Spencer Gordon Bennet
This is a shortened version of the 1945 Republic serial "The Purple Monster Strikes," which was released to television in 1966.
Willie Duggans, a tenderfoot from the east, arrives in the wild west and soon experiences its violence. Willie discovers the easy money in bounty killing and must choose between that violent lifestyle and the love of a beautiful saloon singer.
A gunfighter takes the identity of a murdered judge in order to avenge his death.
Ships disappear on route across the Arctic Sea, and a special submarine is sent to investigate.
For his first command in the Pacific war a by-the-book officer is ordered to take his submarine on a reconnaissance mission to locate a fleet of Japanese fighting ships the Allies have lost track of. At first, the rest of the crew resent his distant manner and the way he keeps avoiding taking on the Japs.
Roberts and Moore played an army scout and a pony express rider who come to the aid of settlers terrorized by a greedy rancher-turned-outlaw.
In the 56th (and next-to-last serial) made by Columbia Pictures, Montana Deputy Dan Lawson, posing as an outlaw called Laramie, goes to the Canadian northwest on the trail of Bart Randall who is wanted for murder and bank robbery in the states. In Canada, Randall is a little more upscale and uses a hydra-plane and a fake totem to over-awe the Indians. Laramie is aided in his search by RCMP Sergeant Gray and by Donna Blane, who is suspected at first of giving information to Randall, but who is actually a Canadian secret agent investigating Randall's gun-trading with the Indians.
Jungle Jim type Johnny Weissmuller helps Professor Blakely look for a missing colleague who is now playing "god" for a bunch of natives.
Filled from front to back with stock footage taken from the Columbia serials "The Phantom-1943" and, primarily, "The Desert Hawk-1944", with John Hart and the always-dull Rick Vallin making less-than-adequate substitutes for Tom Tyler and Gilbert Roland, this Sam Katzman "production" finds the mighty jungle avenger and legendary Captain Africa - A "Phantom" rip-off that side-stepped the need to pay King Features another fee for using the character - pledging to see that the legitimate Arabian caliph, Hamid, is restored to the throne which a tyrannical rival has usurped. He is joined in this enterprise by adventurer Ted Arnold, wild-animal trapper Nat Coleman, and his assistant Omar and, to cover all bases
Jock Mahoney plays Northwest Mounted Police Constable O'Mahoney, assigned to track down a mysterious villain known only as The Leader. Trying to locate a secret gold mine, The Leader pits the Indians against the Mounties, whom he blames for creating trouble. All in all, Gunfighters of the Northwest did nothing to re-establish the serial genre as a viable alternative to cheap television Westerns.
Columbia Pictures elevated a run-of-the-mill B-western supporting player, Marshall Reed, to the title role in this equally run-of-the-mill western serial released in 15 chapters. Like most serials in the '50s, Riding with Buffalo Bill consisted of quite a bit of budget-stretching stock footage telling a highly fictionalized account of Buffalo Bill Cody aiding a group of ranchers in their defeat of a local crime lord. The serial's assistant director, Leonard Katzman, later produced the long-running television series Gunsmoke and Dallas.
Nasty white hunters are testing out their germ warfare weapons using wild animals in Africa… until they run into Jungle Jim.
Dr. Ernst Grood , having already dominated the planet Ergro, now intends to take over the control of the Earth. Unfortunately for him, reporters oppose his sinister designs.
In Indiana of the early 1800s, conflict once again arises between the United States and Great Britain over territory and boundaries. Each side endeavors to gain the support of the Shawnee Indian tribes in the area. Governor William Henry Harrison enlists the aid of Steve Rubbell, whose friendship with the Shawnee chief Tecumseh goes back to childhood. Tecumseh's leadership of the Shawnee is contested by his brother, known as The Prophet, who sides with the British. Tecumseh, who grew up as a childhood playmate of Steve and of Laura McGregor, loves Steve as a brother and hopes to marry Laura. But Laura is in love with Steve. Laura's father, Shayne McGregor, secretly leads local support of the British against the Americans, even though it risks the life and love of his daughter. Everything comes to a head at the battle of Tippecanoe.
