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| Captain Midnight (1942) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 2 2017, 08:06 AM (309 Views) | |
| AndyFish | May 2 2017, 08:06 AM Post #1 |
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Movie Watcha Foist Class
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Is there seriously no thread devoted to Columbia's serial adventures of Captain Albright?! I'm of the age that I grew up knowing who Captain Midnight was mostly from sitcoms joking about his decoder ring, so I have little affection for the character. I recently picked up the two hardcover collections from Dark Horse which reprint his Golden Age adventures and they are a pip. Lot of fun. So I decided to give CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT a go, and it's pretty solid. Dave O'Brien is pretty good as the Cap and his Midnight outfit is sharp and suitably black-- the comics have him in a bright red suit which is not the first thing I think of when I hear midnight. It's a little bit on the goofy side mostly due to the two assistants of Midnight who are played mostly for laughs, but overall I'm finding it pretty good. The villain (and as is typical I'm doing zero research as I write this) is the same guy from either The Three Stooges, The Iron Claw or The Green Archer, or maybe he turned out to be the Black Tiger in The Shadow, I don't remember, but I didn't like him in that, and I don't like him here, but I can look past it as Captain Midnight continues to get the stuffing beat out of him chapter to chapter. I wonder why they don't just take off his mask when he's captured. This is a fun one, the print from VCI is pretty solid, a few scratches here and there in the early chapters. |
| www.andytfish.com | |
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| The Batman | May 2 2017, 10:52 AM Post #2 |
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Charter Member
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I'm surprised there is no thread, as well. I've only seen it once, so far, but I thoroughly enjoyed CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT and number it among my Top Ten serials. I find it slightly better than SPY SMASHER (I know, blasphemy!). I credit part of the fun and charm to James Horne, yes, I'm a fan. His serials are always fun and many are among my favourites. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Barcroft | May 2 2017, 12:23 PM Post #3 |
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Charter Member
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Bats, This was the next to the last serial James Horne would direct, and as usual he has his villains over emoting especially James Craven........argh!!! I thought he was bad with his over emoting in The Green Archer but in Capt. Midnight he outdoes himself. Horne could be a decent Director i.e. Deadwood Dick, but he mostly went for laughs. There is a picture of Horne in one of Alan Barbour's books holding a serial continuity book with a pencil in his hand and one wonders if he were looking for places to insert some laughs. I think if Spencer Bennett had directed this serial it would have turned out a lot better. I guess you can see I'm not a Horne fan..................lol Barcroft |
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| The Batman | May 2 2017, 12:53 PM Post #4 |
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Charter Member
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That's cool, Bart, I know a lot of my fellow serial fans aren't Horne fans. Personally, I think it is your loss. Horne brought a vitality to his serials, and in a way humanized the characters. Either way, his serials were different than all the rest, and there's nothing wrong with a little variety! |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| williejg | May 2 2017, 12:54 PM Post #5 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Bart, I hate to do this to a dear friend, but I certainly disagree with ya on this one. I have to go along with Andy and Bats that CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT is a Great, Great serial. In my opinion this is almost as good as THE BATMAN serial. I know that they play it over the top, but that's what makes it so great! It's like a comic book brought to life. Some of Dave O'Brien's movements look like a panel lifted from a comic. I've talked with Bats about this title before, and I still haven't changed my mind. This is a title I could easily watch repeatedly. 'Cat |
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| Barcroft | May 2 2017, 04:46 PM Post #6 |
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Charter Member
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Willie, O'Brien was in his element with comedy as he was doing his Pete Smith comedies minus his toupee' while also doing his Texas Rangers series. I'm sorry I just don't care for Horne's serials. He should have stayed doing comedies with Laurel and Hardy, Andy Clyde etc.. But that's just my opinion, and you know what that say about opinions.....................lol Bart |
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| AndyFish | May 2 2017, 05:13 PM Post #7 |
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Movie Watcha Foist Class
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I'm not a fan of Bennet at all, it's a shame Horne wasn't around to do Batman and Robin, that one needed the help. |
| www.andytfish.com | |
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| The Batman | May 2 2017, 06:06 PM Post #8 |
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Charter Member
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Hey, I have two opinions. Should I go see a doctor? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Fantomas | May 3 2017, 12:48 PM Post #9 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Best scene: Chapter 2 (12:25-13:25). Great line, great double-take from Craven. It's a little complicated! |
| "For life is short, but death is long." | |
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