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Holt Of The Secret Service (1941)
Topic Started: Oct 27 2005, 07:46 AM (816 Views)
Laughing Gravy
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James Horne is frequently knocked for the silliness in his serials; with Holt of the Secret Service (1941), he went back to the more serious approach he used in The Spider's Web (1938), and the result is one of his best chapterplays.

Jack Holt and Evelyn Brent comprise one of the most unusual tandems of heroes in serial history, long in the tooth but also plenty long on toughness. Masquerading as "Nick Farrel", escaped tough guy, and his wife, Holt and Brent infiltrate a gang of counterfeiters. The setting is surprisingly widespread for a chapterplay, as the action moves from the gang's hideout in a lost canyon to a gambling ship on the high seas to a small island country where the gang hopes to escape U.S. extradition. The main villain is a fellow named Arnold, but he hides behind the facade of one of his men, Quist, to shield himself from the Secret Service, and lets another one of his men, Valden (frequent serial henchman Tris Coffin), do most of his dirty work. The island nation has its own pocket dictator, who is also trying to rub out our boy Jack.

Jack Holt is, simply put, the toughest leading man in serial history, the type of guy who could swallow nails and crap thumbtacks. When he gets in a fistfight with four of Arnold's boys and beats the hell out of the entire quartet, you can believe it.

As mentioned, there is little of the funny stuff that you’ll find in such Horne classics as Terry and the Pirates or The Spider Returns, unless you count the occasional "undercranking" that makes everybody look like they are rushing out of a burning house, or the fact that, unlike the Republic serials in which bands were used to keep the Fedoras on during fights, Columbia apparently just instructed their actors and stuntmen to crush their hats down tightly on their heads, making everybody resemble two-fisted Buster Keatons.

I give Holt of the Secret Service a solid *** and recommend it highly. (And no, I’m not just saying that because I wrote the bios of Holt and Horne that are served up as extras on the VCI Entertainment disc; you’ll find a bunch of serial trailers, too.) As a companion feature, why not watch Monster That Challenged the World (1958), starring Jack's son Tim?

Oh, and a little trivia for you movie buffs: Jack Holt is the only actor to get his name in the title of a sound serial -- well, the only HUMAN actor, anyway (unless you count The Galloping Ghost, naturally). How many actors and actresses can YOU think of who got their name in the title of a film? Since you're all no doubt saying, "Abbott and Costello", I will start you off with that. But I can think of several others. Can you? Okay... GO!

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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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panzer the great & terrible
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Well, there's ABBOT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER BORIS KARLOFF...BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA...
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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KanSmiley
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I, too, rate Holt of the Secret Service in my top 10 favorites. The toughness you talk about is exemplified in the first chapter. This one scene with him fighting in a canoe, they all go over a waterfall, he nearly drowns, but he crawls out of the water with his hat still firmly in place. Numerous times thoughout the serial he takes on 2-3-4 henchmen and takes care of business without breaking a sweat.

I really like the interaction between Holt and Brent. His tough exterior and tough attitude towards her while the entire time she is having none of it. I got the impression if they got into a fight she would come on top. She's the type of dame I want on my side. Very good serial.

Question: What are the trailers that are included?
Kan

http://www.saturday-matinee-memories.com/

intoxicated, adj.: When you feel sophisticated without being able to pronounce it.
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SuperRog
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Didn't the Ritz Brothers also get their name in a movie title? And not only did Abbott & Costello get their name in the titles of many of their movies, but one of them also named Boris Karloff in the title. Oh, and don't forget Snow White and The Three Stooges... :P
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Laughing Gravy
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Kan: The trailers include The Secret Code, The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd, The Vigilante, and Superman.

How about Buck Benny Rides Again? Violent is the Word for Curly? The Charlie McCarthy Murder Case? The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case? Sabu and the Magic Ring?

