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Watching Any Good Serials?
Topic Started: Apr 12 2006, 09:28 AM (88,380 Views)
Grampy
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Watching the 1str Superman serial and along about chapter 7 or 8-Superman displays a remarkable new power. Looking at a picture, Superman can actually use his x-ray vision to see through a disguised villain's makeup to his real face underneath. Does this mean that he can look at a picture of a safe and tell you what's inside?
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Paul
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Grampy
Feb 21 2008, 05:23 AM
Watching the 1str Superman serial and along about chapter 7 or 8-Superman displays a remarkable new power. Looking at a picture, Superman can actually use his x-ray vision to see through a disguised villain's makeup to his real face underneath. Does this mean that he can look at a picture of a safe and tell you what's inside?

This is our current Saturday Movie Night serial - only a couple chapters left to go - and that "power" had my jaw dropping as well. When things like that crop up, I can't help but wonder if there weren't plenty of 12-year-olds in the audience back then who groaned "gimme a break!" or whatever the equivalent was then.
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John Doe
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I'm on chapter 6 of The Lost Special (1932). Its definitely better made than the Mascots serials from this time frame, but very primative compared to Republic serials from 6 or so years later. Its a lot of fun to watch the late 20's early 30's cars in this.

One thing I noticed is that chapter 5 is missing about 8 minutes of footage. There is a splice about 4 minutes into the chapter and the end of reel 1 and the beginning of reel 2 is missing. Thats how my copy is anyway.

Is there another version of this out there that is complete?
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Laughing Gravy
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Paul
Feb 21 2008, 05:32 PM
Grampy
Feb 21 2008, 05:23 AM
Watching the 1str Superman serial and along about chapter 7 or 8-Superman displays a remarkable new power.  Looking at a picture, Superman can actually use his x-ray vision to see through a disguised villain's makeup to his real face underneath.  Does this mean that he can look at a picture of a safe and tell you what's inside?

This is our current Saturday Movie Night serial - only a couple chapters left to go - and that "power" had my jaw dropping as well. When things like that crop up, I can't help but wonder if there weren't plenty of 12-year-olds in the audience back then who groaned "gimme a break!" or whatever the equivalent was then.

Oddly enough, although I haven't seen that serial in a while, that bit didn't bother me. I assumed Superman was NOT using X-ray vision to see "beneath" the picture, but using his Super-Brain to figger out what was under the disguise. But then, in a serial where the guy turns into a cartoon to fly, who's gonna complain about X-raying a picture anyway?
"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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What is going ON between Blackhawk and Chuck? I mean, the Blackhawks are a TEAM, right? So how come whenever there's work to be done, Blackhawk takes CHUCK with him and leaves the other guys to fend for themselves? I've noticed this chapter after chapter. Didn't Andre and Olaf and Chop-Chop ever get jealous? Did they defecate in Chuck's locker to get even? (I would've.) What's the story here?

Also, this serial has helped me develop what I call my "dumb guy tolerance theory". Here's how it works, more or less.

RED BARRY is a serial about one guy. So if he's got a dumb sidekick, I don't care and it doesn't bother me, because I'm here to watch Red Barry. Ya git me? Dumb guy okay.

BLACKHAWK is a serial about a team of people. If one of them is dumb, I don't care and it doesn't bother me, because in any group of people you're going to get at least one dummy (*Balconeers are all looking at Gravy and smiling knowingly, but he ignores that*).

RADIO PATROL is about two people, Pat -- who is smart -- and Sam -- who is dumb as a doorknob. They are the stars of the serial. That means 50% of the "heroic cast" is dumb as a doorknob. And THAT my friends is a problem I'm having with this serial. Well, that and the fact that Universal made MUMMY movies that weren't set in Egypt, and this thing -- a Southern California crime drama -- is set in Egypt, for the most part. Stunning.

"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
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Laughing Gravy
Feb 24 2008, 01:04 PM
RADIO PATROL is about two people, Pat -- who is smart -- and Sam -- who is dumb as a doorknob. They are the stars of the serial. That means 50% of the "heroic cast" is dumb as a doorknob. And THAT my friends is a problem I'm having with this serial.

