chapter 1- The Masked Crusader:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills two men.

Chapter 2- Death Takes the Helm:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills three men in this chapter.  That makes a total of 5 in this serial so far.
  

Chapter 3- Dive to Doom:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills two men in this chapter.  So far, he's killed a total of 7 people in this serial.
• Alice Hamilton is bound two times in this chapter.
  

Chapter 4- Suspense at Midnight:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills three men in this chapter.  So far, he's killed a total of 10 people in this serial.

Chapter 5- Murder Meter:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills one man in this chapter.  So far, he's killed a total of 11 people in this serial.
  

Chapter 6- Exit to Eternity:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills one man in this chapter.  So far, he's killed a total of 12 people in this serial.
• Alice Hamilton is knocked out once in this chapter.  She was punched in the face.
• Alice was bound and gagged once in this chapter.  This is the third time she is tied up in this serial.
• Alice was shut inside a crate.
  

Chapter 7- Doorway to Destruction:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills one man in this chapter.  So far, he's killed a total of 13 people in this serial.
• Alice Hamilton is knocked out once in this chapter.  She was gassed.  So far, this makes a total of 2 times she has been unconscious in this serial.

Chapter 8- Destined to Die:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) is knocked out once in this chapter.  He is hit on the head with a block of wood.  This is the first time he has been unconscious in this serial.

Chapter 9-

Chapter 10-

Chapter 11- The Fatal Mistake:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills one man in this chapter.
• Alice Hamilton is knocked out once in this chapter.  She was hit on the head with a pipe.
• Alice was bound and gagged once in this chapter.
  

Chapter 12- The Man Behind The Mask:

• Masked Marvel (in costume) kills three men in this chapter, including Sakima.
• Alice Hamilton is knocked out once in this chapter.  She was hit on the head with a gun.
• Masked Marvel revealed himself to be Bob Barton (played by David Bacon).

Fun Facts:

• Tom Steele, who played The Masked Marvel, did a lot in this serial.  He also had several bit parts as henchmen, and was the "Ram Rod" (lead stunt coordinator) for the film.  But due to an error, he did not receive any casting credit.
• David Bacon, who played Bob Barton, was murdered only two weeks after this serial ended production.  His murder has never been officially solved.