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| Watching Any Good Serials? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 12 2006, 09:28 AM (88,412 Views) | |
| The Batman | May 4 2007, 05:33 PM Post #181 |
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I havd the Serial Squadron DVD of MYSTERY OF THE RIVER BOAT, LG; and I loved it! I thought the serial was fun, briskly paced and had a solid serial storyline. The characters were interesting, Mantan was funny as usual and Lowery was a capable serial lead. The singing and dancing are not nearly as bad as others have portrayed, and in fact, I quite enjoyed the music and comedy acts; it was a nice change of pace. In fact the whole serial was a nice change of pace, and the Serial Squadron DVD is an overall very nice print (I know, not the right term, but it's all I got) with great sound. Highly recommended. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Mantan | May 7 2007, 06:09 PM Post #182 |
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I received my copy of THE MYSTERY OF THE RIVERBOAT a week or 2 ago but I've been pretty busy with real life and besides -first I wanted to sit through Restored Serial's transfers of DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE and THE SHADOW. Do you realize that I've never even seen THE SHADOW in my life? Restored Serials' issue is the first copy I've ever owned where I am able to actually SEE the serial. I watched the old VCI vhs of THE MYSTERY OF THE RIVERBOAT a few months back and throughly enjoyed it. I agree- the musical intrusions aren't that difficult to endure. When this serial cuts to a musical number, the numbers are nowhere near as painful as the Chinatown Vaudeville fiddlers and dancing jugglers in RED BARRY. Besides -you can always depend on good ol' Mantan Moreland for the occasional exaggerated double-take or other necessary reaction shots. I liked Jimmy Dodd -the orphan Mesquiteer- also. |
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| igsjr | May 8 2007, 06:42 AM Post #183 |
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Nostalgia blogger
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I bought both of these from Restored Serials, and while I haven't watched their copy of Daredevils I can say their Shadow DVD is superb. It was the first time I'd ever seen it, and it's now one of my very favorite Columbia outings. |
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"Life is in color--but black-and-white is more realistic..." -- Samuel Fuller, director So many DVDs...so little time... | |
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| The Batman | May 8 2007, 04:40 PM Post #184 |
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Charter Member
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I am about half-way through, and quite enjoying The Green Hornet Strikes Again!, with my very nice print coming courtesy of Rodney. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Mantan | May 8 2007, 05:13 PM Post #185 |
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Right you are, igsjr! Thanks for the suggestion. Been a kinda crappy day what with a crack of dawn doctor's appointment followed by a Harold Lloyd-like effort to obtain a taxi cab for my wife to get to the airport in time to catch her flight to visit her mom for the week. I finally got to settle in with the first chapter of Restored Serials' edition of THE SHADOW late this afternoon. What balm for my frenzied soul. I felt like I was 12 years old again for all of the 30 something minutes of Chapter 1. I'd checked out the video quality of Chapter 1 and spot checked a few other chapters when it first arrived but this was the first time I'd actually watched the first chapter for content and settled in for the entertainment. This might tie with THE SPIDER'S WEB and WHITE EAGLE as my favorite Columbia serials of all time -so far. |
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| Laughing Gravy | May 9 2007, 08:02 AM Post #186 |
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I'm glad to see that... back in my Squadron days, I used to aver that The Shadow was the greatest of all Columbia serials (I still think so) and hardly anybody (if anybody) agreed with me. |
| "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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| JazzGuyy | May 9 2007, 10:26 AM Post #187 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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It's been a while since I saw "The Shadow" but I don't think I cared for it much. The serial character had little to do with the radio portrayal. I think this is the same reason I don't care for Republic's Lone Ranger serials. I just don't like having a character I am really familiar with messed around with too much on the screen as compared to his or her original incarnation. I also didn't care much for Jory in this particular serial. Maybe you guys can convince me to give "The Shadow" another chance. Now I liked "The Green Hornet" a lot. I just finished watching this one about a week or so ago. I thought it was pretty faithful to the radio show and its characters and that the story line of criminals trying to corrupt businesses and the city was very much like the radio shows. I haven't seen the Hornet sequel in a long time but I think I like that one even better. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| riddlerider | May 9 2007, 12:07 PM Post #188 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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You ought to be used to that by now, Gravy. :rolleyes:
