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Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943)
Topic Started: Oct 2 2005, 08:16 PM (1,245 Views)
Laughing Gravy
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The Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943), a 13-episode Universal chapterplay, offers some good fun for cliffhanger fans, although not as much as we'd all like.

Four young flying students are accused of the murder of a commanding officer; he was actually done in by a mysterious Nazi saboteur known as the Black Hangman. To clear their good names (and they’re called Danny, Jinx, Scrapper, and Zombie, four good names if I’ve ever heard them), the four Air Cadets track the Nazis across land, sea, and air, eventually unmasking the Hangman and forcing a showdown at a secret African helium mine.

Universal released a new serial starring the Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys once a year from 1940 through 1942. I suspect Flying Cadets was written for the DEK/LTGs, but it ended up utilizing the services of only Bobby Jordan, who hadn’t appeared with his Dead End Kids mates in any of the earlier serials. The other three cadets are the familiar Johnny Downs and Billy Benedict and the unfamiliar Ward Wood; the supporting cast includes Eduardo Ciannelli, Robert Armstrong, the lovely Jennifer Holt, and the ever-popular Regis Toomey.

Like most of the later Universal serials, you’ll find plenty of stock footage; a Greek chorus of minor characters who begin each chapter by talking about what’s going on (was this cheaper than the beloved “scrawl” that began Buck Rogers and earlier Universal chapterplays?); and a little too much plot to be healthy in a serial. It’s also surprising that we, the audience out there in movieland, are let in on the identity of the Black Hangman very early in the game, although that may have been because there’s no mistaking who it is under that mask. It’s fun to watch the scheming Axis Huns double-cross themselves on an ongoing basis; there’s no honor amongst Nazis, it seems. I also liked the way Ciannelli blusters about the Cadets: “Those idiots! Those dummkopffs! They’ve outsmarted us again!” The biggest laugh, however, is reserved for those times in which the Nazis refer to the Black Hangman as “Der Shvartz Hanker”, which, gosh darn it, is just hilarious, you’ll have to trust me. Oh, and there’s also a peppy “Air Cadets” theme song that plays over the opening Cadet credits, so be forewarned. It’ll stick to your brain the way peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth.

The Adventures of the Flying Cadets is officially a rather pedestrian serial (the participation of the other Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys would’ve helped immeasurably), but the DVD is very good and contains a slew o’ really fun serial trailers. Recommended.

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"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Pa Stark
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I really like this serial, Gravy. It starts off great with a lot of action and a fast pace for the first couple of chapters, then slows down a bit after that, but it is still very enjoyable. I agree about the Black Hangman, why have such a great mystery villain, then let everyone know who he is in about chapter three, then drop him until the last chapter? The theme song is fun and you will probably start singing along after a couple of chapters. Who put out the DVD?
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
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The Batman
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Having just won this particular serial in the inaugural Balcony Night Contest, I don't want to read your review yet, in case of spoilers. I promise to not only read the review, but also add my own comments on this one. Of course this will not be for another 13 weeks or so, as I promise to stick to the one-chapter-a-week rule on this one. ;)
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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marlin lee
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I just double checked my review of this DVD on another site to be sure my memory was correct. I stand by my statement that this might be an acceptable DVD for an Alpha release. However it is definitely the worst VCI DVD I own. For the most the video is acceptable though nothing to brag about. But there is way too much noise in the audio. That might not worry some. But noisy audio just ruins a movie for me.
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The Batman
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Not one to look a gift horse (or free serial, for that matter) in the mouth, I am still happy to receive AFC in the Balcony Contest; it was my pick among the choices I had, mainly because I already had the others.

I will admit I am a little worried by what Marling said, concerning the audio. A poor picture can be tolerated, as long as you can basically tell what is going on; but poor audio can take me right out of a movie/serial, as well. I, too, especially hate the background hiss, but I have found people have different tolerance levels for that, so hopefully mine is a little higher.

I have watched some piss-poor prints of serials and movies over the years, so this one would have to be pretty bad to crack my top (or bottom) ten worst prints.

Plus I have to believe that VCI, logo issues aside, would have at least slightly higher standards of quality, compared to a company like Alpha, whose product I rarely ever hear anything good about.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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Laughing Gravy
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Well, let us know what you think once you've seen a few chapters. Frankly, I didn't notice any audio prob. Maybe I'm just easy.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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The Batman
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Will do, LG. I was thinking of starting this one Saturday night, so I will post a quick review on the first chapter, when I have finished.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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The Batman
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Well, I viewed the first chapter on Saturday night and here is my report.

Unfortunately, there is some background hiss that is quite prevalent in some scenes. Fortunately, so far, that hiss has been limited to scenes inside the office of William Elliot, the founder/headmaster of the flying school. The rest of the scenes in the first chapter, in the plane hangar, outside scenes and any others except those office scenes, were all quite acceptable; with minimum background hiss. Overall the hiss is acceptable, for now, but that may change if it is worse in subsequent chapters.

The serial itself is entertaining so far, with an interesting set of characters and background stories. The villain, The Black Hangman, is engaging and appears to have an ulterior motive different from the one he is stating. All said, quite a mysterious fellow.

The first chapter of Adventures of the Flying Cadets has grabbed my attention, now I must wait that long week to see if it can keep that attention. Having never watched a serial week-to-week before, as I do a chapter-a-day, the suspense is actually, kinda, killing me. This could end up being a real fun way to watch a serial.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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Pa Stark
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See, Gravy, The Batman also thinks this is a good serial. Another plus is the change in locations.
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
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The Batman
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Is it Saturday, yet?

For the first time I can think of, I will really have to pay attention to the recap at the beginning of a chapter. This chapter-a-week definitely puts a different spin on watching a serial.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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The Batman
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Horror of horrors! After anxiously awaiting the next Saturday, so I would be able to view chapter two of this serial, I forgot to watch it! Two weeks in a row.

This was the first time I had attempted to watch a serial week-to-week, as I am usually a chapter-a-day kind of guy, so I was not used to the routine. Mind you, it has been a hectic couple of weeks, so that needs to be factored in.

Now, as I still want to attempt to watch this serial weekly, I must decide how to approach it. Should I restart with Chapter 1, or just carry on with Chapter 2? I have a vague recollection of what has happened, but it has been two weeks already and I will not be able to restart this serial for another week.

Has this ever happened to any other balcony members? And if so, what did you do?
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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Inspector Carr
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Sure< I started watching the Clutching Hand back in 1987 and still have not finished, In fact I think it was on Beta, So since I don't have a betamax anymore I kind of let it slide

anyhow I usually pick up where I left off if it less than one month since my last viewing, It all depends on how good your memory is.

what was I just talking about?
"Life is a Crapshoot however you need a pair of dice to participate"
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Laughing Gravy
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Watch episode two. The recap will bring you up to date.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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HGB3
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I usually just watch the next chapter, provided there hasn't been too long a gap in viewing (on the order of months). I find that the recap often prompts my memory regarding what has gone before even when I wouldn't have been able to recall the details without its help.
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panzer the great & terrible
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Sometimes it takes me as much as a year to get through a whole serial, but I find that the recaps tell me enough to get me back up to speed. After all, serial plots are pretty basic.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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