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WE
INNOVATE -- OTHERS IMITATE!
Notes to Forum Members:
The Movie Serial Message Boards
have been upgraded with increased security
to registration-only to prevent spam, hostility and
abuse of the private message feature.
Registered members will notice no difference in
service and should now enjoy a more pleasant posting
experience at the forums!
Excellent service,
amazing products!" -- customer David
Carroll, Massachusetts
We offer the sharpest and best
versions of many classic serials to be found anywhere!
And, lucky you, here they are! See their individual
pages for more information, sample chapters,
framegrabs, reviews and lots more!
"It's always a
pleasure trading with you guys. Quality product and
quick efficient service. I always appreciate the little
extras you include on your restorations. I especially
loved the bull session you guys included on THE LONE
RANGER [RIDES AGAIN] serial. It reminded me of my old
convention attending days . . . Thanks again for your
efforts." -- Customer G.A.
Still, Tennessee
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED KING OF THE
MOUNTIES with restored
music and sound effects, and reconstructed missing
sequences and dialogue
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED THE LONE RANGER RIDES
AGAIN with restored
chapter openings/closings, cliffhangers and
subtitle-free for the first time since 1939;
30-minute commentary by Squadron members
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED GANG BUSTERS
restored to
premium sharpness
The FIGHTING
MARINES the last Mascot
serial, featuring the villainous Tiger Shark!
HOLT OF THE
SECRET SERVICE with Squadron
member commentary on all chapters
LOST CITY OF THE
JUNGLE Lionel Atwill's
final screen
performance
THE MASTER KEY
with
15-minute wartime documentary prologue, WWII
cartoons
THE MYSTERY OF THE
RIVERBOAT An
often-overlooked thriller featuring Robert Lowery
and Mantan
Moreland
THE MYSTERY
SQUADRON with restored
sound, picture and chapter
endings
THE PAINTED
STALLION with
play-as-feature option, 3-color alternate version of
Chapter
1
RADIO PATROL
Grant Withers in
an early comic strip/cop
cliffhanger
THE RUSTLERS OF RED
DOG with commentary
on Chapter 1 by Whiskey Pete
Brangus
NEW!
S O S COAST
GUARD special edition
with restored sound, original theatrical trailer,
and alternate edition with warm/cool toned Chapter
1.
TAILSPIN TOMMY IN THE GREAT
AIR MYSTERY sharp, beautiful
digital
transfer
ZORRO RIDES
AGAIN with excellent
quality (booming!) restored
sound
ZORRO'S BLACK
WHIP with Linda
Stirling swimsuit slideshow, EL COYOTE TV
pilot
ZORRO'S FIGHTING
LEGION with stills,
original script pages
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED THE PHANTOM
EMPIRE with period
score, sepia/silver tones,
extras.
THE SIGN OF THE
WOLF in light sepia
tone with optional period
score
UNDERSEA
KINGDOM black and white
with cool black and white toned underwater
scenes
THE VANISHING
LEGION in warm and cool
black and white tones; restored sound and
picture
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED LOST SERIAL
COLLECTION (Anthology) 2
DVDs of incredibly rare scenes, trailers, and
chapters from dozens of lost serials, featuring
Pearl White, Ruth Roland, Warner Oland, Eddie Polo,
and many more
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED ADVENTURES OF
TARZAN with TARZAN OF
THE APES prologue, new score, color
tints
BEATRICE
FAIRFAX 5 episodes of
1916 girl reporter series, restored, new score,
color
tints
The JUNGLE
PRINCESS 4-chapter
condensation with new score and color
tints
LIGHTNING
HUTCH from 35mm; stunt
man Charles Hutchison's only surviving
serial
THE MASKED
RIDER the amazing find
from 1919, in process of being reconstructed and
restored
OFFICER 444
a
crazy Ben Wilson chapter play with fiendish villains
aplenty
THE PERILS OF
PAULINE 9-chapter
condensation, color
toned
TARZAN THE
TIGER Frank Merrill's
only surviving performance as Lord
Greystoke
A WOMAN IN
GREY slightly
condensed, with music score
MALA, Secret Agent
of the South Seas 7-chapter
condensation of ROBINSON CRUSOE OF CLIPPER ISLAND in
color, minus repeated footage and a few cheater
chapter
endings
ROCKET SHIP
Flash Gordon
feature version in experimental color and alternate
widescreen versions; commentary by Ace Drummond
& Dr. Grood
What's an audio DVD? Well, it's like
a DVD entirely composed of extras that are audio-only.
