Critical Reception
Harmon and Glut describe Mysterious Doctor Satan as "one of Republic's best serials... set the pace for others that followed." They go on to narrow it down to one of the five or six greatest serials Republic ever made. Many people involved in the serial are singled out for praise but the main one is Ciannelli as Doctor Satan, a character who steals the show from the relatively bland Copperhead. The directors, William Witney and John English are noted as the best in their field. Cy Feuer is praised for his music, which is both moody and exciting. Mention is also made of the "superior" lighting and "some of the best stunt work in the fights to ever appear on screen in any kind of film."
The tone of the serial was set by Eduardo Ciannelli's "piercing malevolent countenance." Ciannelli's performance "in a role so susceptible to overacting and scenery chewing" maintained the "exact balance between a wild-eyed lunatic with dreams of world conquest and the brilliant, gifted man of science that Doctor Satan might have been. There was a poignancy in his portrayal that gave the uneasy feeling that this cruel genius was somehow a victim of forces that drove him to evil against his basic desire. Nothing was said or done in the screenplay to indicate it, but the feeling was there, nonetheless."
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