The Best (and Worst) of the West! Reviews and Observations on B-Westerns by Boyd Magers Reviews - Serials (and Feature Versions of Serials)

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Printing this webpage: I would suggest you do NOT attempt to print this.  When last I checked, this would require a bunch of pages to print.  Plus the reviews are not in any particular order, so it would be difficult to wade through all those pages looking for a film title, western hero, etc.  If you wish to have this information locally on your PC, I would recommend you click on "File" and then do a "save as" in Internet Explorer or Netscape. And save this page on your hard drive (as an .htm or .html file type).  If you also want Boyd's picture, the red stars and garbage can, put your mouse pointer on each image, click with your right mouse button, and do a "save image or picture as" to the same area on your hard drive where the main page will be saved.  The Search/Find function noted above will work on webpages saved to your hard disk.

Individual film reviews - as well as the complete The Best (and Worst) of the West! film review collection - is copyright ©2000-2008 by Boyd Magers. All rights reserved.

The Ratings

Superior

Good

OK

Poor

A real dud !

 THE LONE RANGER (1938, 15 chapter Republic serial)
In the closing days of the Civil War, guerrilla carpetbagger Stanley Andrews and his band of Confederate deserters (John Merton, Ted Adams, Tom London, Maston Williams, Charles King) learn Col. Jeffries, the newly appointed U. S. Commissioner of Finance, has been sent by President Lincoln to enforce tax laws in Texas. Andrews kills the real Jeffries and assumes his identity using his authority to plunder Texas, planning to build an empire with himself as dictator. Learning of an approaching contingent of Texas Rangers, Andrews stages an ambush, presumably wiping out all the Rangers. However, one is left alive and revived by the Indian Tonto (Chief Thunder Cloud). The lone Texas Ranger vows to avenge the massacre of his fellow hem and becomes the masked Lone Ranger, disrupting Andrews' forces at every turn. Relatively faithful to the radio rendition in this origin, the serial diverts here giving us five loyal Texas rancher patriots battling Andrews' outlawry, with one of them being The Lone Ranger (Lee Powell, Lane Chandler, George Letz [Montgomery], Herman Brix [Bruce Bennett], and Hal Taliaferro [Wally Wales].) Together, with Tonto, George Cleveland as a government special administrator come to investigate matters, his daughter Lynn Roberts, Father William Farnum and his ward Sammy McKim, The Lone Ranger leads the fight for justice in Texas. One by one the five men believed to be the Lone Ranger are killed until only the true Lone Ranger remains to defeat Andrews' outlaw force. To confuse the viewer until Ch. 15 as to which of the five is the Lone Ranger, diminutive Billy Bletcher's booming voice was dubbed in whenever The Ranger spoke. Yakima Canutt performed nearly all of the hair-raising stunts. A 70 minute feature version of the serial, HI-YO SILVER, was released in 1940 with new "wrap-around" footage of Raymond Hatton relating the tale to young Dickie Jones. Additionally, footage of Frank McGlynn Jr. as President Lincoln, excised from the serial due to time constraints, was re-inserted into the feature.

 THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN (1939, 15 chapter Republic serial)
Aware of the enormous success of the first Lone Ranger serial, Republic returned the masked rider of the plains for a second serial, although it suffers in comparison. Whereas The Lone Ranger remained anonymous in the first serial until the final chapter, the second Lone Ranger (Bob Livingston) continually masked and unmasked throughout the serial, deviating vastly from the radio premise. Here, he's not even a Texas Ranger, but is drifter Bill Andrews who adopts the Lone Ranger persona to, at first, aid Duncan Renaldo track down the killer of his brother, whom at first Renaldo believes to be The Lone Ranger. Eventually learning Carleton Young, a member of the feared Black Raiders, is responsible for Renaldo's brother's murder, The Lone Ranger, Tonto and Renaldo face off against the entire gang, secretly led by Ralph Dunn, the nephew of cattle-baron J. Farrell MacDonald. Dunn and his Black Raiders (John Beach, Glenn Strange, Stanley Blystone, Eddie Parker, Al Taylor) throw suspicion on Dunn's uncle while Dunn formulates grand plans to wipe out the incoming "nesters" and steal the land for his own. A third Lone Ranger serial was eventually scrapped by Republic when contractual negotiations broke down between Republic prexy Herbert J. Yates and LR rights holder, broadcast magnate George Trendle. The Lone Ranger eventually rode again on television in 1949.

 WHITE EAGLE (1941 15 chapter Columbia serial)
Buck Jones had made his last western feature for Columbia in 1938, but he was back in the saddle to sort-of remake his WHITE EAGLE 1932 Columbia feature for them in 1941 as a 15 chapter serial. It's a rather ho-hum affair directed by James W. Horne (1881-1942) better known as a two-reel comedy director. His serials are not generally well-liked by chapterplay enthusiasts as he insisted on over-the-top reaction shots (which sidekick Raymond Hatton plays to the hilt here) and often played dramatic scenes for comedy effect rather than taking them seriously as did William Witney, Spencer Bennet, Ray Taylor, John English and others. Horne's fight scenes are often played the same way - more of a wild melee instead of a routined slugfest. Buck Jones is White Eagle, an Indian Pony Express rider whose word is sacred to his people but who also understands the hearts of the white men as well. When gold is discovered in the west, white men ruthlessly invade Indian lands and Redskins retaliate. Mutual distrust has prevented the successful operation of previous treaties, but because a lasting peace is all-essential, White Eagle negotiates another treaty signed by his chief, Chief Yowlachie, and a U.S. Army general. Certain the government will refuse to ratify the treaty if constant strife prevails between the whites and Indians, trusted citizen but secretly treacherous outlaw boss James Craven (a Horne favorite) orders his seemingly inexhaustible band of renegades (Jack Ingram, Bud Osborne, Charles King, John Merton, Al Ferguson, George Chesebro, Constantine Romanoff, Kit Guard, Kenne Duncan, Harry Tenbrook) to rob, pillage, murder and generally keep things in constant turmoil. With the aid of scout Raymond Hatton, government employee Ed Cobb and his sister Dorothy Fay (providing a very slight romantic interest) Buck fights valiantly against these overwhelming odds for 15 rather pedestrian chapters.

 ROYAL MOUNTED RIDES AGAIN (1945 Universal 13 chapter Serial)
In his desperate attempt to control a fabulous fortune in Yukon gold, ruthless mining operator Addison Richards orders his henchman Miburn Stone to confiscate mining machinery owned by Guy Beach. When Beach is mysteriously murdered, RCMP Corporal Bill Kennedy is assigned to the case. He's joined in his search for the killer by Mountie George Dolenz and Beach's daughter Daun Kennedy. The excitement and danger mount as various outlaw elements attempt to gain possession of the valuable mine. But who is the killer? Mine operator Addison Richards? His man Milburn Stone? Stone's henchmen Joe Haworth and Richard Alexander? Old timer Paul E. Burns? Burns' devious partner George Eldredge? Yukon Palace saloon operator Robert Armstrong? Armstrong's bodyguard Danny Morton? Mysterious fortune teller Helen Bennett? Or even stone-faced Yukon Palace guard Rondo Hatton? Kennedy makes a stalwart Mountie hero, making one wish he'd been afforded more leads. Backed by an excellent cast, there's plenty of mystery and thrills before thieves fall-out and the Mounties get their man.

 ZORRO RIDES AGAIN (1937 Republic)
John Carroll is a contemporary Zorro (a descendent of his great-grandfather) in Old West and New West adventures as he fights off ruthless raiders who attempt a hostile takeover of the California-Yucatan Railroad. Financial pirate and investment banker Noah Beery Sr. orders his brutal whip-wielding lieutenant El Lobo (Dick Alexander) and his horde of cutthroats (Bob Kortman, Jack Ingram, Merrill McCormick, Jerry Frank, Roger Williams, Ed Cobb, Ray Teal, Al Taylor) to instigate a reign of destruction, sabotage, murder and terror against the California-Yucatan Railroad owners Nigel de Brulier, Reed Howes and his sister Helen Christian so Beery may wrest control of the line for himself. When de Brulier is viciously murdered, his foppish nephew, John Carroll, arrives, but, to Howes and Christian's dismay, outwardly appears to be totally uninterested in the success of the railroad. Secretly, Carroll masquerades as his famous namesake, Zorro, with only faithful servant Duncan Renaldo aware of his secret. Directors William Witney and John English (in their first of 17 co-directed serials) keep the pace roaring with breathtaking railroad stunt footage. Horse lovers will want to know Zorro's faithful steed El Rey was played by the pinto stud Dice owned by Ralph McCutcheon.

 KING OF THE MOUNTIES (1942 Republic 12 chapter serial)
Two years after KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED ('40), Allan Lane was recalled to active serial duty as Sgt. Dave King of the Royal Mounted, based again on Zane Grey's popular comic strip hero. Unlike some serials that hedged a bit on naming their villainy, this wartime cliffhanger names the enemy in no uncertain terms - Abner Biberman as Admiral Yamata of Japan, William Vaughn as Marshal Von Horst of Germany and Nestor Paiva as Count Baroni of Italy. With all their dirty work being handled by Bradley Page and Anthony Warde under the direction of Douglas Dumbrille, their axis of evil plot is to soften the Dominion's defenses for an invasion by attacking bridges, oil fields, dams and munitions terminals. The evil triumvirate utilizes the Falcon plane (a redesigned Bat Plane from SPY SMASHER) which descends vertically into a volcanic crater to an underground landing strip. It goes without saying, through the diligent intervention of King (Lane) their schemes meet only defeat at every turn. Although budgeted exactly the same as the prior serial ($136,000) and filmed around Big Bear, CA, this second King outing is more of a routine serial and not nearly the compelling classic KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED was. Much stock footage from the first serial is reused - look for Dave Sharpe (now in the service) doubling Lane in old footage while Tom Steele and/or Duke Taylor do the action chores in the new footage.

 JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI (1949 Republic 12 chapter serial)
Third in the Jesse James Republic serial trilogy, Jesse (now played by Keith Richards as Clayton Moore was now busy becoming TV's Lone Ranger) and Frank (Robert Bice) try to bury their past by helping ex-James gang member John Hamilton and his daughter Noel Neill establish their freight and stageline against the ruthless opposition of Roy Barcroft's freight lines and the conspiratorial influence of Patricia Knox, operator of the general store trying to gain control of all the freighting business in the territory. Well staged, but the budgetary cost-cutting at Republic was beginning to show with the repeated use of stock footage, less back-up henchmen, dependence on only one director (Fred C. Brannon) as of mid-'48 and a cutback in scripters, now only three with the loss of serial-warhorse Basil Dickey who'd been involved in 21 Republic chapterplays but was no longer in evidence as of FEDERAL AGENTS VS. UNDERWORLD INC. (mid-'48) when Franklin Adreon moved from scripter to producer and eventually even director on Republic's last five even more tightly-budgeted serials from '53-'55. All these changes began to result more-and-more in repetitious plots and worn-thin cliffhanger endings until the age of the beloved serial format completely disappeared in '55-'56.

 BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL (1956 Columbia 15 chapter serial)
For the final theatrical American serial ever made, producer Sam Katzman rounded up a ton of stock footage from OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON ('39) and WHITE EAGLE ('41), then outfitted Dennis Moore to match Bill Elliott and Lee Roberts to fit Buck Jones. Appropriately, to direct, Katzman hired Spencer Gordon Bennet (1893-1987) whose association with serials dated back to Pathé in the '20s. The real star here is film editor Earl Turner who cut all the stock together, but then he'd cut so many serials since the '20s (including the original WHITE EAGLE) he could probably do the job in his sleep. Simplistic plot has Army scout Lee Roberts, special agent for the Pony Express Dennis Moore and Cavalry Captain Gregg Barton opposing outlaw leader Don Harvey who wants to establish a western empire through his henchies Lee Morgan, Pierce Lyden, Ed Coch and Reed Howes who head a band of Black Raiders in a ton of footage swiped from OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON. Much of the 15 chapters is spent by Moore, Roberts and Barton "observing" the stock footage, some of which is used more than once, including the oft-used Wind River Indians crossing the river from Tim McCoy's WAR PAINT ('26). Granted, this allows for constant action, movement and excitement involving outlaws, Black Raiders, Indians, mountain lions, horse stampedes, runaway wagons, buffalo stampedes - every piece of stock action Katzman could round up. There's probably more gunfire in BLAZING ... than in any serial ever made. It's so fast and furious (and often incoherent) that watched all at one sitting you almost long for a dialogue scene (which is only about one per chapter) to catch your breath!

 WINNERS OF THE WEST (1940 13 chapter Universal serial)
Fighting to advance the great Hartford Transcontinental Railroad through Hellgate Pass, engineer Dick Foran and his trail-blazing pals, James Craig and Tom Fadden, assist the president of the line (Edward Keane) when progress is blocked at every opportunity by self-styled ruler of the prairie domain, trading post owner Harry Woods and his minions (half breed Charles Stevens who leads Chief Yowlachie's redskins on raid after raid after raid, cool, collected and deadly Trevor Bardette and henchies Roy Barcroft, Edgar Edwards, Ed Cobb, Chuck Morrison). Anne Nagel is the headstrong daughter of railroader Keane. Directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor, chapter endings are typical uneventful dust-off-and-move-on Universal cliffhangers. Plenty of serial support from William Desmond, Slim Whitaker (a well-acted death scene), Frank Ellis, Tex Palmer, Hank Worden, Bud Osborne, Ed Cassidy (a sheriff, naturally), Tom London, Al Bridge and Iron Eyes Cody.

 JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN (1947 13 chapter Republic Serial)
Sounding more like a sequel, this was never-the-less the first of three Jesse James Republic serials. (ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES in '48 and JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI in '49 followed.) Following the Northfield, MN, raid in which Jesse is implicated, he (Clayton Moore) and his friend, dreadfully dull actor John Compton, head for Tennessee to escape their outlaw ways. However, they quickly become embroiled in helping farmer Tom London and his daughter Linda Stirling fight off land-grabbing Black Raiders led by land-office operator Tristram Coffin and hirelings Roy Barcroft and Holly Bane who are after a sea of oil underneath the Peaceful Valley farms. Several unique and different chapter endings and great use of the Republic cave set is made in several chapters. Besides stunt doubling for Moore, Tom Steele plays four different roles. Besides Steele, Coffin and Barcroft wade through a terrific succession of henchmen: Ted Mapes, Tex Palmer, Charles King, Fred Graham, Keith Richards (who became Jesse in the third serial), Eddie Parker, Dale Van Sickel, George Chesebro, Gil Perkins, Duke Taylor, Ken Terrell, Nellie Walker, Monte Montague, Carey Loftin.

 LIGHTNING WARRIOR (1931 12 chapter Mascot serial)
The panic stricken settlers of a mining community in the Kern River Valley live in constant fear of Indian raids. A mysterious black-cloaked rider known as the Wolfman is believed to be the leader of the Indians, emitting a long loud howl to call his renegades. Young Frankie Darro's father (Hayden Stevenson) is shot by an arrow but Frankie is rescued by government agent George Brent and his brother's faithful companion, Rinty, who comes to be known by the Indians as the Lightning Warrior. Brent's brother, who is killed by the Wolfman, leaves a "report" in Rinty's collar, opening the door for a series of wild chases and some early '30s hairy-assed stunts. Ch. 10 in particular is crammed with stunts and action on every level! For 12 chapters Brent, Darro, Rin Tin Tin and Georgia Hale, Sheriff Pat O'Malley's adopted daughter, try to uncover the secret identity of the mysterious Wolfman. Is it respected citizen Lafe McKee who will reclaim the gold mine he was selling Frankie's late father if payments are not made? Or is it Indian George (Frank Lanning), mine owner Frank Brownlee, or is it Ted Lorch, Georgia's real father who just escaped prison where he was serving time for a false accusation - or even the Sheriff himself? Crudely made but never unexciting and thrill filled.

 KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED (1940 12 chapter Republic serial)
Just prior to WWII, Nazi saboteur Robert Strange strikes a deal with Canadian mine foreman Bryant Washburn to smuggle pitchblende out of Canada in order to manufacture Compound X needed for magnetic mines to blast the British fleet and destroy their supply lines. Battling Strange's espionage agents (Harry Cording, Tony Paton, Al Taylor) all the way is Sgt. King of the Royal Mounted (Allan Lane), whose father, Inspector King (Herbert Rawlinson) sacrifices his own life to save his son in a dramatic cliffhanger. King (Lane) is aided by Corporal Robert Kellard and his sister Lita Conway whose mine-owner father (Stanley Andrews) is murdered by Washburn to gain control of Compound X. Old timer Budd Buster also lends the Mounties a hand. Watch also for Richard Simmons as one of the Mounties ... he, of course, later became famous TV Mountie Sgt. Preston of the Yukon with his dog Yukon "King" (an inside joke?) Based on Zane Grey's long running comic strip, KING ... is filled with thrills, action (Dave Sharpe doubles Lane) and war time patriotism. (Canada had declared war on Germany in Sept. '39, over a year before the U.S. entered the fray.)

 FIGHTING WITH KIT CARSON (1933 Mascot 12 chapter serial)
Vile trading post owner Noah Beery Sr. hams it up deliciously for 12 chapters, murdering Cheyenne chief Robert Warwick and setting the chief's son (Noah Beery Jr.) and his Indians on the warpath. Beery Sr. schemes to drive the other white settlers out, leaving the fur trade business all to himself. To continually stir up trouble, Beery Sr. employs a band of black cloaked Mystery Riders (Al Bridge, Maston - misspelled Mastyn in the credits - Williams, Frank Ellis, Slim Whitaker, Edward Hearn, Jack Mower) who seem to appear at the oddest times out of nowhere singing an undecipherable refrain as they gallop along. Famous scout Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown) leads a wagon train of federal gold toward the west coast which is looted by Beery Sr. who figures with all this gold he'll be master of the southwest. Brown's pal Edmund Breese hides the gold as Brown and Breese's daughter, Betsy King Ross, continually try to discover who killed the chief and where the gold is hidden. Under Armand Schaeffer's direction, the serial is kept interesting - if not totally coherent at all times - by a constant plenitude of double dealing by Beery Sr. and his renegades. For the record, once again Yakima Canutt, doubling JMB in Ch. 1-2, performs his hair-raising fall into the four-up of horses and death defying slide underneath the stampeding wagon and horse hooves. Biggest detriment to this serial is the overabundance of recaps - in chapters 4, 7, 10, 12. Also this serial has an odd historical importance because co-director Colbert Clark had married Bill Witney's sister and invited 18-year-old director-to-be Bill, who was staying with them while preparing to take the Annapolis entrance exams, to come out on location with him and ride in the various posses with which the serial is filled. Somewhere there's a scene where the Mystery Riders discover there's an undercover lawman among them and find a badge under the cloak of one guy whose face is never seen and gun him down. That man was Bill Witney!

 SIGN OF THE WOLF (1931 Metropolitan 10 chapter serial)
With all its low budget deficiencies, including plot holes you can drive an 18-wheeler through, SIGN OF THE WOLF, Metropolitan's only attempt at a serial, co-directed by Forrest Sheldon and Harry S. Webb, weaves an odd fascination. For one thing, it's the only film I've ever encountered where a man talks to a dog on the phone - and the dog understands! The window repair man must have loved this serial, there are more notes thrown or blow-gunned through windows in this picture than any I've ever seen! Unbelievable but intriguing plot (from writers Betty Burbridge and Karl Krusada) brings forth two radioactive chains capable of transforming simple sand into precious jewels. The chains are stolen by explorer Harry Todd (whose scenery chewing must be seen to be believed) in the Himalayas of India. Escaping with the purloined chains back to the frontier west, Todd brings along a sacred puppy whose breed is the sign of the wolf, "dog true to you always" intones it's seller. For years Todd is sought by the high priest guardian of the jewels, Prince Kuva (Ed Cobb), who eventually locates Todd and his daughter, Virginia Brown Faire, and the dog, now named King. A band of outlaws (Al Ferguson, former silent stars Jack Mower and Jack Perrin, Robert Walker) learn of the chains and for 10 chapters attempt to procure the precious secret for themselves. Fortunately, they are constantly driven back by Virginia's friends, Rex Lease and strapping strongman Joe Bonomo. Chapter 6 includes an out-of-nowhere, must-be-seen-to-be-believed, saloon tap-dance number by an ex-flapper who hangs out in the local bar. Was she the producer or director's girlfriend or what? A feature version is reported to have been edited from the serial, although I've never seen it. I am certain THE LONE TRAIL ('32 Syndicate), also starring Rex Lease and a dog, is not a feature version of SIGN OF THE WOLF, although it is often reported to be so.