They hold dozens of hours worth of material, and are
great to play on portable DVD players in the car or at
home in your DVD player while you work or relax! You
see the title of what's playing on the illustrated menu
while it plays, and can refer to the printed list of
contents on the convenient DVD insert. Many of the
following titles have been restored to the best quality
possible, and some of them contain up to 50 hours worth
of content! The HORROR ARCHIVE, a 5-DVD set, contains
220 hours worth of audio horror -- that's almost 10
days worth of shows, if played straight through!
Click on the DVD
links to hear sample stories from each DVD!
NEW
ALL-STAR WESTERN
THEATER (Archive
Edition) 41
hours (85 episodes) of original stories featuring
Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage with
guests Johnny Mack Brown, Ken Curtis, Allan Lane,
Dale Evans, Don "Red" Barry and many
more.
The
AVENGER(Restored
Edition) Mysterious Shadow-like
crime-fighter, written by Walter
Gibson!
The Complete BLUE BEETLE
(Restored
Edition) Complete restored collection of
one of the first super-heroes of the
air!
NEW
GREEN VALLEY
LINE Serial
(Archive
Edition) Featuring Rollon Parker and John
Todd. 26-episode old-time railroad serial in which
big business and a crooked gang try to take over the
railroad line that keeps Morristown alive. Bill
Reed, the hero, must find out if his father Jacob is
involved in the plots while keeping the Green Valley
Line running. His girl Kerry and her Pop help out.
Highly recommended for railroad buffs who'd like to
spend a pleasant afternoon with the friendly folks
down at the station.
The Amazing
Colossal HORROR ARCHIVE
(Archive
Edition) Unspeakably huge collection of
horror stories, 5 DVD set
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED MASTERS OF
HORROR (Restored
Archive Edition) Fantastic collection of radio
appearances of Karloff, Lugosi, Lorre, Price and
Rathbone. One of our best-selling and most
entertaining titles.
MONSTERS (Restored
Archive Edition) The complete radio FRANKENSTEIN
serial, werewolves, vampires, and much
more
NEW
MOON OVER
AFRICA Serial
(Restored
Edition) The
atmospheric adventures of Professor Anton Edwards,
his daughter Lorna, her fiance Jack Martin and Masai
Prince N'Guru in the lost jungles of French
Equatorial Africa. Presented complete in 13
double-length 20 minute chapters. Written by Talbot
Mundy. Sound completely restored for the
best-quality version of this serial available
anywhere. Also includes restored versions of other
African adventures including She, The Green
Goddess (featuring Orson Welles),
Obgobi, Pollock and the Porroh
Man, and
the classic Leinengen vs. the
Ants (featuring William Conrad).
PIRATES - SEA
ADVENTURES Treasure Island, the complete
Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, and much
more
NEW
THE ROY ROGERS SHOW
(Archive
Edition) 35
hours of original radio programs, including
Night Riders,
Black Gold, The Mysterious Puppet, Diamond
Smuggling, Lawman's Badge, Roar of the
River, and
many more, from 1951-1953 featuring the admirable
cowboy hero and his companions Dale Evans and Gabby
Hayes, and Roy's trusted mount Trigger. Lots of
music here also by the top-notch Western quartet the
Sons of the Pioneers. 76 programs.