Jungle Jim helps an attractive research writer for the British museum clear up the mystery of a tiger cult in Africa while thwarting art thieves and bringing to justice a Nazi war criminal.
The self-styled son of Indian chief Geronimo gets himself involved with a gang of nasty whites in this typical low-budget 15 chapter serial, which benefitted from a great deal of footage from the the stock piles at Columbia Pictures. Jim Scott (Clayton Moore) and wagon train boss Tulsa (Bus Osborne) are on to the nefarious schemes of Rance Rankin (Marshall Reed) and Ace Devlin (John Crawford), getting words of warning through to Portico (Rodd Redwing), the Son of Genronimo. With Portico's help, the white renegades are finally destroyed in the serial's concluding chapter, "Peace Treaty." Moore, the future star of the television series The Lone Ranger, was here billed "Clay Moore." Usually cast as a villain, mustachioed Bud Osborne turned in a rare "good guy" performance in this serial.
An Air Force captain is assigned to find some missing top-secret microfilm.
Based on a successful comic book that began in 1941, the Blackhawks were seven flyers who banded together during WW II to fight the Nazis. After the war, they continued to fight evil where ever they find it. In this movie, they are battling a group of spies and saboteurs bent on destroying democracy. The Blackhawks foil a succession of plots, with a cliff hanger ending in each episode.
Columbia Pictures elevated stunt man Jock O'Mahoney to stardom in this 15 chapter western serial about the building of the transcontinental railroad. O'Mahoney played a railroad agent who uncovers the master criminal behind a series of sabotage attempts on the construction site.
It is 1865 and Union prisoners use a military balloon to escape a Southern prison camp near the end of the Civil War. The balloon drifts for days and finally lands on a mysterious volcanic island with very unusual inhabitants. Also landing, in a better aircraft, is Rulu, a visitor from Mercury. She seeks a radio-active material that will enable her to manufacture an explosive that will destroy the world or, at least, the portion known as Earth in this 15 Chapter Serial from the 1950s.
Space hero Captain Video battles the evil Vultura on the planet Atoma.
The second of Columbia's Superman serials, the 15-episode Atom Man Vs. Superman stars Kirk Alyn once again in the dual role of Clark Kent and the "Man of Steel." This time, Kent/Superman is pitted against bald-pated Lex Luthor, who, disguised as Atom Man, threatens to devastate Metropolis with any number of devilish devices-the deadliest of which is a disintegration machine. Luthor stumbles onto Superman's Achilles' heel: Kryptonite. Once our hero has been exposed to this fatal ore, Metropolis becomes a wide-open town for criminals of all varieties. But Superman regains his full powers in time to stop Luthor from laying waste to Metropolis with his latest demon machine, a sonic vibrator. Also appearing in Atom Man vs. Superman are Noel Neill as Lois Lane, Tommy Bond (the onetime "Butch" of The Little Rascals) as Jimmy Olson, and Pierre Watkin as Perry White.
Buffalo Bill Cody battles a gang of outlaws secretly headed by an unscrupulous lawyer.
Sir Galahad, a knight of the Round Table, searches for the legendary sword of Excalibur.
Famed aviator Bruce Gentry is working with scientist Andrew Benson, setting out to uncover the origin of a deadly secret weapon---an electronically controlled flying disc which can be directed at moving or stationary targets. The disc was master-minded by an enemy agent known only as "The Recorder" because...he speaks entirely via recordings. Aided by rancher Frank Farrell and his sister Juanita "Nita" Hodges, Gentry consistently foils "The Recorders" schemes, which are carried out by "The Recorder's" henchmen, Krendon, Allen and Chandler, including an attack on the Panama Canal.
A action packed and exciting TV serial of the amazing adventures of Batman and Robin vs The WIZARD!! Set in Gotham City, 1949
Superman is a 15-part black-and-white Columbia film serial based on the comic book character Superman. It stars an uncredited Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. It is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film and for the longevity of its distribution. The serial was directed by Thomas Carr, who later directed many early episodes of the Adventures of Superman television show, and Spencer Gordon Bennet, produced by Sam Katzman and shot in and around Los Angeles, California. It was originally screened at movie matinées and after the first three scene-setting chapters, every episode ends in a cliffhanger. The Superman-in-flight scenes are animations, in part due to the small production budget.