"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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Tony Bolton
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Most serials are so beyond the realm of possibility they they render themselves in the truest sense of the word. Of course some serials contractually have an unbelievable character, Supeman and Captain Marvel, others with characters with mask fetishes, Copperhead and Captain America, but Holt is, hat excluded, in the realm of possibilty and Holt's performance is a standout playing his d@*#self so that is as real as it gets.
If you want someone backing you up this is the guy.
I wish there was a video game pitting serial hero hero against hero. I'd pit Holt against Lance Reardon for the bad hat championship. Of course Holt would kick Reardon's @$$.
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AndyFish
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Back in my late 20s early 30s I came across this one and dismissed it because I thought Holt looked pretty old-- and in fact he looks older than his 52 years.
Now, coincidently BEING 52 myself I've come to realize I'm a hell of a lot tougher than I was in my 30s and hey I also carry a .45 with me-- maybe I'm Jack Holt!

Regardless, this is a slam bang serial loaded with action. It's TAKEN done in 1941 and I'm buying every punch Holt throws. I loved it when he takes out a hood by smacking him with a towel.
He also looks like his jaw is made of granite and this one is now among my favorites of all time.
My copy is from the Serial Squadron and it's nice quality.
www.andytfish.com
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The Batman
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AndyFish
Mar 15 2018, 08:30 AM

I also carry a .45 with me

Seriously?!?!?

Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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AndyFish
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The Batman
Mar 15 2018, 12:57 PM
AndyFish
Mar 15 2018, 08:30 AM

I also carry a .45 with me

Seriously?!?!?

Actually most days its only a 9mm Beretta.
www.andytfish.com
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Pa Stark
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Holt was one of the toughest serial heroes ever. Like all Horne heroes, he would fight, and defeat five heavies at once. In chapter 15, he outdid himself by taking on nine at once.

HOLT is an example how fans see certain serials differently now than we did 45 years ago. Several prominent fans rated HOLT as one of the worst serials in the sound era. A dealer at a convention back then had a chapter for sale and I never saw any of it before, and I asked a friend if he could screen it for me, and he told me he refused to run such junk through his projector. Evelyn Brent played the heroine, and she and Holt posed as husband and wife gangsters. She was as tough as he was, and their constant bickering and threats to each other made this serial more special.
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
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The Batman
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AndyFish
Mar 15 2018, 02:37 PM
The Batman
Mar 15 2018, 12:57 PM
AndyFish
Mar 15 2018, 08:30 AM

I also carry a .45 with me

Seriously?!?!?

Actually most days its only a 9mm Beretta.

Such a kidder.


Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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AndyFish
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Ha! Not kidding at all. Wife and two of my sons also have full license to carry.
2nd Amendment brother!

Back to Holt-- this one really holds up despite the repeated situations and Holt himself is a pretty fair actor. It's nice to see a lack of dopiness after a few of the serials I've slugged my way through lately.
The crooks seem to be made up of guys who shy away from steaks and lean heavily on the veggies which might account for Holt being able to whoop them at will.
Edited by AndyFish, Mar 16 2018, 06:01 AM.
www.andytfish.com
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rodney
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AndyFish
Mar 16 2018, 05:53 AM
Back to Holt-- this one really holds up despite the repeated situations and Holt himself is a pretty fair actor. It's nice to see a lack of dopiness after a few of the serials I've slugged my way through lately.
The crooks seem to be made up of guys who shy away from steaks and lean heavily on the veggies which might account for Holt being able to whoop them at will.
Maybe Holt stole their ration books.
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Sgt Saturn
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AndyFish
Mar 15 2018, 08:30 AM
He also looks like his jaw is made of granite ...
He is supposed to have been one of the models for Dick Tracy. You can kinda see that in the picture at the beginning of this thread.
Edited by Sgt Saturn, Mar 16 2018, 11:25 AM.
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mort bakaprevski
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First saw Evelyn Brent in a Hopalong Cassidy movie. She was the bad girl, but Hoppy was in love with her. So was I!!
"Nov Shmoz Ka Pop."
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