King of the Congo
King of the Congo is a 1952 American 15 chapter movie serial, the 48th released by Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Wallace Grissell, and stars Buster Crabbe. The serial also co-stars Gloria Dea, Leonard Penn, Jack Ingram, Rick Vallin, Nick Stuart, William Fawcett, and Rusty Wescoatt. "King of the Congo" was based on the comic book character "Thun'da", created by Frank Frazetta, and published by Magazine Enterprises. "King of the Congo" centers around a U.S. Air Force captain and his quest to find missing microfilm containing  information vital to the United States government. His journey takes him across the Atlantic all the way to a jungle in Africa. Plot. Captain Roger Drum (Buster Crabbe) shoots down an enemy plane carrying microfilm while on its way to deliver it to Africa. Intent on revealing the subversive group for whom the microfilm's message is intended, Drum assumes the pilot's identity. He flies his twin-engine aircraft across the Atlantic, where he crashes his aircraft in a remote African jungle. Drum is rescued by the primitive Rock People, led by Princess Pha (Gloria Dea). He is renamed  Thunda, King of the Congo, after he repeatedly rings a temple gong with a large stone mallet to sound an alarm. With the subversives believing Thunda is their missing pilot, and under constant attack by another primitive tribe called the Cave Men, Captain Drum plots to bring down the subversive group, who are searching for a new metal more radioactive and powerful than uranium. At the serial's conclusion, Thunda (Drum) clears the jungle of the villains and reunites the Rock People and Cave Men. Production. "King of the Congo" was both the last Tarzan-style serial made and last  serial to star Buster Crabbe. Crabbe starred in nine serials between 1933 and 1952: