Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to In The Balcony. We hope you enjoy your visit.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Plus, you'll be eligible for the monthly $1 million prize. (Not really.)

Join our community!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Worst serial you have seen
Topic Started: Apr 24 2014, 01:08 PM (1,302 Views)
moodyhound
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
The Batman
Apr 24 2014, 05:08 PM
moodyhound
Apr 24 2014, 04:48 PM
Works on me every time. ;)

Are you saying that you've watched it more than once?!? :blink: ;)


I got it a few years ago as a Christmas gift. I have watched it at least once a year, sometimes twice. The funny part is, everytime I watch it, I say it will be the last time. I keep having flash backs to when I was a kid and wanted an adult free adventure. Geez, some things you never outgrow. ;)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
John Doe
Charter Member
[ *  *  * ]
I have not seen many of the independents or later Columbia serials, but Blake of Scotland Yard was definitely the worst I have seen so far. Jungle Menace was pretty bad too

I am on chapter one of The Mysterious Pilot, a "Weiss made for Columbia" serial. It seems very boring and I just can't believe that 12-16 year olds would have been hooked on it and come back every week. Despite some interesting camera work with the airplanes in chap 1, it seems more like a movie from the early 30's than what you'd expect for 1937-38.

The Mysterious Pilot was playing in theaters at the same time as Tim Tyler's Luck, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, and Dick Tracy. No wonder Columbia bounced the Weiss outfit and took over the serials themselves!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bert Greene
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
I watched "The Mysterious Pilot" for the first time not too long ago. No great shakes, but I didn't mind it. Sort of enjoyed the locale, and the non-professional actor Hawks in the lead. Sometimes I think I have a subconscious tendency to root for non-actor serial leads like Hawks, Red Grange, or Sammy Baugh. My main disappointment in the serial was that Esther Ralston's role was so pathetically small. It was an interesting character (villain or non-villain...?), and Ralston was still fetching as all get out, even at this late date in her movie career. Yet she was only around in this serial briefly for maybe two episodes, and disappears.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Pa Stark
Charter Member
[ *  *  * ]
At SerialFest, people would donate items to sell, and one was a VHS tape of YOUNG EAGLES. Every year the person who bought it would bring it back for resale.

As for the later Columbia serials, since they were produced by Sam Katzman, they were made cheaper and cheaper, until the last four releases contained massive amounts of stock from earlier serials, and some like SON OF GERONIMO, GUNFIGHTERS OF THE NORTHWEST, and PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS had no interior shots at all. In GUNFIGHTERS, the head of the Mountie post is only seen sitting out on a porch, so evidently that was his office. In BLACKHAWK, the heavies have several hideouts, and to save money, the same set is used for all of them. One of the Blackhawks wondered out loud why every hideout looked the same.
The good thing was, they were directed by Spencer Bennet, so at least they weren't boring like the studio's 1945 releases, CHICK CARTER DETECTIVE, HOP HARRIGAN, and SON OF THE GUARDSMAN.
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moodyhound
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
Pa Stark
Apr 25 2014, 09:06 AM
At SerialFest, people would donate items to sell, and one was a VHS tape of YOUNG EAGLES. Every year the person who bought it would bring it back for resale.

As for the later Columbia serials, since they were produced by Sam Katzman, they were made cheaper and cheaper, until the last four releases contained massive amounts of stock from earlier serials, and some like SON OF GERONIMO, GUNFIGHTERS OF THE NORTHWEST, and PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS had no interior shots at all. In GUNFIGHTERS, the head of the Mountie post is only seen sitting out on a porch, so evidently that was his office. In BLACKHAWK, the heavies have several hideouts, and to save money, the same set is used for all of them. One of the Blackhawks wondered out loud why every hideout looked the same.
The good thing was, they were directed by Spencer Bennet, so at least they weren't boring like the studio's 1945 releases, CHICK CARTER DETECTIVE, HOP HARRIGAN, and SON OF THE GUARDSMAN.
I'm watching Chick Carter, Detective now. So far its not the best, but I have seen far worse. I like Charles King and Lyle Talbot, so that helps.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
JazzGuyy
Member Avatar
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
moodyhound
Apr 25 2014, 09:51 AM
Pa Stark
Apr 25 2014, 09:06 AM
At SerialFest, people would donate items to sell, and one was a VHS tape of YOUNG EAGLES. Every year the person who bought it would bring it back for resale.

As for the later Columbia serials, since they were produced by Sam Katzman, they were made cheaper and cheaper, until the last four releases contained massive amounts of stock from earlier serials, and some like SON OF GERONIMO, GUNFIGHTERS OF THE NORTHWEST, and PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS had no interior shots at all. In GUNFIGHTERS, the head of the Mountie post is only seen sitting out on a porch, so evidently that was his office. In BLACKHAWK, the heavies have several hideouts, and to save money, the same set is used for all of them. One of the Blackhawks wondered out loud why every hideout looked the same.
The good thing was, they were directed by Spencer Bennet, so at least they weren't boring like the studio's 1945 releases, CHICK CARTER DETECTIVE, HOP HARRIGAN, and SON OF THE GUARDSMAN.
I'm watching Chick Carter, Detective now. So far its not the best, but I have seen far worse. I like Charles King and Lyle Talbot, so that helps.
Yeah but Talbot's hardly in it.
TANSTAAFL!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
CliffClaven
Member Avatar
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
ROYAL MOUNTED RIDES AGAIN was one I couldn't bring myself to finish. Lots of talk about arcane mining factoids and plot points that might have been interesting in a "real" movie, but pure dead weight in a serial with bland characters.

