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Watching Any Good Serials?
Topic Started: Apr 12 2006, 09:28 AM (88,414 Views)
KanSmiley
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I'm currently watching DICK TRACY. Will be watching Chapter 8 later today.
Doing a critical review of my pivotal role in that serial. Still can't figure out how I got my hand caught in that vase.

Weren't Oscar and Elmer just special in their performance?

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

intoxicated, adj.: When you feel sophisticated without being able to pronounce it.
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panzer the great & terrible
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I'm watching FANTOMAS (finally!), and I like it the best of the Feuillades I've seen.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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witneyenglish
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KanSmiley
Mar 6 2007, 07:57 AM


Weren't Oscar and Elmer just special in their performance?

Smiley

If I remember correctly, you will see some more of them in Dick Tracy.
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KanSmiley
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witneyenglish
Mar 6 2007, 05:58 PM
KanSmiley
Mar 6 2007, 07:57 AM


Weren't Oscar and Elmer just special in their performance?

Smiley

If I remember correctly, you will see some more of them in Dick Tracy.

Even though I took my on-line name from Smiley Burnette i don't care for him in DICK TRACY.

I had heard several other members complain about Oscar and Elmer before but I was just flabbergasted when they did their bit in Chapter 6 with Dick Tracy riding in their car.

Talk about bringing a serial to a screeching halt and totally unnecessary.

AARRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

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

intoxicated, adj.: When you feel sophisticated without being able to pronounce it.
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The Batman
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KanSmiley
Mar 6 2007, 07:05 PM
I had heard several other members complain about Oscar and Elmer before but I was just flabbergasted when they did their bit in Chapter 6 with Dick Tracy riding in their car.

Talk about bringing a serial to a screeching halt and totally unnecessary.

AARRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

Kan

Oscar and Elmer, combined with the poor prints available, ruined the first Dick Tracy serial for me.

I will be finishing up my Serial Squadron version of THE MASTER KEY, tonight. I am finding this to be a fun serial, with capable performances, strong characters and an interesting story. Plus, it had Nazis as villains, and you can never go wrong with Nazis as villains. As for DVD quality, the picture is very nice, with few scratches, and the sound is great.

BTW, is it just me or does Milburn Stone, one of the leads, resemble John Wayne with a moustache?
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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The Batman
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rodney
Mar 6 2007, 09:21 AM
I finished up The Phantom last night, which I thought was very, very good. I think I'm starting Jungle Girl this weekend.

Go for it, Rodney! If you haven't seen this one yet, I think you will find JUNGLE GIRL to be a fun ride.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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Don Daredevil
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Just finished "Don Daredevil Rides Again" a few nights ago ... starting "The Secret Code" hopefully tonight ... and after that, I have "Mysterious Island" on the back burner.

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Mantan
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I finished two terrific serials this week: DAUGHTER OF DON Q and CALL OF THE SAVAGE.
I've ranted about DAUGHTER OF DON Q 2 or 3 times already - it's one of my all time favorite serials.

I enjoyed CALL OF THE SAVAGE more than I should or anyone else possibly could. It was the 1st serial I ever saw as a kid.
If you're a fan of Harry Woods, then you probably ought to get a copy of CALL OF THE SAVAGE. Billed as H. L. Woods, he's a regular Douglas Fairbanks in this one. He cuts quite the dashing figure in his turban with his spit-curls and ear-rings.
I'm used to seeing Harry Woods worming his way through serials and B-westerns as an oily con-artist skulking about looking for widows to orphan.

The massive use of file footage in CALL OF THE SAVAGE can induce a catatonic state in the vulnerable or morally weak. The repetitive file footage featuring the constant pitting of animals against each other makes for too many nauseating you-are-there/life-in-the-food chain moments. But of course I'm known for my moral weakness. Or my weak stomach. I forget which.