The Daily Clarion hires detective story writer Steve Colt to investigate the deaths of a group of scientists working on an atomic rocket development project. Behind the killings is fortune teller Sombra, a spy from an Asian country intent on world domination, who is determined to pilfer the atomic rocket by luring workers from the project to her parlor and killing them with black widow spider venom when they refuse to cooperate.
Brick Bradford, soldier-of-fortune and time-machine traveler, is hired to protect the Interceptor Ray, an anti-guided missile weapon. His task takes him to the Moon, where he is captured by subjects of Queen Khana, but is spared because Queen Khana kinda likes him. Back on earth, Brick, Sandy and June get into The Time To (Brick's spinning time-machine) and spin back to the 18th Century where they have to fight off pirates and island natives.
A man returning home after having fought in the Civil War discovers that corrupt politicians have taken over the county and are terrorizing and shaking down the citizens. He dons the costume of his ancestor, the famous Zorro, and sets out to bring them to justice.
A new town doctor arrives at the same time as local Indians needprotection from troublemaking looters.
When the unscrupulous Carlos Manning discovers that an old Spanish land grant recently unearthed will leave a huge section of California real estate to the heirs of Don Quantero, he employs Mel Donovan and his killer henchmen to murder them all. That will leave Manning as the sole heir to millions. However, Delores Quantero tumbles to this plot and enlists the aide of two-fisted reporter, Cliff Roberts to save all her relatives
An Indian rug is the key to the location of a lost treasure. When the rug's owner is murdered, it becomes a case for Forest Ranger Steve King
"Iron Mike" Haines (Tom Chatterton), a crooked sheriff, and "Hands" Weber (Roy Barcroft), the town blacksmith, are in cahoots and have been robbing stages, silver mines, etc., and framing innocent ranchers and cowhands with their deeds. They set out to rob the stage and frame Red Ryder (Bill Elliott as Wild Bill Elliott) for it, but the plan backfires and the sheriff is killed. The sheriff's son, Tommy (Jack McClendon), arrives home from college and is given his dad's job, not knowing he was a crook, and swears to get the man who killed him. Weber tells Tommy that Red killed his dad and Tommy sets out to get Red.
Claire Forrest seeks her kidnapped scientist father, hidden somewhere on Mystery Island. He is held and forced to work on diabolical inventions by Captain Mephisto, a costumed villain.
A Martian invader crashes his spaceship conveniently close to the workshop of a scientist who is developing an interplanetary craft. If the extraterrestrial Purple Monster can complete the rocket ship and return to Mars, he will be able to start a full-scale invasion of Earth. Good thing Craig Foster sets out to thwart the Monster's mission!
Jerry Blake (aka Federal Operator 99) teams-up with Joyce Kingston to thwart the plans of escaped crime boss Jim Belmont.
A sea captain about to be hanged for a murder he didn't commit is rescued from the gallows by two of his crewmen. They head for the island of Pulinan, where they believe the real murderer--the captain's former partner--is hiding so the captain can clear his name. As it turns out, their troubles are only beginning
In Elliot's initial appearance as Red Ryder, he finds himself framed for murder. Little Beaver then foils the crooked Sheriff's attempt to have Red killed escaping jail. When Hannah Rogers gives the Sheriff a note, Red sees her give him a signal. Gabby lifts the note and Red decodes it. The Duchess then gets a confession from Hannah enabling Red to set out after the outlaws. Written by Maurice Van Auken
Just after the Oklahoma Panhandle was annexed into the united states an ex-lawman turned newspaper man arrives to town to civilize it. He brings along Frog, a photographer and Sunset Carson as muscle. The seedy element in the territory doesn't want law and order and they plot against them and try to stop Sunset Carson being sheriff.
Pretty Girl Barbara Mededith takes over her murdered brother's crusading newspaper. She also assumes the dead sibling's identity as "The Black Whip," righting the wrongs of Crescent City very much in the manner of her famous ancestor, Zorro.
In this western, a crusty old sourdough finally finds the silver mine of his dreams only to find his mine threatened by vicious outlaws. Fortunately, a cowboy hero rides up to save him, but not until considerable rootin' tootin' action.