 OREGON TRAIL (1939 15 chapter Universal serial)
Loaded with the usual, liberal amount of Universal stock footage (the famous Indians crossing the Wind River from WAR PAINT '26 is used twice!), famous scouts Johnny Mack Brown and Fuzzy Knight are commissioned by Col. Custer (Roy Barcroft in an unusual good-guy role) to unearth a plot by landgrabbers to keep all wagon train settlers off the Oregon Trail. Devious trading post owner James Blaine and his gun-throwers (Jack C. Smith, Charles Stevens, Forrest Taylor, Colin Kenny, Charlie King) throw every nasty trick in the book at settlers Edward LeSaint and his daughter Louise Stanley and orphaned (in Ch. 1) Bill Cody Jr. Chapter endings are pretty standard fare with unimaginative resolutions. Villainy is run-of-the-mill from Blaine and Smith. If you've seen one Johnny Mack Universal western serial (or HEROES OF THE WEST or BATTLING WITH BUFFALO BILL or ...) you've seen a preponderance of OREGON TRAIL. Apparently the scriptwriters got bored around Ch. 9 as continuity gets blown to the four winds for the rest of the serial. A pass is supposedly blocked by a landslide but nothing more is said about it; the wagon train is "leaving in an hour", but it's the next morning when they do; terribly mismatched stock footage is inserted time after time; plot point after plot point is contradicted ... so much so I lost track of it all. At least sidekick Fuzzy Knight is fairly demure and is never given a chance to drive us away by "singing".

 THE SCARLET HORSEMAN (1946 13 chapter Universal serial)
The semi-desert great staked plains (Janos Estacados) of western Texas is the battleground in 1875 for a great struggle. Conflict is planned by conspirators in the nearby town of Forty Four to gain control of the unsuspected wealth in the staked plains for a leader, Matosca, whose identity (at first) is a mystery. Three undercover agents for the state of Texas (Peter Cookson, posing as a surveyor, Paul Guilfoyle, posing as a gunsmith, and practically worthless Cy Kendall) are sent to quell an Indian uprising led by Chief Fred Coby who is influenced by English educated Comanche princess Victoria Horne who masquerades her deeds by working as a servant for ladylike Virginia Christine. Assuming the identity of the Scarlet Horseman, legendary champion of the Comanche, Guilfoyle is able to command the respect of Chief Coby and combat the plots of Matosca, who has been kidnapping the wives and daughters of Texas State senators to compel the legislators to divide Texas and create a new state to be called Matosca. These ladies, known as the Legion of Lost Women, including Helen Bennett and Janet Shaw, wife and daughter of Senator Al Woods, are held prisoner in a cave guarded by the oddest, most offbeat outlaw in serial history, genial Shakespeare-spouting Guy Wilkerson. The mysterious Matosca and Horne are at first at odds with, and then joined by saloon owner Danny Morton, freight line owner Edward M. Howard (sporting the memorable name Zeno Quick) and their gunmen (Jack Ingram, Ed Cobb and sullen, blunderbuss-toting Ralph Lewis) who are running guns to Coby's Comanche. Midway, Cookson and Guilfoyle are mysteriously aided by Harold "Idaho" Goodwin who seems to have his own agenda for capturing Howard. Problem with this, and other Universal serials, is that the players are forced by the script to explain the action that has taken place rather than showing it, thereby deadening any exciting effect. Universal scripters also felt compelled to reiterate every plot-point in every chapter so that by Ch. 8 or 9 you were worn out by the recapitulation. Added to the un-nerving effect of "The Scarlet Horseman" is his incessant whistle - "Tweeee-ta-da-ta-tweee" - which really gets on your nerves by Ch. 9 or so! As usual at Universal, much Indian-raid stock footage is recycled from as far back as the silent era, including those Wind River Indians from WAR PAINT ('26). Loads of familiar faces come - and go just as quickly - throughout the 13 chapters: Ernie Adams, Dick Curtis, Pierce Lyden, Paul Birch, Rex Lease, Frank Lackteen, Ellen Corby, Jack Kirk, Bob Duncan, Budd Buster, Frank McCarroll, Hal Taliaferro, Lee Roberts, Marshall Reed, Jack Rockwell, Hank Patterson, Mauritz Hugo and Ralph Moody.

 ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP (1944 Republic 12 Chapter serial)
Exciting Republic serial based on a story by aspiring teenage actress Ruth Roman, using the Zorro moniker only as a title-drawing card ... Johnston McCulley's character is never mentioned once in the 12 chapters. The story is essentially a Lone Ranger or Zorro set-up, but with a masked girl (Linda Stirling) playing the lead of The Black Whip after her crusading newspaper-editor brother, Jay Kirby, is killed by outlaws (stageline owner Francis McDonald, Hal Taliaferro, John Merton) who are opposing Idaho statehood in 1889. Linda is aided in the tough fist-fight action sequences by Federal Agent George J. Lewis (who actually receives top billing) posing as a railroad survey engineer ... although Linda (or should we say stuntlady Babe De Freest) holds her own in many chapterplay action endings. Glaring Boo-Boo has the calendar in McDonald's office day-after-day stuck on the 29th. Significantly, production on the serial began on July 29, 1944. Incidentally, this was the first of Republic's 66 serials to undergo budget tightening. Previous serials had escalated in cost to $200,000 or more. BLACK WHIP was budgeted at $134,899 and wound up with a negative cost of $145,251. This was accomplished by shortening all but the first chapter running times to 14 1/2 minutes each, where previously interior chapters had run 15 1/2 minutes or more. (Further shortening to 13 1/2 minutes was employed in future serials.) The retrospect episode, missing from the previous 18 Republic serials, was recalled to duty (Ch. 8 here). Also the optical credits - pictures of the lead players in Ch. 1 - an integral part of nearly every prior serial were deleted from here on out. ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP was co-directed by Spencer Bennet and Wallace Grissell with Yakima Canutt credited as handling second-unit action stuff.

 PHANTOM OF THE WEST (1930 Mascot 10 Chapter serial)
Mascot's second all-talking serial (the first is LONE DEFENDER) is a crude, creakily executed affair from director D. Ross Lederman with hammy melodramatic acting on all fronts. Frank Lanning, wrongly accused of having murdered Tom Tyler's father, escapes from prison. He asserts seven men in town know the identity of the real murderer; among them are William Desmond, Tom Santschi, Philo McCullough and Kermit Maynard (totally wasted with one or two lines at most in the whole serial). Eventually, Tyler allies himself with Lanning's daughter, Dorothy Gulliver, to root out the real killer. For 10 episodes everyone is plagued by a notes-on-a-dart-throwing black-cloaked Phantom who, at one time or another, is suspected to be everyone in the serial except who child-like serial logic tells you truly is the actual Phantom. The Phantom commands a band of cloaked Mystery Riders, seemingly a staple ingredient of Mascot serials. Stuttering idiotic comedy relief from Tom Dugan as a wannabe deputy is totally wearing on your sensibilities. As to who's who and what's going on, we actually find out more in the voice over recaps than we do in the actual chapters. The phantasmagorical final denouement is something even Charlie Chan would find hard to believe! Thankfully, this was director D. Ross Lederman's only serial. Born 1894 in Lancaster, PA, he entered movies as an extra in Mack Sennett comedies. Advancing to prop man and assistant director, Warner Bros. put him under contract to direct Rin Tin Tin silents in '27-'28. Following this serial the always budget conscious Lederman signed a five year contract with Columbia where he helmed a host of Tim McCoy westerns and many B-action films. In 1938 he directed TARZAN'S REVENGE with Glenn Morris, then returned to Columbia and Warner Bros. for more B-action and mystery fare. Writer Jon Tuska found Lederman to take "no particular pride in the many films he directed. His principal concern remained budget cutting for its own sake, getting actors to do their jobs themselves with only minimal interference." All of this shows in PHANTOM OF THE WEST, a truly slipshod affair.

