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| PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS: or Gravy's Latest Review | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 24 2005, 06:59 AM (1,113 Views) | |
| KanSmiley | Oct 24 2005, 06:59 AM Post #1 |
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Charter Member
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i just read Gravy's review of PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS and found the review a fun read. PIRATES is a carbon copy of THE SEA HOUND. The ship in THE SEA HOUND is named just that The Sea Hound. The same ship in PIRATES is named Ramble. Both villians in the serials go by a single name. The Admiral in THE SEA HOUND and The Governor in PIRATES. As Gravy said they take place on the high seas with real seascapes. In fact I believe both serials were filmed on the same location. Buster Crabbe once said about these two serials that they could have been filmed at the same time and saved money. His wardrobe is identical in both. A pair of khaki pants, a form fitting T-shirt, deck shoes and a captain's hat. Several years ago when I first became reinterested in serials I could remember a scene from a serial but could not remember the serial's title. I described the scenes and asked if anyone remembered it but unfortunately no one did. Then I happened to acquire PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS and there was the scene I was looking for. It seems like some serial buffs can name all serials they saw years ago --- I cannot. This one serial I did remember. THE SEA HOUND and PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS are probably (at least today as I speak) my two favorite serials. If you have not seen either of these serials I would recommend them. To me they are a lot of fun. Kan |
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http://www.saturday-matinee-memories.com/ intoxicated, adj.: When you feel sophisticated without being able to pronounce it. | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Oct 24 2005, 01:54 PM Post #2 |
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Well, say what ya want about Columbia, but neither Republic nor Universal could've pulled off a serial like this. |
| "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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| Laughing Gravy | Nov 10 2005, 10:39 PM Post #3 |
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Although he’s certainly best remembered for his trio of appearances as Flash Gordon (1936-1940), Buster Crabbe appeared in a number of other serials, notably Tarzan the Fearless (1933) and Buck Rogers (1939). His cliffhanger career was winding down by 1950, when he starred in the entertaining Pirates of the High Seas (15 chapters) for Columbia. Crabbe is merchant seaman Jeff Drake, who gets a call for help from Kelly Walsh, an old Navy buddy (Tommy Farrell). Kelly’s found himself on a remote tropical island in the middle of a search for some stolen Nazi diamonds, and unbeknownst to either of them, the clue to the missing diamonds is hidden in a music box Kelly has sent to his sister (the lovely Lois Hall). Drake, Kelly, the sister, the music box, and a U.S. agent (the usually sinister Tris Coffin) battle the crooked governor of the island (Gene Roth, the fat guy in the Student Prince outfit in The Lost Planet, currently serialized weekly in our Balcony Saturday Matinee), his assorted thugs and minions (including his festering assistant Lamar, sniveling favorite Stanley Price, who is constantly undermining the governor’s initiatives), and a mysterious, cloaked Nazi who’s after the diamonds too. (Sorry for all this plot, but it IS 15 chapters, folks.) Unlike more highly regarded “seaworthy” serials, including Haunted Harbor and The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd, there’s actually an ocean on display in Pirates of the High Seas, and real ships and everything, much enhancing the atmosphere and the excitement. By 1950, Republic had cut its serials down to only one director, murder for the grueling shooting schedule, but Columbia still utilized two, and Pirates offers the great Spencer Bennet (who’d been directing chapterplays since the silent days) and Thomas Carr (just prior to his stint as lead director on TV’s The Adventures of Superman). They keep the action flowing, and even give us some noteworthy camera angles, such as fights on deck shot from above. Crabbe is still in good shape (he’d don a Tarzan-type loincloth again two years later in King of the Congo) and Three Stooges fans will be amused by their frequent foil, Symona Boniface, as the mysterious “Lotus Lady” who switches sides every couple of chapters, and by the fact that the music box everybody’s after plays “Three Blind Mice”. Note that, surprisingly, the serial has no subtitle, unusual for a Columbia chapterplay of that era. I myself like to think of it as Pirates of the High Seas, Swashbuckling Mavens of Overall Decency and Fair Play. *** |
| "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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| rodney | Jan 26 2015, 11:58 AM Post #4 |
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Charter Member
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Finished this one over the weekend, and I agree it's a lot of fun, and one that often slips through the cracks. Way better than it has any right to be. An overlooked gem. Completely recommended. |
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| The Batman | Jan 26 2015, 01:42 PM Post #5 |
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Charter Member
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Thanks, Rodney. I was just thinking which serial to watch next, when I finish up LAW OF THE WILD. Think we have a winner. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Jan 26 2015, 06:06 PM Post #6 |
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Mouth Breather
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I liked this one too. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| Fedora | Jan 28 2015, 12:48 PM Post #7 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Is Bart (Barcroft) about We usually stay in contact but he hasn't replied to my last few emails Any ideas? |
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| The Batman | Jan 28 2015, 01:02 PM Post #8 |
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Charter Member
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Hey Hat-head, Bart was on this board, yesterday, about 5pm EST. Perhaps he just got busy? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Fedora | Jan 29 2015, 01:43 PM Post #9 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Aka .... |
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6:51 AM Jul 11