Greedy oil speculators, led by Morgan, are trying to force Tiger Woman and her band of warriors from their jungle home. Allen Saunders of Inter-Ocean Oil wants to develop the oil, too, but fights with Tiger Woman to stop the bad guys.
Western from director Spencer Gordon Bennet. To combat the lawlessness in her town, school teacher Carrie Stokes writes to her former students in search of a lawman. Johnny Revere arrives and starts to clean up the town. But things go bad when he is hit on the head and loses his memory.
An American secret agent travels to Africa to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring.
After the Civil War and Burgess, Atkinson and Colton have plans to make California a separate nation. Weldon with sidekicks Tumbleweed and Carteret are sent west to thwart the attempt.
In this western a pugnacious cowboy tries to prevent a city-slicker from conning the local ranchers and the utility company. The hero believes the man is really a murderer. To find out for sure, the hero and his assistant pretend to be cons on the lam. The hero is soon accused of the murder. Now he must escape and bring justice to the real killer.
A team of two-fisted insurance investigators (one of whom disguises himself as The Masked Marvel) endeavor to discover and thwart the loathsome saboteur Sakima.
Japanese spies attempt to subvert America's war effort; G-Men attempt to thwart their plot.
When territorial governor Steven Nichols (Herbert Heyes) terrorizes the population with violence and heavy taxes, the Culver family stands up to him, but after the family patriarch is murdered, wandering gunslinger Wild Bill Elliott (Wild Bill Elliott) is falsely accused of the crime.
The British Commandos send Bob Owen (Lyle Talbot) to Norway to prepare for a raid. His mission also includes freeing General Heden (Paul Baratoff) who is being held by the Nazis. His aides include Eric Falken (George Nesie) and Harry (Charles Rogers). Inga (June Duprez), a Norwegian girl to whom Falken was once engaged but who has become the sweetheart of Oberst Von Ritter (Victor Varconi), betrays their hiding place. The three overpower the Gestapo men sent after them, take their uniforms and enter the prison camp and free Heden. The four men then start for the coast to meet the Commando expedition. Inga, who the men still trust, again informs von Ritter and Falken is captured but Bob and Harry escape with the aid of Dalberg, who they thought was a Quisling stooge.
A superhero known as The Black Commando battles Nazi agents who use explosive gases and artificial lightning to sabotage the war effort.
Prospector Henry Tolliver disappears and his son "Wild Bill" Tolliver comes looking for him.
The Rough Riders are after a gang of rustlers. Marshal Roberts is posing as a wanted outlaw, McCall is the Marshal supposedly after him, and Sandy is on hand as a cook. Roberts hopes his joining the gang will help bring them in.
Singing cowboy Tex Ritter and his sidekick, Slim Andrews, star in this musical Western about a couple of Texas Rangers who defend the citizens of a small territory from power-hungry outlaws. Villain Bradley Craven (Forrest Taylor) is determined to stop the election process that would allow the region to join the Union. Tex and Slim join a rancher and his daughter to stop Craven, with fearless Tex going undercover to ensure that justice is served.
The Rough Riders are called in to help save Master's stage line. Taggart has his gang robbing the stages and shooting the drivers. When Buck drives the next stage, Taggart's men rob it and then make it look like Roberts is part of the gang. Written by Maurice Van Auken
The drought-plagued ranchers of Sundown have to market their cattle at a loss in order to meet mortgage payments held by banker Cylus Cuttler. Then, Sheriff Tex Rockett is forced to quarantine all the cattle on the local ranches because of a hoof-and-mouth disease outbreak. Steve Davis herds his cattle to the railhead anyway, and Tex is forced to arrest him. Urged on by the banker's son, Nick Cuttler, the angry ranchers storm the jail, but Steve's sister Bee persuades them to await the trial. Steve, with Nick's help, breaks jail and is told he must kill Tex to aid the ranchers. Meanwhile, government man Bret Stockton and Tex see Nick and his men treating cattle in an unusual way. Tex finally proves that the Cuttlers have been treating the cattle with acid to give a false impression of the hoof-and-mouth disease.