NEW
THE SCARLET
PIMPERNEL (Archive
Edition) 63
Programs from the 1950s syndicated radio series
starring Marius Goring, who also played the title
character on TV. It is 1792 and the streets of Paris
are awash in blood. Sir Percy Blakeney, an English
gentleman who poses as a fop assembles a secret
society to rescue the falsely accused from the
guillotine during the "reign of terror." His
identity known only to his agents, the rest of
society, and his arch enemy, French Republican
Chauvelin -- know of him only as "The Scarlet
Pimpernel." Over 25 hours of adventures.
THE SHADOW OF FU
MANCHU (Restored
Edition) 63
Progra
SWORDS OF
ADVENTURE Robin Hood, Three Musketeers,
Knights of the Round Table and more swashbuckling
adventures!
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED CASEBOOK OF
SHERLOCK HOLMES
(Archive
Edition) Basil
Rathbone (and sometimes Tom Conway) and Nigel Bruce
in half-hour Holmes
stories
TARZAN: RADIO
SERIALS -
TARZAN, LORD OF
JUNGLE (Archive
Edition) TARZAN
OF THE APES, and two other serials, one featuring
James (King Thun) Pierce, and the more sophisticated
1950s half-hour Tarzan
programs.
NEW
TALES OF THE TEXAS
RANGERS (Archive
Edition) 59
programs, 29 hours of crime dramas featuring the
Texas Rangers.
The Serial Squadron interview at
Matinee at the Bijou -- Dr. Grood is
currently working on THE SERIALFEST 2009 ANNUAL, THE
MASKED RIDER Vol 2, SERIALFEST DVD MAGAZINE Issue 4,
the ADVENTURES OF HARRY HOUDINI radio serial, THE
VOICE FROM THE SKY , THE TRAIL OF THE OCTOPUS, the
lost serial novels THE DIAMOND IN THE SKY, WHAT
HAPPENED TO MARY and THE MYSTERY MIND, extra-high
quality digital transfers of THE DEVIL HORSE and THE
LAST OF THE MOHICANS and a secret Republic serial
restoration project!
Coming
soon: The Lost Serial Photoplay Collection!
Find out WHAT HAPPENED TO
MARY -- solve the theatrical dressing-room murder in
THE STRANGE CASE OF MARY PAGE -- join in THE ADVENTURES
OF KATHLYN as she travels to India -- and voyage with
an American actress to Egypt where a royal prince wants
to make her his wife -- or kill her UNDER THE CRESCENT!
Help Herbert Rawlinson as Detective Sanford Quest
discover the secret of THE BLACK BOX! Learn THE WAY OF
A MAN on a frontier adventure with an enormous cast!
Beware the evil twin of a lover and the sign of murder
she bears that is the TREY O'HEARTS, and discover who
will finally win the battle for a stolen baby's life
and THE DIAMOND FROM THE SKY! These were the first
American serials ever made, some almost 100 years ago
-- these long-lost adventures and many more will soon
be available in photoplay form -- with stills from the
original productions (THE BLACK BOX includes 32
original stills from the serial, UNDER THE CRESCENT
includes 64, and TREY O'HEARTS even more, including
scenes of the actual film crew on location!) -- right
here, as soon as we approve all the proofs!
Some great NEW serials are also
in production now by the Squadron. Here's a sneak
peek:
ADVENTURES OF HARRY
HOUDINI by Greg Gick
What would it have been like if Houdini had had his own
radio show in the 1930s? And what if the writers of
WEIRD TALES wrote the scripts? A new original 5-
Episode Audio Adventure Featuring Brittany
Kirkpatrick and Ryan Long
MYSTERIES OF
MYRA, the notorious long-lost 1916 occult serial
newly realized with a beautiful new star, beginning
with Episode 1: The Secret Chamber.
Can paranormal investigator Payson Alden help young
Myra survive the evil Black Order's plot to destroy her
with a hypnotic spell before she can inherit her
father's fortune?
