capnmephisto2
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Posts posted by capnmephisto2
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Ken:
Did you notice that the doctor running the sanitarium, Dr. Shelton, was played by that venerable serial villain John Davidson. He appeared in at least twelve sound serials, including seven Republics. Davidson was kind of an oddity in that he usually appeared as an assistant to the chief villain but was not an ordinary brains heavy or a hench man.
The only serial I remember him appearing in as the boss was "Perils of Pauline," a 1934 Universal production in which Davidson, as Dr. Bashon, chased Pauline, her father and friends around the world. His best role in a Republic serial was probably as Tal Chotoli in "Adventures of Captain Marvel" where despite all his strangely suspicious behavior, he was only a red herring. Anyway, his slick villainy was always welcome and you knew he'd cause the hero some problems.
I look forward to your weekly installments.
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Ken Walk:
To enlighten the posters unfamiliar with serials, perhaps you should discuss the types of cliffhanger endings most often used. The worst type was the "cheat." There, the events leading to the cliffhanger are changed to eliminate the danger, hence the "cheat." For example, a chapter ends with the rope the hero is hanging to breaking and the hero falls. The cheat occurs in the next episode when the rope doesn't break and the hero climbs to safety. The best resolutions were the "follow-ups" which occurred when the solution follows up the cliffhanger. For example, if we see the hero go over a cliff on a motorcycle to end a chapter, the resolution could be that at the bottom of the cliff is a lake he lands in and swims to shore. Another acceptable cliffhanger resolution method is the "insert." This occurs when the resolution is shown at a different camera angle. For example, the car goes over the cliff to end a chapter, but the next episode shows that at the last instant the hero jumped from the car before it goes over the cliff.
From my recollection, Republic rarely, if ever relied on outright cheats. That studio's favorite method of resolution was the "insert" although most Republic serials had at least a couple of "follow up" resolutions. In Zorro's Fighting Legion, the first two chapter cliffhangers were inserts. At the end of chapter 1, we saw the rockslide crash down, but in chapter 2 we saw Zorro swing to safety on his whip just as the explosion above occurred. At the end of chapter 2, the Mission explodes, but at the beginning of chapter 3 we see Zorro swing through the window to safety at the last second before the explosion.
Sometimes the resolutions are almost unbelievable and the resolution to the cliffhanger in chapter 1 of Zorro's Fighting Legion is almost in that class. Considering that hundreds of tons of rock fell right where Zorro had been standing, I'm not sure that swinging the length or even twice the length of his whip would have been far enough to avoid being crushed. But hey, it's a serial, we don't want to think too much. We can be thankful Zorro wasn't in a Columbia serial. Then, the rocks would've fallen on him and he would have crawled out from under them. Which I suppose would be a fourth type of resolution -- the danger occurred but the serial hero was immune, he just dusts himself off when its over. That's almost as bad as a cheat.
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Regarding Moviejoe's question about good first serials to watch, in addition to KenWalk's suggestions, another classic Republic would be the 1942 "The Perils of Nyoka." It is one of the best paced serials and it features excellent cliffhangers. The cast is top notch (at least for a serial), including Clayton Moore. The first and last chapters are really spectacular. Many serial fans have been first exposed to the genre with "Flash Gordon" or one of the sequels. These have generally good pacing and excellent characters supported by an actual plot to go along with the action. Another good first serial, I think, although not typical, would be the 1938 Republic "Hawk of the Wilderness." It doesn't feature the usual car chases, exploding buildings and such that many serials relied upon. Rather, Hawk was a sort of Tarzan living on an unknown island somewhere in the arctic that was apparently kept temperate by volcanic activity. I'm not sure if this Republic gem is available on DVD.
Moviejoe's list sounds like a potentially good buy, depending on the quality of the DVDs. The twelve serials have some variety with 4 Republics, especially good is "Zorro's Fighting Legion", 3 Mascots with John Wayne (I think the best of those is "The Three Musketeers" but I know I'm in the minority on that), 2 Universals ("Ace Drummond" and "The Phantom Creeps" - I'm partial to Drummond), an independent, "The New Adventures of Tarzan" and I'm not sure who made "The Lost City" - maybe that one was an independent too. That's only 11, I can't remember what the other one in the package was. The Tarzan serial isn't horrible by any means and is of some interest because of the location work in the jungle of Guatamala, thus the poor sound KenWalk noted. It also features Herman Brix as a rather sophisticated Tarzan, more along the lines of the Burrough's novels rather than the MGM/Weismuller "Me, Tarzan" we're use to. In fact, I believe Burroughs was involved in the production of the serial which at least made it more interesting to me. Anyway, the package does provide an interesting group of serials with a little bit of everything.