Cartwright's racket is to sell a ranch and then have Mason and his men drive the ranchers away so he can resell it. If they want their money back he gives it to them and then has them killed. Jack arrives and learns that Mason and his men are the culprits but that they have a boss. He suspects Cartwright and sets trap to expose him.
The Rancho Grande, a Texas border ranch, cut off from the law by a gang of outlaws led by ranch foreman Bart Lane, who is holding the elderly owner of the ranch, Sarah Burton, a prisoner. Tex Lowery (Tex Ritter), an undercover Texas Ranger, rescues Martha Williams, a nurse sent for by the ailing Sarah, from a stagecoach holdup by Lane's henchmen. He later convinces Laner that he is a wanted outlaw named Ed Carter, and gains entry to Rancho Grande. But the real Ed Carter shows up.
A wagon train crossing the plains comes across the remains of other wagon trains that have been attacked by looters. Soon they too are attacked.
Two young brothers are separated when their wagon train is attacked and their parents killed. One brother Cherokee is raised by Indians and the other, the Kansas Kid, by the outlaw gang leader Buff. Twenty years later they unknowingly meet again when the Kid goes after wagons being guided by Cherokee.
When Jim Allen is lynched, his identical twin brother Bob, a Texas Ranger, takes his place in an attempt to flush out the man responsible.
The Harper wagon train is carrying money and Bull and his gang are after it. When their first attack is foiled by the rangers, Allen trails them. But he is captured and his ranger badge used to divert the rangers away leaving the wagon train unprotected.
Jim Dorn endeavors to protect Jean McNain from a man she knows has committed a murder, Carter Snowden
Working undercover, Rangers Bob and Wally arrive to take up ranching. Out to stop them is Bill Nash and his men. When Bob plans to file on a ranch, Nash finds out and heads for the Registrar ahead of him.
Tom Martin wants to buy the Jed Warren ranch as he knows the railroad wants it for the right-of-way, but Jed refuses to sell...
Hoping to rid a small western community of its corrupt political machine, Ken Marshall (Ken Maynard) runs for sheriff against the bad guys' candidate and wins the election. Dissatisfied with this, the villains contrive to frame Ken on a murder charge. He breaks out of jail and tracks down the genuine culprit,
Mortimer builds a fence for the cattle brought by Ken Morley. To retaliate, Slater who wants access to the land, builds a dam cutting off Mortimer's water supply. When Ken confronts Slater, he is captured. Then lightning destroys the dam and Ken, imprisoned in a shack, is in the path of the oncoming water.
Ken, sent to investigate cattle rustlers, poses as a peddler during the day but the Masked Rider at night.
Ken Armstrong (Ken Maynard) finds himself a mine owner and a daddy simultaneously when a friend dies and wills him his mine and his baby. The outlaws eying the mine try to frame the hero for the death.
Edith overhears Bart's plan to rob the bank so she informs Ken. But she is also overheard and when Ken goes to investigate, Bart's Henchman Prod frames him for the robbery. Thrown in jail, Ken's pal Pedro arrives with a plan to get him out.
Life gets complicated for a taxi driver when it's discovered that he's the spitting image of the murdered heir to a fortune.
Wealthy Henry Hanley takes his family to a dude ranch. But his daughter Gloria's boyfriend Eric is waiting and he is after Hanley's money. Ken overhears Eric's plan and abducts Gloria to stop the elopement. The outlaw Lacrosse and his henchman then catch Ken without his guns, take off with Gloria, and leave a tied up Ken in a burning shack.
A reporter itching to get off the boring gardening "beat" gets a chance to investigate a series of arson fires that have been plaguing the city. He believes the fires are tied into a web of political corruption involving a wealthy businessman, the mayor and the police chief. Complicatins ensue when the girl assigned to help him turns out to be the businessman's daughter.
Two Boy Scouts win an around-the-world trip with a crack aviator, and find themselves crash-landed in the South American jungles after the ace forgets to refuel in Ecuador.
"Wildcatter" Dave Warren and his crew are trying to bring in a new oil well. Dave gives troublemaker Simmons a good thrashing and orders him off the site. In order to complete drilling Dave borrows $50,000 from investment banker J. T. Varley and also begins a romance with Varley's daughter Alice. Varley suffers market reverses and knowing that Dave is about to strike oil hires Simmons to wreck the rig so he can foreclose and take over.