Well, if it really bothers you, bear in mind that the comic strip was originally called "Pinkerton, Jr." and that it actually starred the young boy, Pinky. Later, Pat -- who initially served as a sidekick of sorts -- became popular and pretty much took over the strip, which was retitled "Sergeant Pat of the Radio Patrol." (The same thing happened to poor ol' Wash Tubbs, whose sidekick Captain Easy eventually wrestled away control of his comic strip.) So just think of Pat as the star and Sam as the dumb sidekick -- which was basically the case -- and don't get your panties in a bunch.

As for so much action taking place in the city's "Egyptian quarter"...well, I admit that aspect of the serial is pretty tough to swallow. But it gives a little extra color to what otherwise would be a routine cops-and-robbers adventure. The strip was pretty boring, so it's just as well Universal's screenwriters didn't adhere closely to it.

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Grampy
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Serial watching slightly curtailed by Grandma with the flu watching home improvement shows while she recuperates.

Finishing Son of Zorro later today-okay serial, but from that time when a Republic serial chapter was showing the takeout for the previous cliffhanger and moving immediately into the setup for the next cliffhanger.
Good old Ernie Adams as the shifty judge always referring to "our boss", the mysterious mastermind behind the whole thing. I think I've figured out who the brains is, the choices are down to always lurking and looking grim Ed Cobb and always smiling and being helpful Tom London.
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rodney
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I've given up on Battling With Buffalo Bill for the time being. I don't know why, but I can't get into it.

Will start The Green Archer tonight.
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Black Tiger
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Really like the Green Archer a lot. Horne lunacy on hyper-drive. Jory is great in his heroic turn and James Craven's Bellamy is perhaps his most over-the-top performance. If you've only seen him in Purple Monster, just wait until you see him here!

I'm currently watching White Eagle, another Horne vehicle with Craven at his villanous best.

Haven't seen it in a while, but I seem to recall Craven's Ivan Shark in Captain Midnight was a cut below these two bravura performances.
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Greypilgrim
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Grampy
Feb 21 2008, 08:23 AM
Watching the 1str Superman serial and along about chapter 7 or 8-Superman displays a remarkable new power. Looking at a picture, Superman can actually use his x-ray vision to see through a disguised villain's makeup to his real face underneath. Does this mean that he can look at a picture of a safe and tell you what's inside?

It was always said in the comics that Superman could control the intensity of his X-ray vision so that he could either look through a wall, or through clothes--in Lois Lane's case :rolleyes: :D --or right into the gooey parts of the human body.

I understand the joke about the safe. :lol:

On Smallville, they've used Clark's super-hearing as a lie detector, listening to the heart rate of someone being questioned for a crime like Daredevil does.

This is something that is seldom used in the comics because it's not as "visual"(no pun intended) or as "super" as him using his X-ray vision.

But, yeah, he could look through a crook's disguise very easily.

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Grampy
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I buy Gravy's "superbrain figuring out the disguise" theory over X-ray vision seeing deeper into the picture.

By the way-a minor breakthrough-tried watching this with Grandma and she broke into laughter at the cartoon sequences. However, when I switched to regular TV viewing, she said she'd rather watch the serial.

Can't wait to run Clutching Hand for her! :lol: ;)
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Pa Stark
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I started WHITE EAGLE and it is probably James Horne's straightest serial, not that heavy in the usual lunacy, but of course James Craven gives his usual over the top performance for Horne.
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John Doe
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Pa Stark
Feb 28 2008, 03:07 AM
I started WHITE EAGLE and it is probably James Horne's straightest serial, not that heavy in the usual lunacy, but of course James Craven gives his usual over the top performance for Horne.


Have you gotten to the part where one of the crooks says "Awwww. He tried his best"? That is really funnny.
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Grampy
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Just started Dangers of the Canadian Mounted.

Virginia Belmont is quite fetching in her little cap. I'm assuming that as a hat wearer in a Republic, she'll be in frequent action that will required stunt doubles.
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Laughing Gravy
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I'm a-gonna eschew my weekly Western matinee and get caught up with all those serials I missed last week while in NY. First up is episode four of The Scarlet Horseman, which features a lot of horn-tootin' and a line of classic dialog, one villain to another: "That's what we like about you -- you can always be counted on to botch up a job!"
"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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