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I'm surprised nobody mentioned the gorgeous Jean Rogers in the earlier discussion about serial heroines. She appeared in several very good Universal serials in the 1930s -- particularly as Dale Arden in Flash Gordon and Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. She also appeared in Ace Drummond and The Adventures of Frank Merriwell and I think one other. Although her roles were probably less physically demanding than what faced the women in the 1940s serials, she certainly deserves a look. Also, her costume in Flash Gordon was almost pre-Code. I suppose what she wore was passed by the Hays Office because it was comparable to what the character wore in the Flash Gordon comic strip.
Speaking of serial heroines, last weekend I saw a chapter of The Hazards of Helen at a film festival. Helen didn't take a backseat to Pauline, Elaine or any of the other early serial adventuresses. She rode a horse, chased a bully out of the telegraph office, climbed a water tower, and jumped from the water tower onto a moving train. Pretty rousing stuff. Based on my limited experience with silent serials, their biggest drawback, at least for those made before the late 1920s seems to be the lack of cliffhanger endings. They are more like a series of related short films. One plus seems to be that they were produced for an adult audience.
I look forward to your further comments about the serials.
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Laurel and Hardy rarely failed to deliver. Besides those already mentioned, other L&H films you should try to watch next month include "The Music Box," "Sons of the Desert," and "Beau Hunks." I believe "The Music Box" was the only L&H film to win an Academy Award.
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In the DVD version of "Jungle Girl" is the footage where Nyoka is tied up and the is gorilla coming toward her still obviously from a different print than the rest of the serial? When "Jungle Girl" was first made available on VHS about 8 years ago, most of the print was from a British source, so the print included the British censor seal. Although the print was generally excellent, a few scenes, most notably the one with the gorilla coming toward the bound Nyoka were missing (possibly deemed too violent by the British censors). The missing footage had to be supplied from the few other remaining copies of the serial, mostly in 16mm. Anyway,it is a good serial with all the typical Republic jungle settings, including the cave on the side of the mountain that was recyled in several Republic serials such as "The Perils of Nyoka" and I believe "The Tiger Woman."
Personally, I think "King of the Texas Rangers" is one of the best Republic serials. It has a serviceable plot and a lot of good action. Sammy Baugh was not a professional actor but he carried himself off very well in his only film and he seemed believable in the role of a Texas ranger. If he'd had any interest in a film career, he probably would have been a success. He had grown up on a Texas ranch and really knew about life on a ranch. He was kind of like Clyde Beatty in the respect that he was a genuine hero who wasn't overly impressed by Hollywood and viewed the movie business as nothing but an adjunct to his real life's work-first football and later ranching. By the way, although he is well into his 80s,I believe he is still living on his ranch in Texas.
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This one would be good to see again. It probably the only pre-1960s film I have seen in a theater. I saw it during its last theatrical release around 1986. What I most remember about it was the vivid color and the extensive mixing of animation with live action.
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Good topic Kenwalk. I agree, it's time for TCM to run a serial and that a Republic from the 1938-43 era would probably be the most fun. Other strong contenders would be the Flash Gordon serials from Universal. In my opinion the Universal serials were generally superior to their competitors until Republic hit its stride in about 1938 or 1939.
A possible exception to Universal's superiority in the mid-30s might be the one Kenwalk discussed today, "Darkest Africa." It's one of my favorites because the hero, Clyde Beatty, was a real life adventurer. He really did jump into cages with ferocious lions and tigers so no need for special effects when he was cracking the whip. Check out the intensity of his eyes when he's working the animals. What Beatty lacked as a professional actor he made up with his believability in such roles. This was his second serial, having appeared in "The Lost Jungle" in 1934.
You know another serial that might appeal to TCM viewers is "Phantom Empire," Gene Autry's first starring role, also featuring Smiley Burnette and Frankie Darro. Those are actors that would be familiar to many viewers, although decent prints of that film may not be available. It is probably the only muscial science fiction western ever made.
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Moira:
Yes, at least a few modern films have employed that technique. I can remember a few comedies that have showed the actors and identified them by name, usually at the end of the film. Generally, the film makers used footage from the film rather than a photograph when identifying the actors. The films I remember with this type of credits are "1941", "Caddyshack", "Airplane!", and possibly the Police Squad films. Oddly, the three that I remember were all late '70s/early '80s films.
