Federal Operator 99

Federal Operator 99 is a 1945 American movie serial from Republic Pictures. It was later edited down into a feature version titled F.B.I. 99 for television. The serial is about an FBI agent named Jerry Blake who battles gentleman thief Jim Belmont, who escapes custody with help of his gang and begins a wave of crimes, beginning with plotting to steal the crown jewels of the Princess Cornelia.

Plot

Crime lord James 'Jim' Belmont escapes FBI custody and resumes his criminal empire, only to be thwarted at every turning point by British-accented Jerry Blake, the FBI's Operator 99. Belmont plots to steal the crown jewels of the Princess Cornelia, with the aid of his cohorts Matt Farrell, Rita Parker and his crafty secretary Morton. The criminals succeed in stealing the jewels, then offer to ransom them back, using Jerry Blake as the go-between. Blake foils their plot and also acts against different criminal engagements by Belmont such as trying to steal a car once owned by Belmont’s partner, a car into which valuable gold has been melted and whose location is known by a former lawyer who worked for Belmont.
Blake's secretary Joyce Kingston gets involved in directly helping Blake thwart Belmont, at one point battling Rita Parker for control of a truck carrying stolen payroll money. Blake eventually captures Matt Farrell but Belmont and Parker kidnap Joyce and they offer to trade her for Farrell. Blake is able to trace Belmont to his hidden lair beneath a theatre and winds up battling him high up on a catwalk overlooking a precipitous drop.

Cast

Marten Lamont as Jerry Blake, Federal Operator 99
Helen Talbot as Joyce Kingston
George J. Lewis as Jim Belmont, a sophisticated villain
Lorna Gray as Rita Parker, Belmont's partner in crime
Hal Taliaferro as Matt Farrell
LeRoy Mason as Morton, henchman
Bill Stevens as Agent Fred Martin
Maurice Cass as Signor Giuseppe Morello
Kernan Cripps as Agent Thomas Jeffries
Elaine Lange as Countess Delremy
Frank Jaquet as Warren Hunter
Forrest Taylor as Otto Wolfe
Jay Novello as Heinrick
Tom London as Prof. Crawford
Jack Ingram as Riggs
Production

Federal Operator 99 was budgeted at $143,620 although the final negative cost was $153,737. It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1945.
It was filmed between 18 January and 14 February 1945. The serial's production number was 1497.

Stunts

Dale Van Sickel as Jerry Blake
Duke Green as Jim Belmont
Tom Steele as Matt Farrell
Fred Graham
Ken Terrell
Special effects

Special effects by the Lydecker brothers.

Release

Theatrical

Federal Operator 99's official release date is 7 July 1945, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.
The serial was re-released on 8 October 1956 between the similar re-releases of King of the Rocket Men and Dangers of the Canadian Mounted. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival in 1955.

Television

Federal Operator 99 was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to FBI-99. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.

Chapter titles

The Case of the Crown Jewels
The Case of the Stolen Ransom
The Case of the Lawful Counterfeit
The Case of the Telephone Code
The Case of the Missing Expert
The Case of the Double Trap
The Case of the Golden Car
The Case of the Invulnerable Criminal - a re-cap chapter
The Case of the Torn Blueprint
The Case of the Hidden Witness
The Case of the Stradivarius
The Case of the Musical Clue

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