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CURIOUS ABOUT SERIALS ??


kenwal34
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I have about 50 in my collection.I ve centered most of my collection with Republics. Im with you in in hoping to get more people onto serials.Just finished watching THE PAINTED STALLION again. A young Kit Carson, Jim Bowie and Davey Crockett were some of the colorful characters in this one.One of the featured actors

is Hoot Gibson, a former silent great along with Jack Perrin.There are so many facets concerning the production of a serial. How they were made is a very interesting story by itself!

Oh yes lolite, your'e on the ball with that serial answer. Good going!

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Ken and all other serial fans: if TCM requested that you line up a list of serials to have during a "Serial Month", that would help introduce the modern film buff to serials, which ones would you list? And in what order? I think it would be great fun to show chapters from several serials each Saturday, along with a double-bill of an old horror and western movie. Here's my dream list of a serial line-up:

1. Pearls of Pauline (1914) Pearl White is fantastic as the girl-in-peril in these l2 to l5 chapters of non-stop action. She certainly obliterates the image of women back then as the fainting, delicate types. She flew in run-a-way baloons, is kidnapped by gypsies, escapes exploding mines, is tied to a rail with a train racing toward her. It's great fun.

2. Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) This charming and exciting serial has great chapter endings--especially the first one where one of the daredevils races his motorcycle in a tunnel while behind roars a wall of water.

3. Spy Smasher. Considered the number one serial of all time by many, Spy Smasher and his twin brother fight to save America from the Nazis. You'll be left breathless at the end of each chapter. Beautiful location work and edge-of-your seat excitement.

4. Adventures of Captain Marvel. Say Sha-zam and you just might conjure up that red-suited hero, Captain Marvel, played to the hilt by steely-eyed and heroically built Tom Tyler.

5. G-Men vs. the Black Dragon. Rod Cameron and Constance Worth and their Asian sidekick battle the Japanese enemy during World War II. Constance is hands down the most fearless of all serial heroines as she handles that machine gun like a pro.

Others worth considering: "King of the Texas Rangers," "Jungle Girl," "Drums of Fu Manchu," "King of the Royal Mounted," "Manhunt Over the African Jungle," "G-Men Never Forget," "The Mysterios Doctor Satan."

Wouldn't it be great to watch these fun serials with popcorn, the whole family, along with old cartoons, shorts and a double-feature? In other words, The Saturday Bijou?

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paty,

Your list is hard to top but I'll give it a shot!

As for the serials:

1. Captain Marvel

2. Spy Smasher

3. Jungle Girl

4. Manhunt In The African Jungle

5. Dick Tracys G. Men

6. King of the Royal Mounted

7.King Of the Texas Rangers

8. G Men vs the Black Dragons

9. King of the Rocketmen.

10.The Phantom

These could be on a matinee bill with Charlie Chan, some Universal mystery programmers,some PRC's with George Zucco,B westerns,cartoons etc. The combinations are endless!!

As to format, I personally prefer one good serial ,one chapter a week. However ,your ideas do have merit!

Ken.

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lolite,

Two on your list are great examples of serial making.Lost City has some great primitive special effects and an over the top performance by William"Stage" Boyd.

A bit of trivia about Jungle Girl. Francis Gifford suffered a near fatal auto accident which closed a promising movie career. The elephant was named Bunny. She was killed in a trailer fire.

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Yes, ken William "stage " Boyd was excellent in "Lost City" i heard through another serial fan i know that he

was ill while making this serial it was his last....

in some scenes he was too ill and had a stand in for some of his scenes i hope this is just rumor and not true

it would be just so sad for such a fine character actor

as himself.....Love Bunny the elephant! soooooo sorry

to hear about the trailer fire. You would think someone

would've watched over bunny more carefully with being

apart of the film industry....

Frances Gifford was never the same after her car accident such tragic circumstances for animals & people

with such productive lives ahead. thanks ken for the sharing of these trivia tibits lolite.

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Hi Ken, I would like also to extend my sincere birthday wishes to you sorry that its late and i missed your

"special Day" haven't posted been working on a book fair

for our local animal shelter a yearly event these past few days. Your a bright light on these boards i don't know how we could ever do without our "Serial Master"

wouldn't want to try. Tare care friend p.s. Hope you

had your favorite ice cream & cake in abundance!wink!

lolite....

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Serial trivia.... Of the serials produced by Republic,only one runs 14 chapters. ROBINSON CRUSOE OF CLIPPER ISLAND. Ray Mala ["Eskimo"] and Mamo Clark[Mutiny on the Bounty} played the leads.

 

 

 

 

 

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lolite,

Glad you're enjoying the serial.The cliff hangers for this serial were all great.There were no cheaters.As stated earlier,near the end I will list the characters again. Remember,one of them is Don Del Oro!

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