 THE MIRACLE RIDER (1935 Mascot 15 chapter serial)
Tom Mix was the ultimate silent western movie star. After a screen absence at the start of the sound era, Universal signed him in 1932 for a series of 9 talkies which were only moderately well received. His time had passed, but Mascot head Nat Levine lured the 55 year old cowboy back for one last fling at stardom in 1935 for his MIRACLE RIDER super-serial which cost a whopping $80,000 to produce as opposed to Mascot's usual $30-$40,000 production cost for a serial. Tom was paid $10,000 a week for four week's work (half the budget right there) in Mascot's only 15 chapter serial. Tom took the assignment figuring the 15 weeks of exposure would help renew interest in his Tom Mix Circus venture. Mascot's gamble paid off. Accustomed to 8 or 9 thousand bookings for their serials, Levine saw Mix and MIRACLE RIDER leap to better than 12,000 bookings, eventually grossing over $1,000,000. Tom Mix ended his film career a winner! Armand Schaefer directed Mix's dramatic scenes with action-master Breezy Eason handling all of the exteriors and much of the second-unit work involving Mix's double, Cliff Lyons. The prologue for the first chapter, "The Vanishing Indian" - which ran a never-to-be-topped 45 minutes - opened in 1777 with the original 13 colonies and traced the Redman's demise through the U.S. westward expansion, halting along the way to include brief segments with Daniel Boone (Jay Wilsey), Davy Crockett, and Buffalo Bill (Earl Dwire). (Stock footage from Mascot's LAST OF THE MOHICANS with an obvious Harry Carey was employed in this historical recap.) In 1912, a young Tom Mix's screen father, Texas Ranger (Pat O'Malley) is killed trying to protect Indian land. It's this wanton act of murder that leads Tom to become a Texas Ranger as an adult when our plot begins in 1935. Like their PHANTOM EMPIRE, Mascot combined the Old West with modern-day cars, trucks, and sci-fi elements including a radio controlled robot glider, The Firebird, and a miracle explosive, X-94. It is the powerful X-94 that drives the simplistic storyline for 15 chapters as devious oilman Zaroff (Charles Middleton) and his underlings attempt to drive the Ravenhead Indian Tribe off their reservation so Zaroff can mine the rich deposits of X-94 and become "the most powerful man in the world." Tom becomes involved in Ch. 1, helping Ravenhead maiden Joan Gale when her Chieftain father (Robert Frazer) is murdered. Middleton is assisted by half-breed Bob Kortman, who aspires to be chief; right-hand man Jason Robards, chemist Niles Welch (misspelled Welsh); trading post owner Edward Hearn and his flunkie Ernie Adams; and range rats Max Wagner, Ed Cobb, Charlie King, Stanley Price, Forrest Taylor, Tom London and George Chesebro. Aiding Tom are Rangers Jack Rockwell and Wally Wales. One of the few real Indians in the cast is Chief John Big Tree who seems to be offering up a sacrifice behind the credits of each chapter title. To the serial's detriment, many of the chapter cliffhangers are unspectacular, being nothing more than Tom being shot at or falling from his horse. Additionally, there are far too many cheat and near-cheat endings/resolutions. For example, at the end of Ch. 5 Tom London rigs a shotgun booby trap for Mix when Tom opens a door. As he does, the shotgun blast fells Mix. But in Ch. 6, Mix stands to one side of the door and opens it, never falling or even acting like he's falling. Then, at the finale of Ch. 6, Tom is felled from Tony as outlaws ride over him. Alas, in Ch. 7 the outlaws only ride slowly up to where Tom's body lies, not over him. There are others. However, these faults aside, just seeing the "grand old man of westerns" - Tom Mix - astride Tony Jr. in action for 15 chapters (with an excellent supporting cast) is enough to recommend this serial.

 THE DEVIL HORSE (1932 Mascot 12 chapter serial)
The father of young Frankie Darro (played at age 5 by Carlie Russell) is murdered by thieves Noah Beery Sr. and J. Paul Jones, leaving the child an orphan. Ala a western-Tarzan-plot, the boy is adopted and raised by a herd of wild horses (rather than gorillas). Years pass, Darro, now a wild boy teenager, witnesses Beery and Jones trying to steal a race horse, El Diablo, and murdering a forest ranger, Lane Chandler. Before he dies Chandler inscribes the names of his killers onto his pinto's hoof. El Diablo escapes and becomes part of a wild herd as does the pinto. Seeking his brother's killer, Ranger Harry Carey finds and educates (as best he can) the young wild boy. Some of director Otto Brower's best scenes in the serial involve Carey teaching Darro the ways of civilized life. For 12 chapters Beery and Jones, with henchman Al Bridge, attempt to recapture El Diablo and present him as a "new discovery", but they are foiled at every turn by Darro who protects the horse who, in turn, protects him. Mascot honcho Nat Levine intended to use Rex, King of the Wild Horses, but for budgetary reasons purchased a 3 year old stallion, Apache, from stuntman/horse wrangler Tracy Layne. Stunts were performed by Yakima Canutt (doubling Carey) and Richard Talmadge (doubling Darro). Much wild horse footage was lensed in Arizona by Brower but, due to cost overruns on this, several recap chapters were inserted in the serial to cut expenses which resulted in, actually, only about nine episodes of original action. Yak reused footage of a harrowing battle between Rex and a painted stallion from his own DEVIL HORSE ('26 Pathé). For the first chapter cliffhanger, Yak (doubling Carey) grabbed hold of Apache's mane with his hands and clamped his legs around Apache's neck from the front. Apache fought wildly to shake Yak loose, creating one of the most spectacular stunts ever filmed. (Yak explains in detail how the shot was accomplished in his biography Stunt Man ('79). When Apache toppled over from Yak's 200 pound frame, Yak was knocked unconscious. The footage was reused in Gene Autry's COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN ('36).

 GORDON OF GHOST CITY (1933 Universal 12 chapter serial)
Buck Jones is hired by rancher William Desmond to put a stop to rustlers who are besieging his ranch. Buck soon finds himself spook hunting in Ghost City where he's met Madge Bellamy who enlists his aid in protecting grandpa Tom Rickett's secret gold strike underneath one of the abandoned stores. Walter Miller, foreman of Desmond's ranch and secret leader of the outlaws, uses Ghost City as a hideout. Making it rough for both Buck and Miller's gang is a mystery man who wants to prevent Rickett from getting the gold. Fighting his way through outlaw gunfire, prairie fires and stampedes for 12 chapters Buck discovers Rickett's own partner, Francis Ford, to be the mystery man, at the same time exposing Miller and Hugh Enfield (supposedly another trusted ranch hand of Desmond's) as the rustlers. Self described as an atheist, a vegetarian and a leftist, Madge Bellamy (born 6/30/1899 in Hillsboro, TX) started working in Denver stock companies, graduating to Broadway, replaced Helen Hayes in "Dear Brutus" and was soon Hollywood bound, starring in a host of silents starting in 1920. Probably best remembered for her roles in LORNA DOONE ('22) and John Ford's THE IRON HORSE ('24), her strong will belied her on screen innocence and led to a downturn in her career and a dismissal from Fox. Out of work as silents turned to sound, she re-emerged in Bela Lugosi's WHITE ZOMBIE in '32 and worked sporadically through '36. In '43 she made headlines when she was arrested and sentenced to six months in jail for shooting and wounding her rich lover, millionaire lumberman A. Stanford Murphy, after he jilted her to marry another woman. She only appeared as a character actress in one other film, Bob Steele's NORTHWEST TRAIL in '45. Living in poverty in California, her biography, A Darling Of The Twenties, was published a month or so after her death on January 24, 1990, in Uplands, CA.

 THE LAST FRONTIER (1932 RKO serial)
Produced by Van Buren Productions, this is the only time RKO ventured into the realm of cliffhanger serials. Newspaperman Creighton (Lon) Chaney (Jr.) - who never works at his job - masquerades as the Mexican-speaking Black Ghost to thwart gun smugglers led by supposedly upstanding land agent Richard Neill. He wants the Indians (led by Chief Frank Lackteen) to go on the warpath, drive the settlers out, and leave the land to him. Neill is in partnership with Francis X. Bushman Jr. (who inherited absolutely none of his Dad's acting ability) who is married to cute blonde Judith Barrie who begs him to break free of Neill and his gang and settle down. The Black Ghost has to constantly protect and save from various perils not only Barrie but Dorothy Gulliver, the daughter of Cavalry Colonel Claude Peyton, and the girl Lon/The Black Ghost loves. Neill and Bushman's gang includes LeRoy Mason, former silent star Pete Morrison, Fred Burns and Joe Bonomo (portraying an outlaw named Joe Burke - not the Kit Gordon role he's credited with on screen. Matter of fact, there is no Kit Gordon in the serial!) William Desmond appears and disappears in Ch. 1 as General Custer. Chaney's young girl ward is Mary Joe Desmond who seems to always be cared for by Slim Cole, a trying, grate-on-your-nerves "comedy-relief" character whose only other film seems to be Tom Mix's TEXAS BAD MAN. Easy to see why! On the other hand, Desmond is an acceptable child actor, however this seems, also, to be her only film work. (Wonder if she could be William Desmond's granddaughter or some relation?) Van Buren Prod., headed by Amedee J. Van Buren, was a subsidiary of RKO that specialized in shorts and cartoons. Wild animal trapper Frank Buck was contracted about this time by Van Buren to go to Malaya and film wild animals being captured for 13 short subjects. Buck's 125,000 feet of footage turned instead into BRING 'EM BACK ALIVE ('32 RKO). Van Buren also produced Buck's follow-up wild animal adventures WILD CARGO ('34) and FANG AND CLAW ('35).

 BLACK GHOST (1932 RKO)
It is very difficult to turn a four hour serial into a coherent 55 minute western, and RKO failed miserably here. Produced by Van Buren Prod. and distributed by RKO, THE LAST FRONTIER was their only serial venture, directed by long-time serial vet Spencer Gordon Bennet. Newspaperman Creigton (Lon) Chaney (Jr.) masquerades as the Mexican-speaking Black Ghost to thwart gun smugglers Le Roy Mason, Francis X. Bushman Jr., Pete Morrison and supposedly respectable citizen Richard Neill. With over three hours of material edited out to make the feature, the character development of Cavalry Col. Claude Peyton and his daughter Dorothy Gulliver (the love and rescue interest for the Black Ghost), Bushman's sister Judith Barrie, youngster Mary Jo Desmond, General Custer (William Desmond), Indian Chief Frank Lackteen ... even Bushman's role ... are all reduced to mere cameos.

 PHANTOM RIDER (1936 Universal serial)
Hidden Valley is being terrorized by a band of outlaws secretly (but obvious to anyone who knows westerns) led by respected rancher Harry Woods. The outlaw band (James Mason, Charlie King, Jim Corey, Lee Shumway, Charles LeMoyne) are trying to drive out the settlers because they know the railroad is coming through. Not so incidentally, there's a hidden gold mine on the property. To thwart Woods and his hirelings, and not give away his identity, Buck becomes a dressed all in white mysterious Phantom Rider, aiding the nesters at every turn and foiling every outlaw plan. Only Judge Frank LaRue knows the Phantom Rider is Buck Jones, a State Ranger sent by the Governor to track down the outlaws. Unfortunately, the disguise is absurd and cumbersome becoming totally ludicrous when Buck is forced to don it while riding at full gallop. Along the way Buck continually aids pretty rancher Marla Shelton and her eastern girlfriend Diana Gibson. Buck himself is aided by George 'Spooky' Cooper who works at Shelton's ranch. In several chapters the action is slowed by a gay caballero singer or Cactus Mack and his Saddle Tramps who sing the same song over and over. Obviously a concession to the onslaught of singing cowboy westerns.

