SERIALS

[The Wolf]

Just today I got a used VHS of "Cliffhangers: Adventures from the Thrill Factory" hosted by Leonard Maltin. It has a lot of great clips.
Now I've yearning to get "Spy Smasher".

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Atomic Age]

Just today I got a used VHS of "Cliffhangers: Adventures from the Thrill Factory" hosted by Leonard Maltin. It has a lot of great clips.
Now I've yearning to get "Spy Smasher".

Sincerely,
The Wolf

Yes pick up Spy Smasher if you can find it. I have it on VHS and transferred it to DVD. Actually I have a fairly large collection of Serials.

Doug

 

[Dated Guy]

I got into the serials years ago at Saturday morning cinema for the kids.
I currently seek out some old ones just for me to get all nostalgeee about....'The Perils Of Pauline', the Evelyn Knapp version serial is amazing, it has the 1929 flight of the Dornier, 12 X engined seaplane in it, great cliffhangers every episode, the villain is something else to keep your eye on. The William Desmond trenchcoat and fedora are something to behold, dated yes, but, so satisfying at the same time....another one I own is the serial 'Brick Bradford', totally bizarre in context, filmed in the same locations as the 'Lone Ranger' I think, apparently, it was filmed by the biggest cheapskate ever, cutting corners does not enter into it, cracking stuff....and what about the hats in 'The King of the Rocket Men', the space aged 9mm Luger with a swollen barrel, just to give it that futuristic look...great stuff all the time. Of course, the Flash Gordon episodes, filmed in postwar Germany, tremendous viewing, a history lesson like no other......:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Widebrim]

You are pretty safe with the Republic Serials. They seemed to have the best production value and fantastic miniature photography. Other studios were very hit and miss.
Doug

Very true, at least in the earlier years, and partly due to the Leidecker brothers, the men who designed those miniatures. Another top-notch studio was, of course, Mascot, which later morphed into Republic Pictures.

 

[Atomic Age]

Very true, at least in the earlier years, and partly due to the Leidecker brothers, the men who designed those miniatures. Another top-notch studio was, of course, Mascot, which later morphed into Republic Pictures.

I have to say that I'm very impressed with Universal's Secret Agent X-9 (1945) starring Lloyd Bridges. Its very well produced, and actually attempts a little bit of character development.

I haven't seen any Mascot serials, can you recommend a title or two?

Doug

 

[Widebrim]

I have to say that I'm very impressed with Universal's Secret Agent X-9 (1945) starring Lloyd Bridges. Its very well produced, and actually attempts a little bit of character development.

I haven't seen any Mascot serials, can you recommend a title or two?

Doug

Yeah, Universal did make some good serials, and I've read good things about Secret Agent X-9. I just bought a DVD of Universal's The Phantom Creeps with Bela Lugosi (1939) for two bucks (backed with Devil Bat). It was the first Universal serial to use a vertical scrolling text as the forward.

Although they are hard to locate (and I've only seen a few), these are the Mascot serials which have traditionally rated well:

King of the Kongo (the first sound serial), The Vanishing Legion (with Harry Carey), The Lost Jungle (great animal scenes with Clyde Beatty), The Phantom Empire (with Gene Autrey), and The Miracle Rider (Tom Mix's last film). You might also like The Hurrican Express, with John Wayne, and The Whispering Shadow, with Bela Lugosi.

 

[Widebrim]

Recently picked these up for $4 and $3, respectively.

Zorro's Fighting Legion has gotten fairly good reviews over the years due to directors Whitney and English, Reed Hadley's portrayal of Don Diego Vega/Zorro, and Republic's high production values. Universal's Junior G-Men of the Air hasn't fared that well, but then I bought it because of the Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys, Lionel Atwill, and Turhan Bey (who is still going at 88 years of age).

 

[Atomic Age]

Zorro's Fighting Legion is a good one to be sure. Interestingly William Whitney went on to direct several episodes of Disney's Zorro TV show.

Doug