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SERIAL LOBBY CARDS
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41 posts in this topic

7 hours ago, Crowzilla said:

I almost thought that was him on this card for a minute but he wears a different thawb in it.

 

So, I figure you already knew the answer.  I'm assuming you're waiting to see if anyone else takes a stab at it.  If no other fountain of knowledge steps up, please jump in, professor.

 

3 hours ago, Ameri said:

Ahhh Henry Brandon. Barnaby in Laurel and Hardy's March of the Wooden Soldiers aka Babes in Toyland and Our Gang Follies of 1938 among other things. He used to attend Sons of the Desert Laurel and Hardy conventions.

 Henry Brandon was an excellent actor with a long and varied career.  The role of Fu Manchu was challenging given his age at the time, but he proved himself capable of mature acting through well rendeded make-up to create one of the most enduring depictions of the character.  The autographed title card holds a special place in my collection.

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One unrelated point, the price of KINO-Lorber's 4K mastered serial Daredevils of the Red Circle has just dropped from $29.95 to $19.99. That, my friends, is a steal worthy of Charles Middleton's character.

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Edited by Cat-Man_America
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Daredevils has always been considered one of the best if not THE BEST serial of all time. One of the leads, David Sharpe, did all the stunt work in the Captain Marvel serial. Short guy I hear, but he made Republic serials really something to see. Since we're showing lobby cards, here's the only 2 I have, not serial related but like the other fellow said, maybe they played after the serial lol

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KING%20KONG%20LOBBY1_zpsbx4l3fdy.jpg

 

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On 2/26/2017 at 0:28 AM, Cat-Man_America said:

This thread is about those thrilling days of yesteryear, when Saturdays were ruled by "B" western double features, short subjects, cartoons and best of all serial chapters.  Alas, I don't have memories of any of this because it was well before my time, but it's not hard to imagine the excitement kids must've had anticipating each week's cliffhanger resolution leading to the next unsurvivable peril.  My ulterior motive in posting this now is to alert fellow GA fans to the forthcoming 4K mastered release of one of Republic's greatest classics to Blu-ray on April 25th, ...Daredevils of The Red Circle!

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If you like serials, this is a good place to start.  Monstrous plots notwithstanding, if this thread develops I'll post a few more from my collection.  :shy:  

 

I remember 'em well, eh eh.  The entertainment industries gimmick to get kids to come back the next week, to see how the protagonist could possibly escape the certain and horrible death that was about to befall him (and sometimes her along with).

I too have a plethora of VHS and DVD serials on hand.  Only problem is that with 16 twenty minute episodes, there's 5 hours, a bit much for one sitting.

I would suggest that "Radar Men From The Moon" was possibly the best, AFA action went.  I believe they stopped producing them about 1955.  There's a good website dedicated to the genre;

http://www.serialsquadron.com/

 

 

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1 hour ago, fifties said:

I remember 'em well, eh eh.  The entertainment industries gimmick to get kids to come back the next week, to see how the protagonist could possibly escape the certain and horrible death that was about to befall him (and sometimes her along with).

I too have a plethora of VHS and DVD serials on hand.  Only problem is that with 16 twenty minute episodes, there's 5 hours, a bit much for one sitting.

I would suggest that "Radar Men From The Moon" was possibly the best, AFA action went.  I believe they stopped producing them about 1955.  There's a good website dedicated to the genre;

http://www.serialsquadron.com/

 

 

Well, serials do require some investment time-wise, not to mention patience, but the best of them can be a lot of fun.  I think your experience with serials may be hampered by limited familiarity with their scope.  The scope of serials ranges from the earliest silent features ...when they competed for the attention of adult audiences... until their gradual demise due to competition with early broadcast television in the mid-1950's.  Early serials often had complicated storylines combined with cliffhangers that kept audiences riveted similar to series television today.  Note: Some series on commercial television continue the tradition of using cliffhangers to punctuate commercial breaks.