 DAREDEVILS OF THE WEST (1943 Republic Serial)
The only "lost" Republic serial, only chapters 2, 4, 5, 12 are available for viewing at this time. Although visuals do exist in some form on all 12 chapters, unfortunately, audio is missing on several chapters. Much restoration must be done before this truly unrelentingly action-packed serial can be totally appreciated as one of Republic's best westerns. The four chapters that do exist are filled with wild, free-wheeling, stunt-filled fights and action bravado. When stageline owner Kay Aldridge receives a franchise grant to put a new road through the lawless Comanche Strip, attorney Ted Adams and land and cattle broker Robert Frazer pull every dirty trick ever seen in serials to stop her, realizing the completed road will culminate in homesteaders occupying the strip, thus stopping their intended purchase of the 500,000 acres for grazing land. The lying, shifty pair hire outlaws William Haade and George J. Lewis and a band of renegade Indians to do all their dirty work. Aldridge and her foreman, Eddie Acuff, find help in the form of cavalry Captain Allan Lane who bests Haade and Lewis at every sneaky deal they try to pull for the thrill-packed 12-chapters.

 RAIDERS OF GHOST CITY (1944 Universal serial)
In 1865, during the latter part of the Civil War, a gang of supposed Confederates raid all gold shipments destined for Union headquarters in Washington coming from Oro Grande, California. In reality, the raiders are a blind, headed up by Prussian secret agents Lionel Atwill and Countess Virginia Christine who are amassing gold in order to purchase Alaska. Sent to break up the plot is Union Secret Service Agent Capt. Dennis Moore. Once in Oro Grande, he is befriended by Idaho (Joe Sawyer) and pretty Wanda McKay, the local Wells Fargo agent. The Purssian agents make their headquarters in Oro Grande at George Eldredge's Golden Eagle saloon while the raiders' hideaway is beneath a barn in a nearby ghost town. The cast is rounded out by Eddy Waller as friendly Doc Blair; Addison Richards as a Union cavalry captain; Regis Toomey as a loyal Confederate duped by the Prussians; Emmett Vogan as a Prussian spy; and Jack Rockwell, Jack Ingram, Ernie Adams and Ed Cobb as Atwill's gold raiders. Dennis Moore demonstrates here why he should have been a B-western star in this quite good 13 chapter Universal serial.

 CANADIAN MOUNTIES VS. ATOMIC INVADERS (1953 Republic serial)
Derivative, repetitive bottom-of-the-cliffhanger-barrel latter day Republic serial loaded with stock footage from CALL OF THE YUKON feature ('38) as well as KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED ('40) and KING OF THE MOUNTIES ('42) serials. The plotline deals with a foreign power's attempts to build a missile base in the Canadian wilderness from which to launch strikes against the U.S. Mountie Bill Henry and undercover agent Susan Morrow battle saboteurs Arthur space, Dale Van Sickel and Mike Ragan for 12 cheapo chapters.

 VIGILANTES ARE COMING (1936 Republic serial)
Fred Kohler is an ambition-mad dictator of California who would turn it into a Russian colony. Through his illegal gold mining activities, Kohler allies himself with Russian Count Robert Warwick and his Cossacks led by Bob Kortman. When Robert Livingston's father tries to stop Kohler he is murdered by Kohler's men (John Merton, Yakima Canutt, Bud Osborne, Stanley Blystone). Forming a vigilante band, Livingston becomes the mysterious, avenging Eagle to prevent Kohler's conquest of California. He's aided by two tough mountain-men, Raymond Hatton and Big Boy Williams, as well as by mining engineer Lloyd Ingraham and his daughter, Kay Hughes, both held prisoner by Kohler. Sadly, several cliffhangers are out and out cheats or near cheats. Also note the inexhaustible supply of whips The Eagle seems to possess. Constant action, but somehow THE VIGILANTES ARE COMING never manages to raise the excitement to a fever pitch.

 DON DAREDEVIL RIDES AGAIN (1951 Republic serial)
With TV making vast inroads into the theatre-going habits of the audience, short subjects were coming to an end or cutting budgets drastically. DON DAREDEVIL RIDES AGAIN cut back on the inflationary production costs at Republic for serials by utilizing stock footage from ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP ('44). Republic could no longer make a new Zorro serial as the rights to the character had expired in 1950, so they used the costume and renamed Ken Curtis' character Don Daredevil. Another cost-saver for Republic by this time was the drastic reduction in the supporting cast. For 12 chapters Don Daredevil fought, over and over, political boss Roy Barcroft and his two henchies, Lane Bradford and John Cason, as the crooks tried to overturn by devious means original Spanish land grants. Problem with Ken Curtis was the same as in his Columbia westerns; he was just a little smallish and a bit low-key for an action hero. Curtis finally came into his own (as an actor - he was always a fine singer) as Festus on TV's GUNSMOKE.

 RIDERS OF DEATH VALLEY (1941 Universal 15 Chapter Serial)
Grossly over-rated "Million Dollar Serial" has a great cast but Oliver Drake's plot amounts to nothing more than one long running gun battle. You've never seen so many shots fired with so few men being hit in any western in your life. As for the large cast of name players, they simply serve to get in one another's way, leaving most of them with nothing to do but ride, shoot and say a few lines here and there. As a matter of fact with no explanation, you'll notice one of star Dick Foran's "riders", Noah Beery Jr., disappears completely half-way through the serial. Simple plot has Dick Foran and Jeanne Kelly (aka Jean Brooks) inheriting the lost Aztec mine. Swindlers Monte Blue and James Blaine want to grab it away from them and hire outlaw Charles Bickford and his gang to do so (Lon Chaney Jr., Dick Alexander, Ethan Laidlaw, Roy Barcroft, Jack Rockwell, Ted Adams). Foran's 'Riders of Death Valley' pals, Buck Jones, Leo Carrillo, Big Boy Williams, Noah Beery Jr., Glenn Strange ride and fight to help Foran for 15 chapters of mediocre material. Producer Henry MacRae should have spent more on a story instead of his "million dollar" cast. Co-directed by Ray Taylor/Ford Beebe.

 DESPERADOES OF THE WEST (1950 Republic serial)
Twelve chapters of non-stop action with the greed for oil the focal point as Richard Powers (Tom Keene), slouchy Lee Phelps, pert Judy Clark and her father, Cliff Clark, head a rancher's cooperative struggling to bring in their oil wells on time against the specter of crooked oil lease agent I. Stanford Jolley (top hat and all) and his hired henchmen Roy Barcroft, Lee Roberts, Dale Van Sickel bent on securing the property for an Eastern syndicate. Stock from KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED serial ('41), Allan Lane Red Ryder titles and RAIDERS OF THE RANGE ('42) is neatly incorporated into Fred C. Brannon's serial.

 RIDING WITH BUFFALO BILL (1954 Columbia serial)
Fifteen chapters of non-stop action and stock footage from TEX GRANGER, DEADWOOD DICK and Bill Elliott serials as two - count 'em, two-ridin' terrors (Marshall Reed and Rick Vallin), with the help of old-timer William Fawcett, continuously battle boss Michael Fox and his outlaws (Jack Ingram, Gregg Barton, Pierce Lyden). Writer George Plympton stitched together a more-or-less "script" from very liberal doses of stock. These latter day patchwork Columbia serials must have been an editor's nightmare! Some of the stock footage is repeated as much as three times in this serial. See the originals instead.

 CODY OF THE PONY EXPRESS (1950 Columbia serial)
Mediocre Sam Katzman Columbia serial suffers from under utilization of Jock O'Mahoney (he performs hardly any stunts and few fights), sloppy scripting, plot inconsistencies galore and weak chapter endings/resolutions. Army Lieut. O'Mahoney is assigned as an undercover investigator to bring to justice a band of outlaws headed by rotten attorney George J. Lewis (Pierce Lyden, Rick Vallin, Jack Ingram, Ben Corbett, Ross Elliott, Rusty Wescoatt, Jim Diehl). Jocko is aided by young pony rider, Bill Cody (Dickie Moore), to whom all the real action and chapter endings fall. Also helping Jocko and Dickie are Peggy Stewart, Tom London, William Fawcett. Directed by serial ace Spencer Gordon Bennet - on several of his off days.

 LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1932 Mascot serial)
Serial producer Nat Levine was certainly not the first to bring James Fennimore Cooper's classic "Last of the Mohicans" novel to the screen. As early as 1909 D. W. Griffith made a one-reeler, LEATHERSTOCKING. Two years later, two films, one German and one U.S., were released. The U.S. version was LAST OF THE MOHICANS ('20) with Wallace Beery. Now, twelve years later, Levine released what is arguably the best all around chapterplay Mascot produced. In 1757, during the war between France and England for possession of the new country, we find a party of four people - Cora Munro (Edwina Booth) and her sister Alice (Lucile Browne), daughters of British Army officer Edward Hearn on the way to his fort; their escort Major Duncan Heyward (Walter Miller) of the Royal Americans who is in love with Alice; and David Gamet (Nelson McDowell) their singing teacher. They are attacked and captured, over and over, by Indians under the command of Magua (Bob Kortman), a cruel and vicious Huron chief whose allegiance is to the French, led by General Montcalm (Mischa Auer). The party is aided by woodsman Harry Carey, the Sagamore chief (Hobart Bosworth) and his son Uncas (Frank Coghlan Jr.), the last of the Mohicans (as it turns out). The principal action is constructed of chases and rescues back and forth but there are some expertly staged battle sequences (Yakima Canutt was on hand) and the story has a coherence and logic often lacking in other Mascot serials.

 VANISHING LEGION (1931 Mascot serial)
Mysterious influences are afoot to prevent the development of oil fields being worked by drilling contractor Harry Carey. Meanwhile, young Frankie Darro's father (Edward Hearn) is trying to clear a murder charge against him. They are all plagued by a mysterious band of horsemen known as The Vanishing Legion led by Philo McCullough. The master villain, whom the audience never sees til the last chapter, is The Voice who speaks via shortwave radio messages to his hirelings led by Bob Kortman. Darro befriends a wild horse, Rex, and Carey befriends Darro as they strive for 12 chapters to clear up the muddled mystery. It turns out, not all that coherently, that Edwina Booth (a terrible actress also seen with Carey in his MGM classic TRADER HORN and in his later serial LAST OF THE MOHICANS) is the rightful heir to the oil company. She has been working undercover (as a secretary) with the Vanishing Legion riders who want to see she receives her rightful inheritance. Also in the cast - kindly lawyer Lafe McKee; Sheriff William Desmond (overacting with a vengeance); nurse Olive Fuller Golden (Carey's real life wife) in league with Desmond; former silent stars Dick Hatton and Pete Morrison; strong man Joe Bonomo and stuntman Yakima Canutt.