A stray German shepherd, a runaway teenage boy, and a runaway teenage girl end up at her uncle's place in Oregon, where an epidemic of sheep rustling is under way.
Hoping to impress a pretty girl he's after, a playboy poses as a newspaperman and goes after a big story.
Seeker Dean has found the gold he has been looking for for 15 years. Heading for the Government office, Boone Jackson kills him. Kickabout finds a cryptogram as to the gold's location and Sergeant Kinkaid solves the puzzle. But Jackson learns of the gold's location and to get it, he sets out to dynamite the dam that would flood the entire communuty.
A frontier newspaper editor Kirby battles outlaw Tiger Morris who is causing indian uprisings to drive away settlers so that he will can claim a gold deposit as his own. With the help of General Custer, right wins out. Presented in serial form in 12 episodes.
Guests at a luxury hotel are horrified when they witness a man literally "disappear into thin air." The vanished man's relatives hire a detective, who goes to the hotel to investigate the disappearance.
El Malo, notorious Mexican bandit, forces the Mayor of Sierra Blanca, Seth Landport, to open the safe and turn over to him 2,000 pesos, which the bandit gives a promissory note for to the Mayor. Seth rushes to the cantina where Sheriff Rankin is drinking, and the sheriff posts a reward for the capture of El Malo. El Malo informs his men of the reward. The bandit and his sidekick, Pedro, visit the cantina where Pedro resumes a former acquaintance with Dolores, while El Malo has his attention directed to a tango being performed by Carmita. El Malo pushes her dancing partner aside and finishes the dance with Carmita. Since Seth's description of him is not accurate, El May visits the sheriff and promises to deliver the wanted bandit to the cantina the following night. THe following morning, El Malo and Pedro depart, and, halting their horses on a hill, view the stagecoach being held up by a trio of outlaws.
Hawk of the Hills (1927), a ten episode serial, re-edited into a five-reel feature length version released in 1929. Newhall, California. A band of Indians led by the half-breed 'The Hawk' terrorizes prospectors in a valley. When the old prospector Clyde Selby hits the mother lode, The Hawk plans to kidnap his pretty blond daughter Mary Selby. This kidnapping actually proves one of the lesser of the perils faced by the poor Mary. Laramie, a government agent, wants with the help of his friendly Shoshone Indian friends to extricate the damsel-in-distress.
The villain of this serial, the "Wolf Devil", who's head covering amazingly looks to be a REAL wolf's head, is determined to eradicate the non native races from Alaska.
Marked Money stars Junior Coghlan as the orphaned son of a seafaring man. His late father has left instructions that The Boy is to be delivered to the home of Captain Fairchild (Bert Woodruff) the father's old sailing master, along with $25,000 in cash to finance the boy's education. The villains aren't interested at all in The Boy, but they do dearly covet the 25 grand he carries with him in a box. (From the Rotten Tomatoes page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marked_money/)
Exciting late-silent 10-episode serial, with all the hallmarks of the genre, including daring cavalry rescues, gold robbers and, of course, the beautiful white girl being burned at the stake by indians. Later re-edited into a feature-length film of the same name.
A Pathe serial in ten chapters of two-reels each: Dan Winterslip, a wealthy man in Honolulu, has not spoken to his brother, who owns a hotel next to Winterslip's estate, in over twenty years. Minerva, sister to the estranged brothers, comes from Boston to try to reconcile the two men. John Quincy Winterslip, Dan's nephew, receives a letter instructing him to retrieve a box from an attic in San Francisco and dump the contents into the ocean. He is on board a ship bound for Hawaii in which other passengers are also after the box. Dan Winterslip is murdered. Charlie Chan, a Chinese detective, offers to help solve the killing and the mysteries surround the box. Chan is looking for the person whose wristwatch is missing the number 'three.'
A mother tells the Bible Story to her children, including the life of Christ from the Annunciation to the Ascension. As the mother tells the story, the film fades into a picturization and periodically fades back to show the children's interest and reactions.