FAR FRONTIER, perhaps because it was such a primitive early talkie, was another I set aside. When the high point was a guy doing his impression of a saw sawing . . . and it's presented as if they knew it was the high point . . .

Then there are serials that are objectively pretty decent, but turned me off because of expectations.

BATMAN AND ROBIN had the pathetic air of a cheap early TV show, a huge letdown after the wartime lunacy of the original BATMAN serial.

TAILSPIN TOMMY AND THE GREAT AIR MYSTERY likewise was by-the-numbers ordinary after the first TAILSPIN TOMMY, which actually caught some of the excitement of early aviation and its youthful pioneers (the hero lived with his parents!). That held things together as the plot kept taking off on wacky tangents to use stock footage from all over. GREAT AIR MYSTERY was the standard good guys and bad guys constantly capturing and escaping from each other, although they did mix things up a bit too late with a sudden switch to a jungle island.

TERRY AND THE PIRATES, because I've enjoyed reprints of the early years. The serial jettisons everything that made the strip great: The oriental locale, the pirates, and the colorful characters. Instead we got the usual running back and forth between a mining settlement and a lost city in a generic jungle, with a harmless native queen claiming to be the strip's dangerous and sexy Dragon Lady. They did stick big fake ears on "Connie" to match the strip character's stereotypical appearance; that was their biggest commitment to accuracy.

MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN, even though it was definitely a second-tier classic, likewise lost too much of the original's charms. Mandrake lost his mustache, Mighty Lothar became a bland houseboy, and the magic was pathetic. They actually cut to a closeup of a hand double for a hilariously basic trick, and the onscreen audience acted like he'd escaped Houdini's water torture cell.

SIR GALAHAD -- Very mixed feelings. It was mildly diverting and offered some great goofball moments (Death by GIANT ARROW!). On the other hand, it was essentially a western with funny metal hats and made zero use of a great setting.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moodyhound
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
Yeah but Talbot's hardly in it.[/quote] I have noticed something about Chick Carter, Detective. They seem to suffer from having too many main characters.
Edited by moodyhound, Apr 26 2014, 03:15 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moodyhound
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
CliffClaven, I watched Sir Gallahad and have to say they could have done more with it. The best thing it had going for me, is I am a Charles King fan. Charles played a western bad guy most of the time. It was nice to see him playing a good guy for a change. I also liked Batman and Robin, but I'm a Robert Lowery fan also. It does make a serial much more watchable if your a fan of one or more of the actors in it. Doesnt always make the serial better, just more watchable. ;)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
panzer the great & terrible
Member Avatar
Mouth Breather
[ *  *  * ]
I saw Batman and Robin in the theater as a small kid and loved it, so for me this one time nostalgia takes precedence over good sense and I still enjoy the serial, especially when Vicki Vale asks Bruce Wayne why Batman's car is parked outside. Priceless and obviously intentional.



Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Apr 26 2014, 02:35 PM.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Todd 3D
Member Avatar
The Madd Director
[ *  *  * ]
In answer to the question, worst Republic, the one that most made me depressed while watching it was Man With The Steel Whip. It was cheap, barely shot, and had less than no energy.
"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home"--Edward R. Murrow
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
panzer the great & terrible
Member Avatar
Mouth Breather
[ *  *  * ]
Everybody says that, so I never went there, but thanks for the reminder.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
AndyFish
Member Avatar
Movie Watcha Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
ACE DRUMMOND! I don't care that all my senile balconies buddies love this one, that song is so annoying!

There are a lot of bad ones so it's hard to pick one. I'd have to say most disappointing was SUPERMAN. Kirk Alyn skipping his way through fifteen chapters of lousy acting and even lousier characters with the most annoying Jimmy Olsen in film history. ATOM MAN was better IMO because there was Lex Luthor.

Batman And Robin is nearly as bad, but I've got a fondness for that one too, and what the hey it's like an Ed Wood batman film.



www.andytfish.com
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Pa Stark
Charter Member
[ *  *  * ]
To me, LAW OF THE WILD is Mascot's weakest serial, with a terrible actor, Bob Custer as the hero. The next year they did a similar serial, ADVENTURES OF REX AND RINTY, but at least this had better production values and hero. Both had tame and uninteresting plots.
Honest and Lovable Pa Stark
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Don Diego
Member Avatar
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
[ *  *  * ]
Pa Stark
Apr 27 2014, 08:49 PM
To me, LAW OF THE WILD is Mascot's weakest serial, with a terrible actor, Bob Custer as the hero. The next year they did a similar serial, ADVENTURES OF REX AND RINTY, but at least this had better production values and hero. Both had tame and uninteresting plots.
Pa you are so right about Bob Custer - I remember wishing Rinty would rip his throat out and continue the serial without him.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Create a free forum in seconds.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Continued Next Week · Next Topic »
Add Reply