 FLAMING FRONTIERS (1938 Universal serial)
Indian fighter and scout Johnny Mack Brown aids Ralph Bowman (later John Archer), his sister Eleanor Hansen and their father Eddy Waller (until he's killed off early on) against two factions of outlaws who want to steal their gold mine. Trader James Blaine wants to marry Hansen and gain access to the mine that way while saloon owner Charles Middleton (who doesn't show up til midway through the serial) wants to grab the mine by trickery and force. Their menacing minions consist of Charles Stevens (as another evil half breed he played so well), Roy Barcroft, William Royle, Ed Cassidy, Charles King, Jack Roper, Al Bridge, Karl Hackett and John Rutherford - who plays two individual roles as a heavy and as Brown's pal when he's needed most, Buffalo Bill. 15 chapters of action from directors Ray Taylor and Alan James. Filmed around Kernville, CA, with plenty of Indian attack stock footage lifted from Hoot Gibson's silent serial THE FLAMING FRONTIER ('26). This footage was used and reused in Universal's serials.

 ROAR OF THE IRON HORSE (1951 Columbia 15 chapter serial)
Building the transcontinental railroad, chief engineer Hal Landon, his sister Virginia Herrick and superintendent Jack Ingram are besieged from every side by outlaws (Pierce Lyden, Myron Healey, Tommy Farrell, Frank Ellis, Mickey Simpson) led by a mystery boss who is - well we won't spoil it for you; construction problems stirred up by foreman Rusty Wescoatt; Indians, and obstinate, huge landowner The Baron (George Eldredge) and his henchies (Hugh Prosser, Dick Curtis). Special agent Jock O'Mahoney, dispatched from Washington to investigate, enlists the aid of grizzled old timer William Fawcett and young Indian chief Rick Vallin to battle all these menaces. As in most Columbia serials, there are various factions working against and double-crossing one another - as well as enough plot inconsistencies to run the railroad through. However, producer Sam Katzman's IRON HORSE really roars in the capable directorial hands of serial vets Spence Bennet and Tommy Carr, with enough well staged action to sustain the excitement for 15 chapters - especially allowing Jocko stunt after stunt and an abundance of fights. Also thank Katzman for loosening the purse strings to get away from the usual Hollywood western locations and film ROAR ... in the Carson City, NV, area.

 ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES (1948 13 Chapter Republic serial)
Having done well with JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN in '47, Republic released this sequel embracing both James brothers. In Chapter 1 a few lines from Jesse (Clayton Moore again) to brother Frank (an excellent Steve Darrell), friend Stanley Andrews and his daughter Noel Neill bridge the storylines. This carry-over leads to Jesse and Frank attempting to go straight and pay back some of the people claiming to have been hurt by the James gang. Half-owners with Andrews in a silver mine, the James brothers hire mining engineer John Crawford to conduct a feasibility survey. Locating a rich vein of gold instead of silver during his tests, the ambitious Crawford murders Andrews in a fake mine accident, selfishly keeping his discovery confidential as he hires outlaw George J. Lewis to disrupt all the James brothers' mining efforts - which he does for 13 action-packed episodes (stunt coordinated and co-directed by Yakima Canutt) crammed with stock footage from THE ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER serial. Certainly nothing here to coincide with history, but it makes for one of Republic's last really good western serials. A third James brothers serial was released by Republic in '49 with the brothers then being played by Keith Richards and Robert Bice in THE JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI, no doubt because by this time Moore had signed on to become TV's LONE RANGER.

 PAINTED STALLION (1937 Republic 12 chapter serial)
On the trail from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, settlers and wagon trains are plagued by Indians, renegades and outlaws. The Rider of the Painted Stallion (Julia Thayer - later Jean Carmen) was a mysterious Indian girl sworn to assist the settlers and defeat outlawry. She shot whistling arrows that foretold danger and killed off attackers. (Every chapter except #9, 10 had Thayer zinging the whistling arrows from astride her paint horse.) The basic plot has corrupt Spanish dictator of California, LeRoy Mason, and his henchmen (Duncan Renaldo, Charlie King, Maston Williams) determined to prevent a trade agreement treaty with Mexican officials that would depose his position. To do this, Mason must destroy Hoot Gibson's wagon train before it reaches Santa Fe. One member of that train is government scout Ray Corrigan who is bringing the treaty to be signed. Aiding Corrigan and Gibson are Hal Taliaferro as Jim Bowie, Jack Perrin as Davy Crockett and Sammy McKim as a very young Kit Carson. Also along - although we wish they weren't - are Z-grade dumb comics Ed Platt as Oscar and Lou Fulton as Elmer. PAINTED STALLION is a continual 12 chapter volley of action, thrills and excitement, co-directed by Alan James and William Witney in his first directorial job replacing a drunken Ray Taylor on location in St. George, Utah. The "Wagon Train" song a group of frontiersmen sing in Ch. 1 was composed by Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette. Yakima Canutt performs his famous drop under the stage and back up again in Ch. 8. Two pieces of oft-used stock footage turn up - the famous Indians on the Wind River from Tim McCoy's WAR PAINT ('26) and the horse fight between a paint (with no resemblance to Thayer's mount) and a black. Additionally, the exact same footage of Ray Corrigan "falling" (through a trapdoor and down a ravine) then catching himself on a root vine is used at the start of Ch. 9 and 11. Unfortunately, there are a couple of glaring Boo-Boos in the serial. Ray Corrigan's character name is spelled "Clark Stuart" in recap headings, but "Clark Stewart" on official papers in Ch. 5. Ch. 6 shows Corrigan jumping from a burning wagon before it goes over the cliff, footage that should have been saved for the outtake in Ch. 7.

 SON OF ZORRO (1946 Republic 13 Chapter Serial)
Ex-cavalry Captain George Turner returns home after the Civil War intent on practicing law. Finding the county rife with political corruption, Turner assumes his ancestral Zorro guise to combat Sheriff Ed Cassidy, Judge Ernie Adams, and lawless muscleman Roy Barcroft, a greedy triumvirate bleeding the local citizenry dry through exorbitant property and toll road taxes. Turner, assisted by ranch foreman Stanley Price and postmistress Peggy Stewart, beats the crooked politicians (working for an unrevealed til the 13th chapter mastermind) at their own game, operating outside the law as Zorro. Well staged fights and action, but you've-seen-it-all-before Republic material - not one new idea in this serial. Couple of glaring Boo Boos and a cheat ending: Badmen Al Ferguson and Cactus Mack are killed together at the end of Ch. 1, but reappear together in Ch. 7, just as they were. In Ch. 11, George Turner walks into Tom London's store. Tom says, "Hiya Jeff" (Turner's screen name) but Ed Cobb says, "Hello George". The cheat comes at the end of Ch. 6 when a fusillade of guns are fired at Turner and he falls, But, at the start of Ch. 7, Pancho (Stanley Price) rides into town garbed as Zorro and the gunfire is directed toward him. Turner never falls!

 TEX GRANGER (1948 Columbia 15 Chapter Serial)
This could have been an excellent serial - it has all the right ingredients: a mysterious black clad hero, two outlaw gangs, a strong middleman playing the two gangs off against one another and a solid supporting cast. The problem is Derwin Abrahams' often slapdash direction with some very sloppy continuity midway and several weak chapter endings. Robert Kellard was not a strong enough hero, having partaken of a few too many pies and cookies since his lead in DRUMS OF FU MANCHU eight years earlier. All the real interest actually lies with Smith Ballew as Blaze Talbot, the renegade who is appointed sheriff by town boss I. Stanford Jolley and eventually begins to take over by pitting Jolley's gang against an outlaw band run by Jack Ingram. Coming to town at the same time is Tex Granger who purchases the local newspaper to combat Jolley's outlawry with the pen but, secretly, becomes the Midnight Rider of the Plains battling both Jolley and Ingram's bandit gangs. Tex is aided by the ever lovely Peggy Stewart, youngster Buzz Henry, old-timer Britt Wood and a dog, Duke, who often steals the show. Even under Abraham's less-than-stellar direction, a strong cast, constant movement and plot intrigue (scripted by serial vets Arthur Hoerl, Lewis Clay, Harry Fraser and Royal Cole) keep TEX GRANGER interesting for 15 chapters. The character was purportedly based on Tex's adventures in CALLING ALL BOYS and TEX GRANGER but bears no resemblance to the comic book hero.

 RUSTLERS OF RED DOG (1935 Universal 12 Chapter Serial)
The second of four times Universal recycled the basic premise of a tough peace officer trying to retire but being forced back into fighting for justice. Originally made as LAW AND ORDER in '32 with Walter Huston, the idea is aided and abetted in this Johnny Mack Brown serial by constant Indian attacks (usually spurred on by the "rustlers" - actually they're after gold not cattle): Harry Woods and a vast contingent of badmen - Jim Corey, Ed Cobb, Hal Taliaferro, Al Ferguson, Art Mix, Bud Osborne, Fredric MacKaye and Monte Montague. Chapter 1-5 ends up being one big, long, after-a-while-boring fight with a ton of silent stock footage Indians. The constant Indian battles are so much padding for the slim storyline as Johnny Mack and his pals, Walter "Deacon" Miller and Raymond Hatton, help heroine Joyce Compton hold onto her gold. The idea was revived in 1940, again titled LAW AND ORDER and starring Johnny Mack. The final reincarnation came 13 years later in 1953 with Ronald Reagan's LAW AND ORDER.