By the mid-twenties just prior to the dawn of early sound, serials lost the adult market to feature films.  Studios refocused on the "B" feature western market which were a huge draw for kids.  Part of the package devised to keep kids coming back every Saturday included recurring cliffhanger serial chapters, usually running 12, 13 or 15 chapters.  The success of this packaging of double feature westerns, cartoons, shorts and serial chapters effectively filled theaters on Saturday afternoons for three decades.  While a lot of serials are pure hokum, the magic of their design and execution are as richly nostalgic as comic books.  In fact, newspaper comics, radio and comic books had a major influence on serial production throughout the era.

While Radar Men From The Moon is a decent enough later Republic entry ...Republic serials being widely accepted as the best of the three dominant studios producing serials in the sound era... it's a far cry from their best, even of those featuring rocket suited heroes.  The best of those is inarguably the first, King of The Rocket-Men ('49), featuring Tristram Coffin in his only starring serial role.  The Howard & Theodore Lyedecker rocket man effects would be used as stock footage for several more including Commando Cody, Radar Men From The Moon and Flying Disc Men From Mars during Republic's later, lower budgeted efforts.

Your link to the Serial Squadron is interesting.  I've been a half-hearted participant on their boards since back in the late 90's.  The lofty goals of the squadron restoration efforts are both enviable and frustrating given the combative site owner's propensity for generating controversy and then being defensive when constructively criticized.  That said, I'm thankful that there are folks keeping interest in serials alive, just like I'm grateful for comic books and comic book inspired movies.  Every time we watch a Star Wars or Indiana Jones film, we're seeing movies inspired by classic cliffhanger serials and the pulps and comics that influenced them.

Edited by Cat-Man_America
Lack of a post review function.
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On March 3, 2017 at 10:30 PM, Ameri said:

This is another great book

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Somehow missed that'un; I'll check it out.  Thanks for the heads-up! (thumbsu

While on the subject of books, let me return the favor.  Here are some serial books I've acquired over the years worth seeking...

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There are more, but it might be a good idea to provide a capsule review or two to gauge interest.

Edited by Cat-Man_America
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13 hours ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Somehow missed that'un; I'll check it out.  Thanks for the heads-up! (thumbsu

While on the subject of books, let me return the favor.  Here are some serial books I've acquired over the years worth seeking...

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There are more, but it might be a good idea to provide a capsule review or two to gauge interest.

The Kinnard book looks like a good one. Thanks for the reminder! All those McFarland publisher books sans dust jackets are meticulously researched. I have Days or Thrills and Adventure. A lot of the early overviews had too many pictures and not not enough history. The Barbour The Serial volumes 1 & 2 look really interesting.

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This rare Lost City  lobby card is from one of the most notorious serials ever filmed:

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William "Stage" Boyd ...not to be confused with the popular western movie star... reputedly imbibed copious amounts of alcohol on the set.  

Judging from his shocking pose on this card it would seem that reputation was well deserved.

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On 3/3/2017 at 4:42 PM, Cat-Man_America said:

No one has named the famous second billed actor in King of The Wlld, so I'll oblige here, ...it was Boris Karloff!

 

Speaking of Karloff... I have this lobby card from 1921 I picked up at auction.  There are two other cards from this movie that have surfaced, but both of those have Karloff turned away and less recognizable.  Otherwise, from what I've been able to research, this may be the earliest movie poster image of Karloff there is.  This is his 11th film, and most of the previous roles were bit parts (crowd scenes, etc.) where he's not likely to turn up on a card or poster.  Not quite a serial card... but it's tale of villainy in the Far North has a serial kind of feel to it.

Cave Girl 1921 Karloff.jpg

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:bump:

 

Bumping this thread seems futile in light of all the lost PB images, but just want to remind folks that Daredevils of the Red Circle gets an official Blu-ray release from KINO-Lorber this week and right now prices are quite reasonable (under $18 from some sources).  This is one of Republic's best serials in the opinion of many serial fans, and a great introduction for those uninitiated in these action-filled productions.

Now I'll return you to regular CGC programming. :wink:

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