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Blackhawk
Topic Started: Jan 13 2008, 07:48 PM (2,261 Views)
Laughing Gravy
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Got this from good ol' Rodney. Above average print. Enjoyed seeing the guys I remember from the comics (Stanislav, Laska, Chop-Chop, the rest, Andre, the others). The villains are Commies, and they're actually NAMED as Commies, unusual for a serial (at least, it's unusual for the ones I've seen). The Blackhawks' costumes don't look right, and I can't decide if it's 'cause they're poorly made or they just are another example of costumes that look good in comics but stupid in reality. Anyway, the first episode went by at lightning speed; Stan is kidnapped and replaced by his identical twin Commie brother from the Old Country, and just when you think that's going to be the plot for 15 weeks, George Plympton threw in a monkeywrench. Fun stuff.
"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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Pa Stark
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I really enjoyed BLACKHAWK, and thought it had some good location work and a lot of action, but many other serial fans seem to put it down. What do the rest of you think? Is it a good serial, or a poor one?
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
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Ming the Merciless
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Columbia Cheap to the max!.... but fun...

Kirk Alyn is strong as Blackhawk.
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Grampy
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It's been a while but I remember it as pretty decent. Kirk Allyn is always a plus.
Still Alive and Well
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Black Tiger
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Not a lot of plot and sometimes repetitive, but did enjoy the brisk action which director Spencer Bennett provided. Carl Forman as the villainous Laska is a plus. Also liked Marshall Reed as the lead heavy, an unusual promotion from his usual lower-level henchman roles.
Kirk Alyn approaches things so seriously, you can't help but believe he IS Blackhawk.
Great costume, too. Big fans of the comic might be a bit put off, but on it's own terms, Columbia's Blackhawk is a fun flight of fantasy.
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Chandu
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I found it amazing they wouldn't spend a couple bucks and have some kid polish the cars they used. Their paint oxidation must be about a foot thick! Anyone appearing in scenes where these vehicles were used must have had to wash their hands frequently. I've noticed this in a couple of other Columbia serials as well.
Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...
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Laughing Gravy
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I always thought that was to keep the reflection of the lights, crew, etc. from showing in the shiny finish of the cars.
"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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Chandu
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I thought of that, but the other studio's serial vehicles never seemed to to look as bad as Columbia's.
Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...
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Greypilgrim
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"Zarkov to Flash Gordon....Come in Flash!"
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Gees, Chandy. Griping about dirty cars in a serial that's 50-some-odd years old.

What good is it gonna do? It's not gonna change anything.

What're ya gonna do, put Turtle Wax on your tv screen??

Ain't gonna work.

Get over it.
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There were lots of things I liked about the Blackhawk serial.

But I couldn't REALLY like it because of the "evil" twin brother thing. That made it kinda lame.

However, it was still watchable.

Even with the dirty cars!! :lol: :P ;)
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Chandu
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Not dirty, GP. Oxidized. Were you ever around those old enamel painted cars of the 40's? That old paint used to oxidize at the drop of a hat and if you let it get to the point Columbia's cars did, it came off on your hands and usually it soon after found your clothing and you wound up wearing it. You can see in the serial, all the hand prints on the car doors where it came off on the actor's hands. It was really nasty stuff when it reached that point, but you're probably too young to have had any experience with it. :P
Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...
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Greypilgrim
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"Zarkov to Flash Gordon....Come in Flash!"
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Oxidation aka RUST! Why do you think "old timers" used to refer to the cars of their day as "Rust Buckets"??

No one realized back then that there was a time limit to their cars and trucks if they didn't put time and money into them. And many just couldn't do it with the Depression and then the War soon after.

That's why so many cars and trucks found their way into back AND (in some cases) front yards for so long. They just kept breaking down and falling apart that nobody had the money or time to fix'em up!!

After the war teenage boys would take a long look at these relics and buy them for peanuts and put their hard-earned money into them and fix them up.

Columbia was just cost-conscious (read: cheap). :lol:

See how I got back to the subject? :rolleyes: :lol: :P
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The Batman
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I just picked up the Restored Serials version of BLACKHAWK, so it's good to hear this serial has more potential than I was lead to believe in the past.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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Barcroft
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This serial is one I recently transferred from VHS to DVD. For a later Columbia not bad and it was nice to see Stuntman Extroardinare Dave Sharpe in the later Chapters. In one instance he's one of the Mexican Police guarding the Border and in the last Chapter he's one of the henchmen who meets his maker. It's always nice to see Carol Forman and Kirk Alyn is always good as well as John Crawford , Don C. Harvey and Rick Vallin as good guys for a nice change of pace.
Barcroft
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Laughing Gravy
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Amazon now has BLACKHAWK, another Mill Creek DVD serial offering licensed through Sony. Review forthcoming.

"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
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I can't find it on Amazon. Link, please.


Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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