S.O.S. Coast Guard is a fairly standard action serial that is saved from total obscurity by a few high profile cast members. But it’s never able to really rise above its basic nature and become something truly memorable.
It tells of Lt. Terry Kent (Ralph Byrd - the same year he would debut as Dick […]
Atom Man vs. Superman is the second Superman movie serial, the last appearance of Kirk Alyn in the role and a vast improvement over the original Superman.
The main reason this one is an improvement is the appearance of a much better villain (and Superman’s main nemesis at that): Lex Luthor. Played here by the […]
Radar Men from the Moon is a late entry into the world of movie action serials and suffers heavily from an air of “been there, done that”. Radar Men from the Moon was made in 1952, when many major serial-producing studios had moved on, but Republic was still churning them out. (It was […]
The 1943 movie serial Batman not only marked the first appearance of the iconic comic book character, it marks the first appearance of any DC character. (Superman would not appear for another five years.) As such, it had more of an influence on its subject matter than most adaptations.
One big influence it had […]
The serial Superman marked the debut of the Man of Steel in live action and would help define the character for many years. Even the portrayals by George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, both of whom far outshone Alyn, owe something to his version.
The first thing that impressed me about Superman when I originally watched […]
I decided that the one type of film I didn’t watch last year that I should have was the movie serial. A mainstay for decades, their influence is still felt today in things like the Star Wars Saga and many television adventure series. I figure that if I watch the whole thing, that […]