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Watching Any Good Serials?
Topic Started: Apr 12 2006, 09:28 AM (88,404 Views)
The Batman
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rodney
Sep 19 2007, 08:35 PM
Just watched chapter 12 of Captain America (which is a very good serial, I don't care what anybody says)

I agree, Rodney, a Top 10 for me!
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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The Batman
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Black Tiger
Sep 21 2007, 11:53 AM
There is always some inherent resistance to film projects that are loosely-adapted from another media. Sure you miss some of the things that made the character popular in the first place, but if the story is well-told and executed, it can stand on its own. "Adventures of Red Ryder" and the "Dick Tracy" serials come immediately to mind. Liberties were taken with the characters, but they were still entertainingly presented.

You certainly can't be including the first Dick Tracy serial in that bunch, BT. Can you? Because you shouldn't. It's terrible.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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Black Tiger
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I may be the only one on the planet, but I liked a number of things in the first Dick Tracy serial.

First of all Ralph Byrd was well-cast as Tracy. The Lame One was bizarre enough to have been from Tracy's rogue's gallery. I also liked they added an element of horror to the proceedings. I enjoyed the scene in chapter one of the Lame One laughing maniacally while he is being shot as well as stalking his prey through the deserted city streets. Moloch, the demented hunchbacked mad scientist who wants to switch brains between a cat and a human as well as turning Tracy's brother into a tool of evil. The Wing was cool. Also the sound weapon used to try and destroy the bridge as well as Tracy's way to counter this. Excellent stuntwork by George DeNormand. Of course there are a few weak spots where the story slows down and Smiley Burnette getting his hand caught in a vase has to be among the worst moments in serialdom.
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cquigley
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I too enjoyed the first Dick Tracy serial, for many of the reasons cited by Black Tiger. It is not my favorite (Dick Tracy Returns gets that spot), but I thoroughly enjoy all 4 fo the DT serials.

For me, this serial is the first to show what would be come the Republic serial trademark - quality stunting, great special effects and intelligent musical backgrounds.
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The Batman
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Black Tiger
Sep 25 2007, 10:48 AM
I may be the only one on the planet, but I liked a number of things in the first Dick Tracy serial.

First of all Ralph Byrd was well-cast as Tracy. The Lame One was bizarre enough to have been from Tracy's rogue's gallery. I also liked they added an element of horror to the proceedings. I enjoyed the scene in chapter one of the Lame One laughing maniacally while he is being shot as well as stalking his prey through the deserted city streets. Moloch, the demented hunchbacked mad scientist who wants to switch brains between a cat and a human as well as turning Tracy's brother into a tool of evil. The Wing was cool. Also the sound weapon used to try and destroy the bridge as well as Tracy's way to counter this. Excellent stuntwork by George DeNormand. Of course there are a few weak spots where the story slows down and Smiley Burnette getting his hand caught in a vase has to be among the worst moments in serialdom.

Geez, BT, you make it sound a lot better than I remember. I keep getting awful Oscar & Elmer flashbacks, and Smiley made me do anything but.

I will admit I have a pretty crappy copy, so if a really nice one does surface, I will give the first DT another chance.
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Laughing Gravy
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Well, I think it stinks, if that means anything. Sorry to pee in anybody's Sugar Smacks, as the saying goes....
"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
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Finished no less than three serials this week!

Scouts to the Rescue:
Ummm... Well, first of all, it's a fine DVD from VCI. There's some good stuff here, too. But the whole plot gets tiresome, and the "savage Indians" made me nauseous. All in all, those Dead End Kids serials were better.

Fighting Devil Dogs: By the end of this one, I had the same feeling I had the first time I watched it, years ago: the villains are a LOT more interesting than the heroes. Unfortunately, the Lightning and his hunchbacked assistant don't show up all that often. Ultimately, this is an okay serial, and much of it is superb, but it probably should've been a six-chapter serial.

The Invisible Monster: I liked this one, in the way I liked Panther Girl of the Kongo and Radar Men from the Moon: Not good serials, but a lot of laughs. And as I've said, it sure was nice to see good ol' Stanley Price finally get to play the lead heavy for once.