 VALLEY OF VANISHING MEN (1942 Columbia 15 chapter serial)
Wild Bill Elliott, undercover American agent, battles a secret Raider organization led by Kenneth MacDonald who kidnapped Bill's father to toil with others in his underground slave gold mine. MacDonald has joined forces with a renegade European general (Arno Frey) who hopes to defeat Benito Juarez, the legal presidente of Mexico. Unlike Elliott's first two Columbia serials, GREAT ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL HICKOK ('38) and OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON ('39), this one is in the lesser-producer hands of Larry Darmour. Although directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, the script from Harry Fraser, Lewis Clay and George Gray is episodically inconsistent. For instance - why does MacDonald bother (early on) to wear a gold mask when Bill and others already know who he is? MacDonald's henchies in their ghost town hideaway are crooked sheriff Roy Barcroft, in-town spy Robert Fiske and gunmen Jack Ingram, George Chesebro, Tom London and John Shay. That's a tough band for even Elliott to deal with for 15 chapters, especially when his only aid comes from bumbling, out-of-place-in-westerns, hillbilly comic Slim Summerville. Too bad - the title and premise promise much and deliver very little.

 PHANTOM EMPIRE (1935 Mascot serial)
Nat Levine was the motion picture entrepreneur at the head of Mascot Pictures who specialized in serials and B-features. Levine used stars on their way down (Harry Carey, Ken Maynard, Bob Custer, Tom Mix), non-actor names from the sporting or circus world (Clyde Beatty, Red Grange) and stars to be (John Wayne, George Brent, Boris Karloff, Johnny Mack Brown - and Gene Autry). Levine met Gene in Chicago in 1933 and put he, Smiley Burnette and Frankie Marvin under contract to Mascot for $100, $75 and $60 a week respectively. Then Mascot released its only feature western IN OLD SANTA FE starring Ken Maynard and featuring a ranch-party sequence with Gene, Smiley and Frankie. Under Levine's guidance Gene spent four months studying with an acting coach and training with two stuntmen. For experience, Levine then gave Autry and Burnette small roles in Ken Maynard's serial, MYSTERY MOUNTAIN. Maynard's hot temper caused Levine and Maynard to part company, however, Levine had already planned a second Maynard serial, THE PHANTOM EMPIRE. He'd been grooming Gene Autry and the response to Gene from audiences who'd seen IN OLD SANTA FE was positive, so he elected to go with his instincts to star Gene as a singing radio cowboy in an expensive (by Mascot standards) 12 chapter combination western/science-fiction cliffhanger. Levine was actually hedging his bet. By combining two disparate genres, if PHANTOM EMPIRE failed or alienated audiences with its Sci-Fi elements, the serial could certainly be counted on to succeed as a western. In fact, it succeeded on all levels and made a star out of the fledgling cowboy singer. A wilder, more preposterous screenplay had never been produced and a less likely, unknown star could hardly be imagined. Levine backed up Gene with juvenile stars Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross, both daredevil riders. Darro was a seasoned actor who had already starred in five serials for Levine's Mascot and cute, freckled, 12 year old "World's Champion Trick Rider" Betsy King Ross came to Hollywood in '33 to appear in SMOKE LIGHTNING with George O'Brien, then co-starred at Mascot in Johnny Mack Brown's FIGHTING WITH KIT CARSON serial ('33). Shrewdly, Levine heralded "The Phantom Empire" as "Mascot's greatest chapter-play achievement." And that it was - combining Murania, a futuristic subterranean city five miles beneath the surface peopled by a super-scientific race ruled by a beautiful queen, with the Junior Thunder Riders, a hard-riding horde of juvenile horsemen with a "To the Rescue" motto, and singing western radio star, Gene Autry. Thrown into the mix by directors Otto Brower and "Breezy" Eason were robots, television, death-rays, flame guns, airplanes, rich radium deposits sought by a devious band of scientists, the murder of Gene's partner, broad comedy from Smiley Burnette and William Moore (later disc jockey Peter Potter) and country music. How could it fail to entertain a Depression era audience anxious for escapism? The complex, yet somehow basic plot has discredited scientist Professor J. Frank Glendon seeking the entrance to the lost kingdom of Murania, rich in radium deposits. On the pretense of a vacation, Glendon and his cohorts come to Radio Ranch, a resort owned by Gene Autry and his partner. Radio Ranch is kept solvent by its daily radio broadcasts featuring Gene and his Radio Rangers. Unless Gene appears on the air each day at 2pm for the radio show, the radio contract will be cancelled and the ranch will be lost. (This ridiculous subplot later finds Gene broadcasting remotely from a shack and even an airplane!) Teenaged youngsters, Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross, organize a group of Junior Thunder Riders after nearly being captured by the masked and caped Muranian horsemen who sound like thunder when they ride to the surface world. With tourists and Radio Ranch in full swing, Glendon is prevented from going about his nefarious business of searching for the vast radium deposits they have detected. His plan is to get rid of Gene and see Radio Ranch deserted, so he murders Gene's partner during a radio broadcast and frames Gene. Meanwhile, far beneath the earth's surface, in Murania, Queen Tika (Dorothy Christy) observes everything taking place by means of radium-controlled television. She determines the only way to protect her kingdom is to do away with Gene, leaving nothing at Radio Ranch to attract tourist - surface dwellers. Eventually, Gene, Frankie and Betsy fall into the hands of the Muranians with Tika ordering Gene's execution. Saved by treacherous Muranian Prime Minister Wheeler Oakman, Gene and his friends escape several perils and fight their way back to the surface. Oakman has planned a revolt to overthrow Queen Tika, but it rages out of control, destroying Murania and all its people. Returning to Radio Ranch in time for his daily broadcast, Gene tricks a confession from Glendon and saves the day for all concerned. For sheer lunacy, innocence and zany charm, there are few serials that can top THE PHANTOM EMPIRE. It also was a groundbreaking serial, establishing a vogue for science-fiction chapterplays like "Flash Gordon" a year later and popularizing the new genre of singing cowboy westerns headed up by Gene himself. Two feature versions of THE PHANTOM EMPIRE were released in April 1940. RADIO RANCH, adapted by Gerald and Maurice Geraghty, from Mascot, and the less common MEN WITH STEEL FACES released simultaneously in New York by Times Films. Both ran 70 minutes.

 RADIO RANCH (1940 Mascot)
A speedy, well put together 69 min condensation of Gene Autry's classic PHANTOM EMPIRE serial. The serial was an enormous smash in 1935, so it was natural - especially with Gene's overwhelming success at Republic - that producer Nat Levine would re-issue the serial as a feature five years later. Like the full 12 chapter serial, RADIO RANCH combines Murania, a futuristic subterranean city five miles beneath the surface peopled by a super-scientific race ruled by a beautiful queen, with the Junior Thunder Riders, a hard-riding horde of juvenile horsemen with a "To the Rescue" motto, and singing western radio star, Gene Autry. Thrown into the mix were robots, television, death-rays, flame guns, airplanes, rich radium deposits sought by a devious band of scientists, the murder of Gene's partner, broad comedy from Smiley Burnette and William Moore (later disc jockey Peter Potter) and country music. The complex, yet somehow basic, plot has discredited scientist Professor J. Frank Glendon seeking the entrance to the lost kingdom of Murania, rich in radium deposits. On the pretense of a vacation, Glendon and his cohorts come to Radio Ranch, a resort owned by Gene Autry and his partner. Radio Ranch is kept solvent by its daily radio broadcasts featuring Gene and his Radio Rangers. Unless Gene appears on the air each day at 2pm for the radio show, the radio contract will be cancelled and the ranch will be lost. Teenaged youngsters, Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross, organize a group of Junior Thunder Riders after nearly being captured by the masked and caped Muranian horsemen who sound like thunder when they ride to the surface world. With tourists and Radio Ranch in full swing, Glendon is prevented from going about his nefarious business of searching for the vast radium deposits they have detected. His plan is to get rid of Gene and see Radio Ranch deserted, so he murders Gene's partner during a radio broadcast and frames Gene. Meanwhile, far beneath the earth's surface, in Murania, Queen Tika (Dorothy Christy) observes everything taking place by means of radium-controlled television. She determines the only way to protect her kingdom is to do away with Gene, leaving nothing at Radio Ranch to attract tourist-surface dwellers. Eventually, Gene, Frankie and Betsy fall into the hands of the Muranians with Tika ordering Gene's execution. Saved by treacherous Muranian Prime Minister Wheeler Oakman, Gene and his friends escape and fight their way back to the surface. Oakman has planned a revolt to overthrow Queen Tika, but it rages out of control, destroying Murania and all its people. Returning to Radio Ranch in time for his daily broadcast, Gene tricks a confession from Glendon and saves the day for all concerned.

 OVERLAND MAIL (1942 Universal serial)
A trio of heroes, government man (and unlikely lead) Lon Chaney Jr., his sidekick Noah Beery Jr. and frontiersman Don Terry, investigate a breakdown of overland mail delivery in the western states. The mail contract belongs to Tom Chatterton and his daughter Helen Parrish but is secretly desired by Noah Beery Sr., whom they believe to be their friend, and his cohorts Harry Cording, Robert Barron, renegade Indian Charles Stevens, Carleton Young and Riley Hill. Through 15 chapters of attacks, equipment failures and ambushes, Beery Sr. plots to ruin Chatterton's overland service and take over the million dollar mail contract. There's certainly plenty of action, but most the chapter resolves are boring and unimaginative, with far too many in the simple get-up-dust-off-and-walk-away category. In the early chapters, the endless Indian attacks are full of stock footage and repetitive action from earlier Universal serials. Several gaping plot holes in various chapters don't lend credibility either. Unbelievably, Bob Baker, although billed 5th, is barely noticeable in chapters 1 and 14 only. Baker's starring and co-starring days were over with Universal obviously simply putting him to work filling out his contract.

 DANGERS OF THE CANADIAN MOUNTED (1948 Republic serial)
Mountie Jim Bannon battles a tough gang, ostensibly headed by Anthony Warde but secretly bossed by the mysterious "Chief", who are searching for riches left by Genghis Khan's treasure hunting ships of the13th century. To do so without interference, the gang tries every dirty trick in the book to prevent the territory from being opened up to homesteaders. Plenty of action that incorporates much stock footage from Allan Lane's two Republic Mountie serials. Curio - listen for Don Barry's voice on the phone in Ch. 4. Leading lady Virginia Belmont's younger brother, Dan, is Bill Van Sickel, real life son of stuntman Dale Van Sickel (who has about five different roles himself in this 12 chapter serial.)

