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| Watching Any Good Serials? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 12 2006, 09:28 AM (88,410 Views) | |
| AndyFish | Jul 5 2007, 07:44 AM Post #211 |
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Movie Watcha Foist Class
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The reason I even bought a VCR back in the day was so that I could finally see The Batman serial (1943), I had seen still images and even vaguely remembered a half a chapter of Batman and Robin I saw, in all places, a Burger King in the late 70s, so I was really pumped to get it. It cost me $90 and the guy selling it tried to talk me into buying Batman and Robin (1949) instead, telling me it was a far superior serial to the first one, but I had to go with the '43. I got home, drew all the curtains and watched all 15 chapters in one afternoon. I was hooked and thought it was great. Back in those days $90 was a huge amount of money, and I was just a kid so I had to scrape together the dough. Finally got Batman and Robin after waiting what felt like months for the order to come in, got it home and went through the same routine and couldn't believe how awful it was. So there is something to be said for watching the bad one first. Andy |
| www.andytfish.com | |
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| The Batman | Jul 5 2007, 09:25 AM Post #212 |
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Charter Member
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There is also good reasons not to watch the bad one first, Andy. If you had taken that dealer's advice and spent your $90 on Batman and Robin (1949), I doubt you would have tried to scrape together another $90 to take a chance on Batman (1943) being better. And thus the cultivation of your serial interest would have been curtailed in the early stages and you would not be here with us right now. Which, honestly, would be a shame, Bat-buddy. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Sgt Saturn | Jul 5 2007, 10:23 AM Post #213 |
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Charter Member
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Yeah, but LRRA isn't a bad serial; it's just inferior to the first LR serial. Given that the first LR is often considered one of the all-time best, that's not necessarily chopped liver. |
| The Ol' Sarge | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jul 11 2007, 05:46 AM Post #214 |
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My current rotation includes The Lone Ranger (from the Mill Creek set), The Invisible Monster (from Rodney), Fighting Devil Dogs (from AC Comics), Scouts to the Rescue (VCI), The Adventures of Sir Galahad (Restored Serials) and Mystery of the Riverboat (Serial Squadron). I have 3 episodes to go of Riverboat, and I've fallen asleep during each of the last two chapters, which is in itself a critique, eh? The others are all early in, although I'm enjoying each of them so far. I'd especially like to mention how impressed I am with the picture quality of Fighting Devil Dogs (AC) and Scouts to the Rescue (VCI) -- two of the best serial transfers I've ever seen. |
| "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 | Jul 12 2007, 07:00 PM Post #215 |
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I finished up JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN, last night, and liked it a lot. Clayton Moore is solid as Jesse, and the rest of the cast are fine, too. A capable, if fairly standard story serial story. Tonight begins SECRET AGENT X-9, the first one. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| igsjr | Jul 13 2007, 01:24 PM Post #216 |
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Nostalgia blogger
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I have been preoccupied with watching both The Monster and the Ape and The Lost Planet of late--so, like rodney, I have not watched any good serials. They are, however, loopy as hell...I guess that counts for something. |
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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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| riddlerider | Jul 13 2007, 05:02 PM Post #217 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Took me weeks to slog through OVERLAND MAIL. I normally watch a chapter or two every night, but I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to get through this sucker, even though I'd only seen it once before. I try to rotate my serial viewing by company, and by rights the next one should be a Mascot or an independent. I was sorely tempted to take another look at THE MASTER MYSTERY until I heard that it'll be coming out soon on DVD from Kino. But I'm in the mood for a good Republic, preferably one I haven't seen in a long time. FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS calls to me, although HAWK OF THE WILDERNESS does too. I'll leave the choice up to my fellow Balconeers: which one of these two would you pick? |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Jul 13 2007, 05:16 PM Post #218 |
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Mouth Breather
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HAWK, in a heartbeat. It's one of my very favorites, and for some reason I burnt out on DOGS the last time I tried to watch it. Maybe I was too aware of the stock footage. There's a lot to be said for not knowing much about movies -- you enjoy them more, I think, when you can actually identify with the characters. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jul 16 2007, 07:51 AM Post #219 |
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Watched chapter 2 (maybe 3, I forget now) of The Invisible Monster this weekend. Fun stuff. The Invisible Monster is only invisible when a big spotlight is shone on him, so when he's away from it, he's totally visible. He's robbing some scientific-type stuff from a warehouse, see, and he's invisible until he gets inside the door, and then, away from the light, he turns visible. So the guard comes along, and the I.M. ducks behind a big crate to avoid being seen. Which leads to the imponderable question, if the Invisible Monster is hiding behind a crate, is he still invisible? Think about it. Also a highlight of this chapter: a room full of explosives, and the "guard" stands in the middle, calmly smoking a cigaret. |
| "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 | Jul 16 2007, 07:54 AM Post #220 |
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Mouth Breather
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Fred Brannon sure was a stickler for detail. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| riddlerider | Jul 16 2007, 10:00 AM Post #221 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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HAWK it is. That's actually the title toward which I was leaning, because at last week's Pulpcon I finally found the issues of BLUE BOOK I needed to complete the magazine serializations of "Hawk" (1935) and its sequel, "Kioga of the Wilderness" (1936). (The pulp serializations, obviously, predate the hardcover publications and are the true "first editions" of the stories.) The Republic serial includes characters and plot elements from both. |
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| Sgt Saturn | Jul 16 2007, 11:18 AM Post #222 |
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Charter Member
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I'm jealous. I understand that there were further Kioga pulp serials that never made it to hardcover. Know anything about them? |
| The Ol' Sarge | |
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| riddlerider | Jul 16 2007, 02:35 PM Post #223 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Yes, there were two additional serials, both published in BLUE BOOK: "One Against a Wilderness" (1937) and "Kioga of the Unknown Land" (1938). I have those issues as well, although it's been many years since I read the Kioga stories. My recollection is that one of these last two yarns was not actually a novel, but a collection of loosely knit stories covering Kioga's early adventures, before he met white people. William L. Chester was an excellent writer, and IMO Kioga is the best of many imitation Tarzans spawned by the pulps. Funny thing is, Chester seems to have written nothing but the Kioga stories. More's the pity. Next to nothing is known about him, which suggests that "Chester" may have been a pseudonym. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jul 18 2007, 07:40 AM Post #224 |
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Okay, I have to admit, Fighting Devil Dogs is officially creeping me out. Should the U.S. Marine Corps be investigating "crime" and smacking around suspects? |
| "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 | Jul 18 2007, 09:07 AM Post #225 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Gravy, you have to remember that the USMC's pursuit of the Lightning stems from the investigation into the death of Marines in Lingchuria, and the suspension of Tom Grayson's court martial pending the collection of exculpatory evidence. In other words, the answer to your question is "Yes." |
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6:53 AM Jul 11