Well, that just leaves me with 4 or 5 chapters to go of The Lone Ranger, the final chapter of The Adventures of Sir Galahad, and of course our FNF serial, The Spider Returns. I'll probably add a couple more to round out my weekly watching, plus of course I'm going to start blogging The Galloping Ghost.
"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
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Still watching The Lone Ranger; a second guy is dead, so we're down to three suspects, two of whom are Herman Brix and Lee Powell and one of whom is not.

The Spider Returns is pretty good, and we're heading toward famed chapter 6 next week!

The Red Rider's second chapter wasn't as much fun as the first. A trend? We shall see.

Pirate Treasure continues to be a gem. Best serial I've seen in a long time. Anybody know who has the best copy of this serial? I'd love to show it on FNF!

King of the Mounties is excellent so far. Imagine if we could get pristine copies of this, Drums of Fu Manchu and The Lone Ranger in trade for the copies we have of Don Daredevil Rides Again, Son of Zorro, and Zombies of the Stratosphere!


"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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Black Tiger
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Finished chapter 9 of Battling with Kit Carson. A slightly above-average Mascot serial starring a strong hero in Johnny Mack Brown and a strong villain in the hissable Noah Beery Sr. with young Indian chief/sidekick Noah Beery Jr. along for the ride. Lots of familiar faces from other Mascot serials are also welcome (Al Bridge, Lafe McKee, Edward Hearn, Ernie Adams etc etc etc).

So far it has concerned the attempts by Trading Post owner and secret criminal mastermind Karter (Beery Sr.) trying to recover a government gold shipment whose theft he engineered only to have it secretly hidden by one of the crafty wagon train guards. Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown), famous Indian scout has been framed as being involved with the theft. Kit travels with a young Indian chief (Beery Jr.) whose father was secretly murdered by Karter, and the young daughter (Betsy King Ross) of the missing wagon train guard to recover the gold, clear his name and uncover the identity of the outlaw leader. Also thrown in are the Mystery Riders, who spend their time riding around in black cloaks and hats causing mischief and singing an awful group song (like what Zorro's Fighting Legion would sound like if composed of a legion of Ace Drummonds.)
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Laughing Gravy
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Last night, our FNF gang thrilled to the notorious Chapter Six of The Spider Returns, and I was ready: we all had festive party hats to wear, which were removed when the Gargoyle shouted "These wild parties must CEASE!"

This is a fun serial.
"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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Black Tiger
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Finished chapter 5 of Jungle Drums of Africa. I know a lot of people think this is one of Republic's worst, but I have to admit I'm enjoying it. Certainly not in Republic's top or middle tier, I find it still one of the better later ones. Clayton Moore and Phyllis Coates are always welcome. Roy Glenn is very good as the villainous witch doctor. Henry Rowland is a familiar face of evil as the duplicitous Kurgan (Rowland later appeared in the cameo role of Martin Borman, hiding in various parts of the midwest in several Russ Meyer films). Original cliffhanger footage is a welcome surprise. Some excellent wild animal stock footage like the warthog vs. a tiger and a tiger vs. a lion. I kept waiting to see a credit "no animals were hurt during the filming of this motion picture".
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Chief Thunder Cloud
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The best copies of all 4 Republic Dick Tracy Serials were released on laser disc a few years ago. A friend of mine who had these serials on laser disc transferred them onto 2 DVD-Rs per serial for a nominal fee per serial. The prints are pristine. I'm happy to have them in my library.

Regards:

Ron McKnight.
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schaumburgstew
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Just finished chapter 3 of Secret Agent X-9. (1937) I still don't think it's a very good serial. Rather dull; the 1945 version with LLoyd Bridges is much better.
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rodney
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I'm six chapters in to The Master Key, and while I always enjoy it while I'm watching it, I literally never give it any thought at all at otehr times. It's almost an afterthought......"Oh, that's right. Tonight I'm watching my serial", instead of actually looking forward to it.
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Laughing Gravy
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Accurate quote, from episode three of Pirate's Treasure: "That's the most breathtaking thing 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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