 THE RED RIDER (1934 Universal serial)
If watched in one marathon 4 1/2 hour sitting, this Buck Jones 15 chapter serial plays more like a full, albeit extended, movie rather than a chapterplay. In truth, considering some of the padding and weak chapter endings, perhaps Universal should have released it as a feature - or at least cut it down, 12 chapters would have sufficed. Redheaded Sheriff Buck Jones resigns to clear his pal Grant Withers of murder charges. Following a trail of marijuana cigarettes (!) left by the real killer (Walter Miller), Buck goes to work on a ranch near the Mexican border. Buck finds his old pal involved with Miller's gang (headed up by Mexican rustler Richard Cramer) trying to clear himself. On the ranch Buck is befriended by Edmund Cobb and falls in love with Marion Shilling (an easy job to handle) as they expose Miller's smuggling racket. Unbelievably, Cobb gets to "sing" a few times during the serial in an obvious spoof of the upcoming wave of "singing cowboys". Also in the strong cast - Williams Desmond (as the Sheriff), Dennis Moore, John Merton, Al Ferguson, Margaret LaMarr (as Withers' girl), J. P. McGowan, Frank Rice, Indian athlete Jim Thorpe, Bud Osborne, Monte Montigue and Art Mix. Directed by Louis Friedlander (Lew Landers).

 MAN WITH THE STEEL WHIP (1954 Republic serial)
Republic's serial glory days were long past when they churned out this hackneyed rehash, their last western serial. (For that matter, only three more Republic serials were released following this tedious 12 episodes). Looking to grab gold rich land on a reservation belonging to the Indians, slimy saloon owner Mauritz Hugo ferments trouble between white men and red. Rancher Richard Simmons, with the help of reservation schoolmarm Barbara Bestar, bring to life legendary El Latigo to gain the Indians' confidence. El Latigo (in and out of ZORRO'S BLACK WHIP stock footage - among other serials) repetitiously battles Hugo's henchies, Lane Bradford and Dale Van Sickel, til he finally brings justice to the land. You've seen it all before, done better. Surprisingly, Republic cut Roy Barcroft some slack in their last serial-oater, letting him be an honest Sheriff.

 BATTLING WITH BUFFALO BILL (1931 Universal serial)
12 chapters of endless Indian raids, attacks, fights, ambushes, skirmishes and massacres (a lot of it silent stock footage) becomes a bit ho-hum after several chapters of pretty much the same stuff over and over. Tom Tyler is okay as Buffalo Bill and it's nice to see Rex Bell as second lead but Francis Ford (John Ford's brother) is ineffectual as lead heavy. Watch for former silent stars William Desmond, Ed Cobb, Yak Canutt, Franklyn Farnum and Fred Humes.

 OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON (1939 Columbia serial)
For 15 thrill packed, action laden chapters Kit Carson (Bill Elliott), tireless scout, and Lt. Brent (Richard Fiske), courageous ally, undertook the dangerous mission of combating an outlaw organization of Black Raiders headed by a daring, ruthless figure known as Pegleg who spreads terror and destruction in an effort to control a rich, new territory. The suspects for the disguised Pegleg include Le Roy Mason, Trevor Bardette, James Craig, Olin Francis, Kenneth MacDonald, Francis Sayles and Hal Taliaferro. But anyone who has seen a fair amount of westerns will recognize which one he is immediately. Dick Curtis is Pegleg's main dog heavy henchman, aided by Jack Rockwell, Art Mix, Ernie Adams and Dick Botiller. Unusual, picturesque Zion National Park locations give this serial a fresh, unique look. Gorgeous Iris Meredith is always a treat to look at (and she can act too!) - and here you have 15 chapters of her to thrill to. There's the usual highly implausible Columbia cliffhanger escapes, but one or two of them - especially for Columbia - will surprise you. Stirring original music score by Lee Zahler is a definite asset. Zahler came to Hollywood in the '20s to work for Thomas Ince. He later freelanced as both a composer and musician for film music played live in theatres accompanying silent movies. With the advent of talkies, Zahler went on staff at Abe Meyer's Synchronizing Service. Meyer provided canned background music for early talkies and some original music cues. After working his way up to becoming Meyer's right hand man, he left around 1938 to establish his own music library in direct competition to Meyer. He served not only Columbia and Republic, but independent producers such as Sam Katzman, Larry Darmour and Louis Weiss. Many of his popular cues were heard well into the early days of TV.

 KING OF THE TEXAS RANGERS (1941 Republic serial)
There's never a dull moment as famous football quarterback Slingin' Sammy Baugh, to avenge the death of his Texas Ranger father, becomes a Ranger himself and uncovers a Zepplin full of saboteurs high over Texas. Obviously Nazis, but not so named as they sig heil 'For the Cause!', these subversives are out to destroy the Texas oil fields. Whatever Baugh's shortcomings were in thespian talents, directors William Witney and John English covered up with so much slambang action you hardly have a chance to notice Sam's Texas twang as he teams up with Mexican Rurale Duncan Renaldo and newspaper woman Pauline Moore to break up the fifth columnists (Neil Hamilton, Roy Barcroft, Kenne Duncan, Bud Geary, Jack Ingram, Robert Barron, Stanley Blystone and others). There's mile-a-minute, breakneck action in the oilfields, in the air, at sea in racing speedboats, aboard speeding trains, in ore mines and all over California's Morris Dam (featuring some splendid Howard and Theodore Lydecker miniatures). Stuntmen Tom Steele, Dave Sharpe, Duke Green and others supply the physical action for the stars. Exciting, pulse pounding musical arrangement by Mort Glickman that incorporates Baugh's Texas Christian University Horned Frogs fight song, "Come To the Bower". Former western stars Buddy Roosevelt, Kermit Maynard and Eddie Dew have roles as does Richard Simmons who, 13 years later, starred in his own Republic serial, MAN WITH THE STEEL WHIP as well as becoming TV's SERGEANT PRESTON ('55-'58). Baugh was perhaps the world's greatest quarterback, throwing footballs for over 23,000 yards in gains while he was field general for TCU and then the NFL's Washington Redskins. Republic, sensing his fame, offered him this role in the off season. Upon completion, he returned to football. At 86, he's now a rancher near Rotan, TX.

 BLACK ARROW (1944 Columbia serial)
Fifteen chapters of slip shod production and direction by Lew Landers, who could do better. It's as if he's saying, "Let's get this crap in the can." There are several terrible cheat endings and resolutions and some major miscasting. Adele Jergens, as good as actress as she is, is all wrong for the 'little Nell' storekeeper role, looking pretty stupid in her big bonnet and flowing dress riding hellbent over the prairie. Harry Harvey, hamming it up (in fairness, he was probably told to play it dumb) as the Sheriff is dreadful to watch. Easterner Robert Williams is out of place as one of the heavies. Veteran heavy Kenneth McDonald is fine (as usual) as the gold hungry outlaw leader, but without a strong hero type, BLACK ARROW fails. The youthful Robert Scott (later Mark Roberts) is just too small in statue to be standing up in fights against Ted Mapes, Eddie Parker and others. And that awful Indian wig! It's also odd (but pleasing in a way) to see Charles Middleton as a good guy Indian Agent.

 ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER (1940 Republic)
The 12 chapter serial based on the popular Fred Harman comic strip (which began in 1938) is one of Republic's best western serials. From the character he plays, new star Donald Barry retained the nickname, 'Red', that remained with him throughout his career. The cocky Barry gives the role his all, but he was badly miscast (too short for Red Ryder) and he knew it, protesting long and loud to Republic prexy Herbert J. Yates - to no avail. He did become Red Ryder with Tommy Cook as Little Beaver and Maude Pierce Allen as the Duchess. Dave Sharpe doubles Barry throughout the serial. The intended routing of the Santa Fe railroad through Red Ryder territory prompts villains Harry Worth, Noah Beery Sr. and Bob Kortman to begin a reign of intimidation and murder to gain control of all the land comprising the potential right of way. The lighthearted strains of Stephen Foster's "Oh, Susanna" as theme-music was inspired, remaining in the memory as truly unusual fight and chase music. Tommy Cook became one of California's best known tennis professionals, managing and arranging celebrity matches. He also wrote the story for ROLLERCOASTER ('77) and was assoc. producer on the film.

 HEROES OF THE WEST (1932 Universal)
It's hard to make the building of the transcontinental railroad plagued by wild whooping Indians and outlaw raiders (led by Philo McCullough) boring, nevertheless, director Ray Taylor and the screenwriters managed to do so with this 12 chapter serial. Onslow Stevens as the railroad engineer is bland, ineffectual and looks as if he'd rather be anywhere else. Noah Beery Jr. is top billed as railroad contractor William Desmond's son, but as usual, he's too 'golly gee' for heroic leads. He soon found his niche in second leads and comedic sidekicks as on James Garner's ROCKFORD FILES. Diane (pronounced Dee-ohn she says) Duval is his sister, constantly in peril. She probably changed her name to Jacqueline Wells and later Julie Bishop, to avoid being remembered for her melodramatics here. Thankfully, with name changes, she became a quite competent actress with a long career. Julie died on her 87th birthday 8/30/01. The most interesting part of the serial is the sub-plot friction between Stevens and old time rival Ed Cobb, and even it's downplayed and comes to naught at the end! Much of the tiresome Indian footage is recycled from BATTLING WITH BUFFALO BILL and would see further use in later Universal serials.

 MYSTERY TROOPER (1931 Syndicate)
Ten chapter early independent talkie serial is nowhere near as bad as many of its detractors (some who have probably never watched it) have stated over the years. It's all about lost gold in Canada sought by Robert Frazer (admittedly a bit of a weak hero) who has inherited half a map to the gold. Frazer joins forces with orphan Blanche Mehaffey and her brother Buzz Barton as well as an Indian, Red Eagle (William Bertram), who has knowledge of the mine. Also seeking the gold in Ghost City is a burly, French-Canadian trading post owner, Al Ferguson, and his band of thugs led by Charlie King. The map changes hands many times before the lost Indian lode is located. All the while, helping Frazer and his friends is an unknown, caped figure known only as the Mystery Trooper. A beautiful white stallion, White Cloud, also figures into the mystery.