THE
TRAIL OF THE OCTOPUS, featuring Ben Wilson and
Neva Gerber -- A bizarre story of secret passageways
with eyes that peer through the dark, an Asian
mastermind, a set of crooked daggers, a master sleuth,
a mystic and a masked mystery man called Monsieur X.
New
Online Serials of Interest
Dr. Horrible
| Mercury Men
| Angel of Death
| Red vs. Blue
SerialFest 2009 Cast & Attendees after the production of THE BLACK CANYON
Please visit http://www.serialfest.org
or click SERIALFEST
at left for more information!
WELCOME TO THE
SERIAL SQUADRON
The Serial Squadron is a group of
hard-working staff members and volunteers dedicated
to releasing as much interesting and sometimes
historical cliffhanger-related material as we can
provide for fans of the serial form. We at the
Squadron make a great deal of effort and spend much
time seeking out and attempting to make possible
exhibition or publication of long-unseen serial
films, novelizations and dramatizations that might
without our efforts never be seen by the public.
Despite their leading role in changing the image of
pre-suffrage American women, as well as having helped
launch the careers of stars such as John Wayne and
Boris Karloff, and been the first form in which a
flying superhero, or even such familiar characters as
Batman and Flash Gordon were seen on screen, very
little credit is given for the contributions movie
serials made to popular culture, and their roots in
legend and 1800s stage melodrama and therefore their
connection to the current pop mythology remain
largely unacknowledged or unknown by the general
public. Very little if any attention is paid by the
studios to restoration of old serial material. We
also hope to further public awareness on these sorts
of topics.
This
company is founded on principles of honesty,
creativity and hard work, and supported by legitimate
film historians, writers, actors, artists,
researchers, collectors, and professionals in the
current entertainment industry as well as many, many
happy customers who recognize the effort we have put
in our work. We do not need to denounce others to try
and make our product look better in comparison. It
speaks for itself, and if it's not the best it can be
we don't even offer it.
We don't
post or allow hype, spam, or links to unlicensed DVDs
of movie serials but instead pursue appropriate legal
licenses for publication or exhibition of copyrighted
material. Thanks to this policy, we were able to
bring you the first-ever showing of DAREDEVILS OF THE
WEST in 2008, and if all goes well further progress
on similar projects will follow.
What we
find or create, we share--we do not hold anything in
the "vault" if it's legal to release it. Thanks to
the efforts of Squadron members and staff, we've made
the first-ever DVD version of ZORRO'S FIGHTING
LEGION, THE VOICE FROM THE
SKY, THE
MYSTERY MIND, THE MASKED
RIDER, BEATRICE
FAIRFAX and many more long-thought-lost
serials available for viewing, listening, or
reading, and addition to your collection once
again.
We aren't affiliated with any other commercial DVD
publishers and do not accept promotional copies of
anything in return for blanket endorsements. We DO
support creative serial-related projects and
publications such as Ken Weiss's
books,
Boyd Magers' WESTERN CLIPPINGS, and DVDs from
Grapevine Video which are original work not
copied from others' material.
We do not endorse or promote adversarial behavior,
racial stereotypes, bondage, violence, victimization
of women, or the portrayal of non-whites in
subordinate roles. The cliffhangers of the 1930s and
40s were, as all melodramas are, products of their
times and reflect the fears and ethnocentrism of
their particular era. We do not condone or share such
antiquated perspectives but recognize villainous
depictions of any race, for instance, which appear in
serials, as the dramatic equivalent of the Wicked
Witch of the West in THE WIZARD OF OZ or a monster
from outer space; they are not to be taken literally
but are instead imaginary villains in fairy tales of
another time who, once defeated, would allow peace in
the (often young) viewer's mind at that moment to be
restored. For every age there is "enemy"-mythology --
an imaginary 100% evil if not entirely demonic
redskinned savage, hun, yellow peril, communist, or
terrorist the masses are instructed by their leaders
to fear. Our point of view on these "bad guys" is
that by not taking them literally but instead viewing
them in historical perspective and recognizing them
for the bizarre fairy tales or morality plays they
are -- as well as recognizing in them that the heroes
and heroines are just as stereotypical as the
villains -- we can learn a great deal about ourselves
both past and present, and perhaps even prevent
repetition of mistakes of the past.