I've just started (currently on Chapter 4) of the RHV issued laser disc of S.O.S. COAST GUARD and let me ask you -is that big old bear of a tease Richard Alexander the beefiest cake you've ever seen in a Solid Male Brief Speedo or what? And what's with those strange shoes he wears when he's swimming?
Nice perfomance by Bela.
Ralph Byrd is everything I ever expect him to be: stalwart and decisive.
With the exception of Mr. Alexander and his unfortunate choice of swim-wear, this is a very watchable serial so far.
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Barcroft
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Mantan:
If you like Richard Alexander in swimming togs he returns via new and stock footage in Trader Tom of the China Seas. Just thought I'd pass that along to you. LOL
Barcroft
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Laughing Gravy
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I like SOS Coast Guard a lot, Mr. Alexander's massive flesh notwithstanding. As I recall, I was surprised at how little Lugosi was in it.

I will be finishing The Desert Hawk this week. And I'm glad I'm blogging Hop Harrigan, because it is so bad it makes the other bad serials I'm watching -- Superman and Son of Zorro -- look like Mysterious Dr. Satan in comparison. The FNF gang continues to enjoy Daredevils of the Red Circle (the scene where the Daredevils saw open a locked iron door with a fingernail file got a vibrant response) and I'm also watching Don Winslow of the Navy (does nothing for me) and G-Men vs. the Black Dragon (a fine serial, and an excellent DVD from AC Comics).
"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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KanSmiley
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I am up to chapter 13 in DICK TRACY. I have a question. What is the purpose of The Lame One's assistant Muloch performing his mind altering surgery on Gordon Tracy. Immediately making Gordon incapable of telling right from wrong? If The Lame One had intended to use him against Dick Tracy I could understand it but so far all that is happened is that Gordon Tracy seems to be a member of The Lame One's gang. When I say use him against Dick Tracy I mean like a hostage to force Dick Tracy to give up some important part of the plot.

To me it is another one of the things that frequently occurs in serials that appears to have no relevance to the overall story. Or did I miss something when I dozed off?

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

intoxicated, adj.: When you feel sophisticated without being able to pronounce it.
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marlin lee
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They switched actors after Moloch operated on Gordon Tracy. The idea was that he was so changed mentally that it also changed his physical appearance. The operation was done as revenge against Dick Tracy.
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Jerry Blake
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Also, the idea was that Gordon's intelligence would be useful to the Lame One's gang, once his will had been subordinated to the villains.

I recently rewatched DICK TRACY for the first time in almost ten years and found it much, much better than its reputation. It gets singled out for criticism because it's the only TRACY serial not directed by Witney and English and it's therefore assumed to be "inferior" to the others, but it's highly enjoyable nontheless. It has a lot of good location shooting, superb miniature effects, likable leads (Byrd is good as usual, and Fred Hamilton and Kay Hughes have actual personalities, as opposed to their bland successors in the later TRACY serials), and three very scary villains. I also liked Smiley in the serial, and didn't really think he interfered with the action or the plot. I also can't see how Oscar and Elmer could "ruin" the cliffhanger by their very brief appearance--now, I can see how the same could be said of PAINTED STALLION, where the two goofballs appear every chapter.
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marlin lee
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My problems with Dick Tracy have nothing to do with the directing. It is the plot or rather lack of plot which hurts this serial. The plot consists almost entirely of the Lame One's gang pulling a different crime each chapter and Tracy interfering. There just isn't any overall plot. Also the Lame One is well named as this is one of the lamer attempts at a mystery villain. It is obvious from the first couple chapters that two of the characters are there only so one of them can be unmasked as the Lame One in the final chapter. But all they have is short cameos and you are never given any reason to care which one is the villain.

Still it isn't a horrible serial. It does have Ralph Byrd as Tracy, good production values, and decently staged fights. Still I'll take the '37 version of Secret Agent X9 with it's bland lead, poorer production values and poorly staged fights but with a good script and characters you can actually care about.
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Pa Stark
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The type of plot you are talking about which I refer to as "crime wave" serial had not much of an overall plot or McGuffin. Neither did WWII sabotage serials. Besides DICK TRACY other crime wave serials were DICK TRACY RETURNS, THE GREEN HORNET, THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN and FEDERAL OPERATOR 99.
The Lame One was not really a mystery villain because there was no indication until the unmasking that he was another character in disguise.
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
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