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For the extra hour, TCM broadcast the MGM 20th anniversary film, recalling many great MGM films of the studio's first two decades, hosted by Lewis Stone. I didn't catch the film's actual title. Then, TCM showed the 100 years of cinema short, again with brief excerpts from many famous films from 1894 to 1994. I think they also showed a couple of upcoming previews.
I set my VCR to record "Possessed", scheduled for a 1:00 a.m. Central broadcast, so I ended up with the hour of highlights along with the scheduled film.
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Now that Judex has finished its run, what did everyone think of it? Generally, I liked it, although it may have been a little plodding at times. It was sure a prototype of the serial genre. I liked all the things you'd expect in a good serial: the aliases, the disguises, the secret rooms, the chases, the mistaken identities, the dumb henchmen, the futuristic devices, the mysterious avenger, the apparent demise of the villain, and comedy relief that was actually kind of funny and not dead weight around the hero's neck.
Judex also had a fair amount of the silliness that seemed to creep into serials. For example, wasn't it convenient that Daisy Torp (the Water Goddess) was wearing her swimsuit under her overcoat when she went out for an evening stroll along the beach with Cincontin. By the way, I think that swimsuit would have been considered indecent at most American beaches in 1917. Also, the ship wasn't even out of the harbor when the evil Diane had the tied up man she thought was Judex thrown overboard. In fact, just seconds later, a small boat passes beside the ship. So much for trying to hide her evil deed. Maybe not silliness but more a sign of the time: at first Cincontin was "smitten" by Daisy but after they kissed, he always referred to her as his "fiancee."
I hope the serial had decent ratings and that TCM will consider broadcasting other silent serials.
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I agree that watching Judex over three weeks is better than a marathon broadcast. Afterall, it is a serial and that is how it was intended to be watched. Does anyone know whether this French serial was originally distributed a chapter at a time like American serials?
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Well, I'm certainly not one to try to sway Republic serial fans from their favorites. Republic is the serial studio I am most familiar with, but I have developed an interest in some of the work by other studios as well. Republic brings you fast and furious action, good special effects, and interesting cliffhangers. Although less a concern of most serial fans, Republic serials generally had pedestrian and predictable plots, especially in the later years.
The vintage Universal serials (pre-1940 or so) seem to be better written and more dependent on plot and character development. The downside of that is that they can get talky. For the most part, they lack the technical expertise of Republic. Anyway, I think the better Universal serials like the Flash Gordon trilogy compare very favorably to the Republics of a few years later. And, Flash Gordon brought us the most memorable of serial villains -- Ming the Merciless. You could tell Charles Middleton really got into that role.
I agree with Kenwal's suggestion about TCM broacasting "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" on Saturday mornings. It is a good one to hook viewers on the serial genre.
The Making of The Saturday Cliffhangers
in General Discussions
Posted
A bit of additional information about Frances Gifford is that she was the sister of football player/celebrity Frank Gifford. At least a couple of films in which she appeared have been broadcast within the past year or so on TCM - "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes" and "She Went to the Races." Probably the best film she appeared in was "The Glass Key" featuring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Too bad she only appeared in one serial - she was a natural for the heroine role. She was probably the best actress of the Republic gals, with the possible exception of Linda Stirling.
According to legend Ms. Stirling's screen test was a series of stunts on a horse supervised by stuntman Yakima Canutt. Supposedly, the horse through her and she practically landed in Canutt's lap. But she showed such aplomb through the whole affair that she was chosen to be Republic's new serial heroine. She was great as Tiger Woman. I especially get a chuckle out of how nonchalantly she sent unfortunate natives to their death in the fire pit.
I know Ken prefers Republic serials but let's not forget that Universal had a few good heroines too. Jean Rogers was top notch in two exciting Flash Gordon serials, as was Carol Hughes in the last Flash Gordon chapterplay. Constance Moore was surprisingly helpful to Buster Crabbe in "Buck Rogers" and could hold her own with the boys when flying a space ship. In fact, she was a commander of the fleet.
By the way, several films featuring Jean Rogers have been broadcast on TCM during the past year too. I can't recall the titles, but one was an early Red Skelton film.
The serials featuring strong female characters are a real change-of-pace for serial fans because generally the women had little to do in serials except fall into harm's way and get saved by the hero.