That being said, please don't post here if you have
any intention of emulating them and enjoy tying women
to railroad tracks, sabotage, igniting flame wars,
subordination of "inferior races," fascist
philosophy, controlling all conversations within your
view, thievery, torture, sadism or anything else Fu
Manchu does with his free time. If you are into this
stuff, time to draw the line between fantasy and
reality or recognize the one between appreciation and
overindulgence or maybe just get a new hobby! This
site is about the adventure cliffhanger -- a unique
art form -- the original FILMS, not so much the DVD
versions -- and related material old and new, and
appreciating the art and history of the melodrama and
the efforts of those actors and directors and special
effects people and musical composers who made them --
not anyone's attempt to control discussions about
them OR try and slap mind-control collars on our
members OR in any other way attempt to sabotage the
Squadron clubhouse!
We also do not approve of watching an entire serial
all at once; by inappropriately putting the viewing
experience under the viewer's control enjoyment of
and appreciation for the form and all sense of
adventure is destroyed. If you watch a serial all at
once, you run the risk of losing perspective on the
point of participating in the whole adventure and
replacing it with a desire to control the viewing
experience. Beware, you are one step away from
becoming a power-mad serial villain yourself! The
goal of serial-watching, again, should be to ENJOY
them and APPRECIATE their form, not to become
"master" of them.
This is why we call ourselves not serial "collectors"
but serial ENJOYERS! -- In a good-humored, slightly
qualified sort of way . . . they're kind of like your
great-uncle Fred who you can't help still caring
about despite his very old-fashioned (and sometimes
thoroughly out-of-line and out-of-date) point of
view!
We DO approve of and encourage people to watch for
and appreciate in serials in unqualified terms is
their often-amazing stunt work, innovations in
editing, profound influence on films which are in the
theaters at this very minute, and appreciation of the
hard-working and often poorly-paid actors and
filmmakers who created them. We also are interested
in promoting awareness of new presentations which
draw upon the old cliffhanger form and/or characters
and encourage you to contact us if you're working on
a new cliffhanger-related project which will appeal
to general audiences (not the cult crowd). Some
serials, stereotypical characters or no, such
as ZORRO'S FIGHTING
LEGION are still appropriate for
viewing by kids -- who many of them were made for
(and who often really enjoy them if anyone bothers
to share), and we keep that in mind when
assembling our DVD collections.
We also support authors and publishers who create
original serial-related material that is not simply
copied from someone else's work, especially our own.
We also hope you will contact us if you have access
to rare silent serial material which could be
incorporated into some of our silent serial
restoration projects on DVD or in print. A great deal
of such material is in private hands and not in
libraries or archives. We don't wish for these old
serials to be forgotten. Share what you have and
we'll reward you with free Squadron DVDs and
publications and credit on whatever you contribute
to!
This site was designed
as a friendly meeting place for those who enjoy the
cliffhanger form past and present, and is dedicated
to bringing you the best in cliffhanging
entertainment possible. That's what it will continue
to be despite any efforts by the Bootleg, Bondage
& Badmouth Brigade (aka the League of Real-Life
Serial Villains) who occasionally make feeble
attempts to cause us or our members or those who
contribute to our projects harm or insult.
Fortunately, security measures have recently been
implemented to help keep them away from this website
(We sicced Frank Merriwell on 'em and they ran like
scared rabbits!).
Life is short and we want to contribute as much
happiness and thrilling adventure to it as we can
while we're here. We're out to show you the best time
possible with our restored and remastered
DVDs and everything else we publish,
always with an eye toward respect for historical
material as well. We hope you agree with our
philosophy and enjoy what the Squadron has to
offer -- excellent digital transfers of rare films
which can still thrill a kid of any age from 6 to
60, audio dramas, books, and much more on the
topic of classic cliffhangers which still heavily
influence films today, restorations of partially
lost or incomplete material, and fun new works
that keep the cliffhanger-serial form alive in a
new milennium.
