SERIALS

[RBH]

Just wondered if anyone else has a good serial to suggest.
I have watched Jungle Menance *.
I really enjoyed it.
I have just bought 'King Of The Forest Rangers'.
It looks to be good and I will let you know after I watch it.
Here is a shot from 'King Of The Forest Rangers'.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038670/


* With Frank Buck

 

[Wally_Hood]

Check out the Serial Squadron, http://www.serialsquadron.com/ for all your serial needs. Great reviews and a lively forum.

Personal fave is the Flash Gordon serial, but there are lots out there, thanks to the modern marvel of dvds.

 

[RBH]

Very cool site !
Thanks Wally!!

 

[mike]

Serial Squadron is wonderful, I've been following their work for years. Mighty incredible and driven folks! I love serials. I'm actually in the midst of writing one to film soon! I cant wait to get to building cardboard robots! One of my favorites is the Phantom Empire with Gene Autry. I was lucky enough to see a full night of very rare serials at the Silent Movie Theatre in LA a few years ago. They showed some surviving episodes of Perils of Pauline, Mystery of the Dutch Cheese Maker (best film title ever?) and a bunch more really early teens era serials.

Some of my other faves are the Lost City, Phantom Creeps & Drums of Fu Manchu! I just watched the mid 30's Blake of Scotland Yard and that was surprisingly well written!

 

[RBH]

I watched Phantom Empire years ago and you are so right. A great serial!


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I am thinking of getting 'Lost City of the Jungle'.



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[mike]

This is loopy:

And I haven't seen all of the Mysterious Dr Satan, but from what I did see, who could ask for anything more?! haha

 

[The Wolf]

"Daredevils of the Red Circle" is supposed to be one of the best. I think it is great but I like almost all serials. "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" is another great one.
"The Masked Marvel" is one of my favorites also.
I could go on and on.
I've collected quite a lot on VHS and now am collecting DVDs.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Doctor Strange]

My recommendations include all three Flash Gordons - plus Buster Crabbe's underappreciated Buck Rodgers - Phantom Empire, Undersea Kingdom, Captain Marvel, both Supermans, the Commando Cody serials... great stuff.

(These were standard afternoon kiddie fare on NYC local TV back in the late 50s/early 60s - I watched them endlessly at a tender age!)

Another great resource on serials:

http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue04/infocus.htm

Cool labor-of-love site on the Flash Gordon serials:

http://members.iquest.net/~taldr/

Outstanding site on everything Commando Cody:

http://www.colemanzone.com/Cody's_Commandos/

 

[RBH]

Thanks my good Doctor!!!

These are great links.

 

[Wally_Hood]

I, too, suffer from a serial dependency. Commando Cody, Radar Men From the Moon, Chandu, Spy Smasher... many have been restored by the Serial Squadron. I've gone the route of many, tracking them down on VHS and now getting them on dvd.

My all-time favorite serial title is Zombies of the Statosphere.

 

[docneg]

For sheer visual delight, it's hard to beat the Flash Gordons. Chandu the Magician is great. I introduced my son to King of the Rocket Men at an early age and he still loves it. But the first serial I ever saw, and still closest to my heart, is the first (1943) Batman serial. What fun!

 

[RBH]

I have not finished it yet but 'King Of The Forest Rangers' is a super fun serial!

It has a neat story and is chock hull of great fedoras!!! Most of them thin ribbons!
Here are a few screen shots.

 

[RBH]

Just pick this up off of the Bay.
Looks to be another hat filled serial!!!
'The Tiger Woman' from 1944

 

[Wally_Hood]

In many of the serial fight scenes the nifty lids stay on the stunt men's head thanks to a thin plastic strap under the jaws.

 

[Leesensei]

You can probably guess my favorite serial from my avatar! The Shadow starring Victor Jory.

 

[Leesensei]

Another cool series is The Phantom!

 

[Leesensei]

Tom Tyler, who played The Phantom in the serials also played another great movie hero. He was Captain Marvel! This serial was actually way ahead of it's time. The flying sequences were far better than most films and actually are better than some of the CGI effects of today.

 

[Gene]

"The Phantom" was actually created by a WWII glider pilot who was also my grandpa's flight instructor! Originally it was a comic strip I believe...

 

[RBH]

I am waiting on this one to arrive now.

The Green Hornet Strike Again

Newspaper publisher Britt Reid (Warren Hull) has decided to take a vacation in Hawaii to relax after the excitement of his previous adventures as the Green Hornet. Joining him is his faithful valet and friend Kato (Keye Luke). While Reid is having fun in the sun, and enjoying the company of socialite Gloria Manning (Jeanne Kelly), his paper The Daily Sentinel, was being run by his chief editor Gunnigan. Unfortunately soon after Britt left, Gunning was hit by a car and the paper fell into the control of head of advertising Harper (William Forest).But Harper is actually part of the criminal Syndicate. The special effects are well done as cars are rolled down hill sides, buildings are set ablaze, and the climax features a huge safe door blown off it’s hinges. But for all that, the simple, inexpensive, and realistic looking gas gun effect is still the coolest thing about the Green Hornet. Phhtt! Cough cough! Thud!

Starring: Warren Hull, Keye Luke
1939 • BW • 15 Chapters

 

[Atomic Age]

In my opinion two of the best serials are The Masked Marvel (1943) and Spy Smasher (1942) Both WW2 themed one fighting Nazis and the other the Japanese. The director of both serials later went on to direct many episodes of the Disney Zorro show in the late 1950s.

They are both hard to find, but you can some times pick up a VHS copy or a DVD bootleg on Ebay.

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. Another good one is Secret Agent X-9 starring a very young Lloyd Bridges.

Doug