23 years before James Bond, Ronald Reagan had his own spy movie franchise

A few years before James Bond became the quintessential secret agent hero, there was Brass Bancroft, a lesser-known character who headlined a series of four spy movies called Secret Service. Perhaps surprisingly, all of them have none other than Ronald Reagan in the starring role. All four of them were produced and released in a two-year span.

Before his climb into American politics, Ronald Reagan enjoyed a prolific movie career in Hollywood. Although far from one of the industry's top stars, Reagan was often used as a leading actor, starring in films like Bedtime for Bonzo And Kings Row. Reagan also helped leave a mark in Hollywood through the supporting roles he held in the films of much bigger stars, such as Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart and Dick Powell. It was during this stage in his career that Reagan excelled Secret Service of the AirA lesser-known spy film that spawned three sequels.

What Ronald Reagan's Secret Service movies are about

Ronald Reagan played Brass Bancroft 4 times between 1939 and 1940

The Secret Service Movies centered on the undercover activities of Reagan's Brass BancroftA United States Secret Service agent who will embark on important missions for the government. Each movie in the series paired Reagan with Eddie Foy, Jr., who played Gabby Watters, an associate of Bancroft and a de-facto sidekick to Bancroft. Except for Reagan and Foy, all of them Secret Service Movies came complete with their own casts, with Brass Bancroft inexplicably getting a new love interest in each installment. Each story was a standalone adventure, with none of its plotlines carrying over to the next movie.

The first in the series, titled Secret Service of the AirSaw Bancroft use his piloting skills to work himself into a smuggling ring that uses airplanes to illegally bring Mexicans across the United States' southern border. the sequel, Code of the Secret ServiceSaw Bancroft infiltrates a counterfeit ring and winds up in prison as a result. The next entry, Smashing the money ringAlso featured a fake ring and Bancroft spending time in jail, but this time, his incarceration was part of a plot to take down the villains.

The fourth and final film in the Secret Service Series was Killing in the air. this time, Bancroft had to assume the identity of a dead spy In order to find out what he was involved in and what caused his death. His efforts led him to the Inertia Projector, an experimental high-tech device that can destroy other forms of technology, much like a modern EMP. Similar to the first movie, it ends in an epic airplane chase sequence.

Why Ronald Reagan's Secret Service movies became a franchise

Warner Bros. wanted to make one of its contracted actors, Ronald Reagan, into a star

Considering the era, it was admittedly not unheard of, but still rare compared to modern movies, for a movie to receive multiple sequels. Some got followings, but not like popular hits like King Kong And FrankensteinThe situation with the Secret Service was a little different. Warner Bros. fast-tracked the Brass Bancroft moviesNot even waiting to see how they would perform at the box office. After two months Secret Service of the Air In theaters in March 1939, Warner Bros Code of the Secret Service. Reagan had already played Bancroft three times by the end of the year, with his last outing as the character in June 1940.

While packing four films from the same series into such a short time frame may seem surprising, it's important to note that none were particularly complicated to shoot. All of them were fairly low-budget productions with roughly one-hour runtimes, meaning they probably didn't take much time or studio resources to film. This made HHe four films is an easy way for Warner Bros. to boost Reagan's profileConsidered one of the studio's young and up-and-coming stars at the time (via Turner Classic Movies.)

In addition to serving as vehicles for Reagan, the Secret Service Movies helped fill a second purpose. Among the studio's most successful films in the 1930s were gangster movies, with the work of James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson contributing heavily to its revenue. Unfortunately for Warner Bros., this approach was not welcomed by many politicians, who deemed Warner Bros.' Interest in gangster movies as problematic. Warner Bros countered the criticism by releasing a string of patriotic movies What made government and military figures the heroes, with the Secret Service Films fit neatly into that strategy.

Despite heavy criticism, Ronald Reagan's Secret Service movies are worth watching

Ronald Reagan did not want the second movie to be released

Their initial critical reception alone does not paint a favorable picture of the spy movies. Most are not good with critics, with the consensus being that the Secret Service Movies didn't offer much in the way of a compelling storyline, riveting acting or anything else that was particularly memorable. The second film, Code of the Secret Servicewas largely disliked, with critics ruthlessly disparaging the film in reviews. Even Reagan himself expressed dissatisfaction with the finished product. Reagan reportedly once said about the film"No egg of such size has ever been laid. (via Turner Classic Movies.)

At the heart of the problems were a lack of belief in the stories and uninspiring dialogue. This has been a recurring issue for the franchise, but was even more prominent with the second installment. But in general, the series had its merits. Code of the Secret Service Not withstanding, Ronald Reagan's turns as Mesh Bancroft are certainly worth watching. He was entertaining in his short time as an action starDoing his own stunts and delivering a charismatic performance as the character.

That helped the Secret Service Cinema was the undercover element of the stories; Watching Bancroft free criminals while keeping his real motives a secret certainly has some entertainment valueGranted that movies like it aren't exactly common. And while predictable at times, the mysteries can be interesting at times. And since they are made to be short adventure stories, it is not necessary for these Secret Service Movies should be so intense that they keep audiences engaged for long periods of time. They could, however, provide an hour of enjoyable action and a few light-hearted moments.