G-Men vs. The Black Dragon

G-Men vs. The Black Dragon (1943) is a Republic Pictures movie serial. It is noteworthy among adventure serials as containing an unusually high number of fistfights, all staged by director William Witney and a team of stuntmen. This was Witney's last production before leaving to serve in World War II, he actually shipped out before filming was complete. It also sees Witney's wife, Maxine Doyle, returning to acting for the first time since they met on the set of an earlier serial, S O S Coast Guard (1937). Rod Cameron's characterization of federal agent Rex Bennett was so successful that Republic hurriedly made changes to Cameron's next serial, already in production. It became an unofficial sequel, Secret Service in Darkest Africa, with Cameron's character renamed Rex Bennett, and the feminine lead Joan Marsh becoming a British character, as in G-Men vs. the Black Dragon. In 1966 the serial was edited into a feature titled Black Dragon of Manzanar. It played on television as part of Republic's "Century 66" package of 100-minute serial adaptations.