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| panzer the great & terrible | May 9 2007, 04:43 PM Post #189 |
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Mouth Breather
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One thing about The Shadow, it has a memorably silly villain, which I view as a huge plus. A kitty kat with smoke coming out of its nostrils commanding a bunch of hardened criminals? Take me there! I got laughs out of this one. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| The Batman | May 10 2007, 05:41 PM Post #190 |
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I like the first Green Hornet serial alot, too, Jazzy; but watch the second one again and I think you will remember it is just a little bit better. Both are solid serials, however. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Pa Stark | May 10 2007, 09:49 PM Post #191 |
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I am watching THE GREEN ARCHER and am really enjoying it. Yeah, it is a James Horne serial, and it has a lot of silliness and over the top performances, but it is a lot of fun. The Green Archer is a mystery hero, and like the first Lone Ranger, he comes across as a phantom figure, who suddenly appears on the scene, takes care of business, then disappears. |
| Honest and Lovable Pa Stark | |
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| Laughing Gravy | May 14 2007, 07:48 AM Post #192 |
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This week, we finished Daredevils of the Red Circle (our Friday night movie serial) to great applause; the general consensus is that Tuffie was the best part of the serial, followed by Dave Sharpe's stuntwork and Snowflake. The fact that all the mysteries were resolved in chapter 10, chapter 11 was a recap chapter, and the unmasking of the Red Circle made no sense whatsoever annoyed some people. Well, if you can't annoy people, what's the sense in inviting them over? I also finished Superman this week. Thank goodness. I couldn't stand any more of it. Stink, stank, stunk. I'm still working on Don Winslow of the Navy (2 chapters to go), Son of Zorro (2 chapters to go), G-Men vs. the Black Dragon (5 chapters to go), Mystery of the Riverboat (9 chapters to go, I think), and Hop Harrigan (blogged right here In The Balcony, and seemingly with 432 chapters to go). |
| "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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| riddlerider | May 14 2007, 09:15 AM Post #193 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Dave Sharpe's stuntwork? What stuntwork? He's doubled extensively by Jimmy Fawcett. (It wasn't his idea; producer Bob Beche insisted on giving Dave a double.) There's less Dave Sharpe stuntwork in DAREDEVILS than in any Republic serial made between 1940 and mid 1942, when he doubled most of the heroes. Even that great "gag" at the end of chapter nine -- in which Dave's character does a hand stand, flips over to knock a heavy down with his legs, and ends up sitting on the guy's torso -- was done in long shot by Fawcett, with a close shot of Dave cut in. Dave told me he was upset that Beche chose to double him in DAREDEVILS. He was looking to make a big splash at Republic and hoped the serial would show off his stunting skills as well as his acting ability. But Beche told him, "If a stuntman gets hurt doing action, we can replace him with another stuntman. If a principal player gets hurt, we have to shut down the picture." Fortunately, Dave made a big impression on Witney and English, and beginning with DRUMS OF FU MANCHU he was the "ramrod" of the serial unit's stunt team until he went into the service in mid '42. |
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| Laughing Gravy | May 14 2007, 09:34 AM Post #194 |
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Thanks, rr. The famed flip/punch is obviously a stuntman, but generally speaking, we always enjoy Dave's leaps, and he leaps from time to time in this one. Doesn't he? |
| "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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| Mantan | May 15 2007, 04:05 PM Post #195 |
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Leapin' Leotards, Gravy! It's been over 20 years since I first saw DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE on vhs video as issued by Nostalgia Merchant. It's always been in my top 10 list of Republic serials. Recently acquired a beautiful dvd print of this one and will start watching it all over again as soon as I finish THE SHADOW. So- it would appear that I've spent all those years and repeated viewings operating under the delusion that Dave Sharpe executed his own stunts in that serial. Thanks for the correction, RR. Man- you guys oughta write a book or something. |
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:rolleyes:

6:53 AM Jul 11