The 2009 Squadron Rare Serial Lobby
Cards Calendar
is
now available only from Lulu.com!
(Note:
You must order the calendar direct from Lulu--
it's not available with the Mail Order Form!)
Recommended Links
Silent Serials |
Silent Era |
Western Clippings
|
Grapevine Video |
Matinee at the Bijou
|
Hollow Earth Expedition role-playing
game
Welcome to the Serial Squadron Clubhouse, the best
place to visit to read or share information about
silent and sound cliffhanger movie serials!
Home of
the internet's first most comprehensive
radio/TV/movie
Cliffhanger Forums
(now
alphabetized for easy reference),
new free member photo albums, the world's only
annual all-cliffhanger
film festival, the sharpest and
highest quality classic
movie serial DVDs
sold
anywhere!
New
Books Shipping Now
THE TREY O'HEARTS: A fantastic new
updated edition of one of the most exciting and
action-packed early and now completely lost serials,
with cliffhangers galore and now 75 original
photographs, many from the collection of Edward Sloman,
the actor who played the villain, to help tell the
story and give you a glimpse of the production crew as
well! The next best thing to have been there to see the
great original cliffhanger! Highly recommended! 6"x9",
glossy full color cover, black and white interior.
Description at
Lulu.com
Order from the Squadron by
mail
Order
using PayPal
THE STRANGE CASE OF MARY PAGE
A
mystery/courtroom drama serial made by Essanay in 1916.
This short novelization is of a serial that was
directed at the ladies but is nice to have for serial
completists. 114 pages, 6"x9", full color glossy cover,
black and white interior.
Description at
Lulu.com
Order from the Squadron by
mail
Order
using PayPal
New DVDs Shipping Now
"A highly
satisfying look at entertainment in times gone
by" -- The DVD/Laserdisc
Newsletter, June
2009
The third issue of
the
SERIALFEST DVD
MAGAZINE, a 2-DVD
collection of ultra-rare serial chapters, many never
before on DVD, that you can watch at home with your
serial pals. This issue featuring BEATRICE FAIRFAX
Episode 8: At the Ainsley Ball, Chapter 3 of THE
VOICE FROM THE SKY: The Man from Nowhere, Chapter 5
translated and restored of ISLE OF SUNKEN GOLD, new
chapters of THE MASKED RIDER, THE GREEN HORNET, THE
MYSTERY TROOPER and THE EAGLE and a new digital
transfer and full restoration of the incredibly rare
never-before-on-video 1915 Edison short THE MISSION
OF MR. FOO!
Order
with PayPal:
"A monumental
accomplishment." -- Customer
willielg
NEW!
THE MASKED
RIDER Vol. 1,
Hands down the most
hard-hitting and thrilling silent serial ever
filmed, featuring Harry Myers, Ruth Stonehouse, Paul
Panzer and Edna M. Holland. You want it? Well, we
have it. See what's got everyone at the edge of
their seats and begging for more! Volume 1 includes
the first third of the serial including found
footage from Episodes 1-5 and a complete new
re-creation of the mostly-lost Episode 1 by modern
actors. Commentary on 2 Episodes by restoration
director Eric Stedman
"This collection
offers a single chapter from [seven] serials, almost
all of which are pull-out-your-wallet
fantastic." -- The DVD/Laserdisc
Newsletter, June 2009
Issue 2 of the SerialFest DVD
Magazine, including Chapter 4 of ISLE OF
SUNKEN GOLD, Chapter 2 of THE VOICE FROM THE SKY, a
NICK CARTER short and Chapter 2 of THE MASKED RIDER
(with Karloff's first screen appearance), is ready
to ship!
Still available: the
first issue of the new rare serial chapter DVD
series/home film festival!
The great Republic serial
SOS Coast Guard
with restored audio
& original trailer, 2 editions available!
