The Gem Theater: Secret Agent X-9

Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7^th and 8^th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Secret Agent X-9

Secret Agent X-9, a 13-chapter serial from Universal from 1945, starring Lloyd Bridges as an American agent and his Chinese (agent?) helper on Shadow Island, a gateway to Asia and a gathering of international spies. Japan is planning on hiring a crooked American to take over the identity of an American scientist, to learn the secret of a special fuel that will help Japan and Germany win the war. This was an above average serial, with good acting, and some nice cliffhangers. Lloyd Bridges is perfect as Secret Agent X-9, and Keye Luke as Ah Fong. Jan Wiley is okay as an Australian spy pretending to be working with Japan, though an accent would have improved her performance more. The only downside was the blatant need to repeat what everything was about in the beginning of each chapter. This would have been overlooked in the weekly installments at the theaters, but watching it in one or two setting, it became repetitive. Still, it’s a darn good serial. I haven’t watched the special features yet, but will do so this afternoon.