The serial contains some similarities with the earlier serial '' The Vanishing Shadow '' , such as an invisibility belt and a remote-control robot . Stock footage was used from '' The Invisible Ray '' ( look closely and you 'll see Boris Karloff ) , including scenes of Dr Zorka finding the meteorite in Africa . As with several Universal serials , some of the stock music came from the '' Frankenstein '' films . '' The Phantom Creeps ' '' car chase was itself used as stock footage in later serials . Newsreel shots of the Hindenburg disaster were used as part of Dr Zorka 's final spree of destruction after his robot , which is supposed to destroy the human race , is stopped due to the sabotage by Monk after being unleashed
Hindenburg disaster
Hindenburg disaster
The Phantom Creeps