Raiders of Ghost City (Serial) (1944)

An enjoyable American Civil War era Western serial, though with a war propaganda edge.

A gang of Confederate agents are stealing gold shipments bound for Washington. Government agent Steve Clark (Dennis Moore) is sent across to California to investigate, helped by Wells Fargo agent Idaho Jones (Joe Sawyer). 

In fact, the real mastermind behind the theft is Morel (Lionel Atwill) who isn't operating for the Confederacy after all but rather a group of Prussian spies...

A great serial with a good variety of cliff hangers including runaway train cars and burning sheds! The inclusion of Prussian spies was likely to give the serial a bit of a wartime propaganda edge but works well, Atwill and his accomplice Virginia Christine make an excellent pair of villains which gives the serial the bite the slightly bland heroes cannot.

The Masked Marvel (Serial) (1943)

It is war time and Japanese agents are out to wreck the US war effort, but the Masked Marvel is here to save the day!

After a spate of explosions of strategic industries, the mysterious Masked Marvel (William Forrest) investigates a gang of saboteurs led by the wonderfully over the top evil Sakima (Johnny Arthur). The Marvel assembles a group of agents, one of whom is himself, only Alice (Louise Currie) knows which one is the Masked Marvel. 

The Masked Marvel gets into a number of cliff hanging perils before his final showdown with Sakima...

A wartime adventure romp, and a pretty standard adventure serial. This is highly enjoyable nonsense with the usual ridiculous stunts. The acting is a bit patchy but this is a show for the stunts and adventure, and these are both top notch.

The Great Air Mystery (Serial) (1935)

A superb follow-up serial continuing the adventures of daredevil aviator Tailspin Tommy.

Tommy (Clarke Williams) and Skeeter (Noah Beery Jr) head to Nazil in Latin America to help Betty Lou (Jean Rogers) and Inez Casmetto (Delphine Drew) with the setting up of infrastructure for oil extraction in country. 

However, Inez's father Manuel (Herbert Heywood) and Raymore (Matthew Betz) are two unscrupulous businessmen who want that oil wealth for themselves and concoct a series of schemes to stop Tommy and Skeeter with the help of his rogue squadron of fighters. Luckily, a mysterious aviator in a condor painted plane is often on hand to help Tommy out.

This is a great serial with a lot of amazing aerial stunts (including a crashing airship in episode 1). The serial is based on a comic strip (indeed the original Tailspin Tommy serial from 1934 was the first serial to be based on a comic strip. 

The Spider Returns (Serial) (1941)

The second serial involving the rather bizarre character, The Spider. 

The Spider is the secret crime fighting identity of socialite Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull), doesn't sound like Batman at all! In this serial, Richard/The Spider battles the mysterious (and ridiculous) Gargoyle who had launched a wave of attacks on the US war effort (naturally as we are early in the Second World War). 

This is a perfectly decent serial, including plenty of cliff hangers and fast action, though the Spider fight scenes are a bit ridiculous. The Gargoyle's henchmen are pretty useless if we are going to be honest which does rob the serial of some of the peril.

The Secret Code (Serial) (1942)

Fast moving movie serial nonsense with the usual unbelievable cliffhangers.

A group of Nazi agents are attacking the US through various nefarious plots to sabotage the war effort. Policeman Dan Barton (Paul Kelly) goes undercover to infiltrate the gang by pretending to have gone rogue. 

Barton learns that the Nazis are aiming to capture a secret formula. Barton begins to battle the gang wearing a fire-proof disguise as the Black Commando...

A fun action serial with lots of death defying stunts and peril. The episodes have little fat on them, the plot flying through at high speed. The Nazis have some wonderfully over the top secret bases. Naturally, it is best enjoyed if you suspend a huge amount of disbelief.

The Vanishing Shadow (Serial) (1934)

A fun movie serial packed full of mad science.

Stanley Stanfield (Onslow Stevens) and Carl Van Dorn (James Durkin) have developed a device which can make the wearer invisible (apart from their shadow). After Stanley is framed for murder by the dangerous Wade Barrett (Walter Miller) and his henchman Dorgan (Richard Cramer), Stanley and Carl begin to use their invention, plus a few other devices, to find the evidence to bring Barrett down. Stanley is also going out with Gloria (Ada Ince), who is Barrett's estranged daughter...

So, you know the score. Fast paced action punctuated by a series of cliffhangers, of varying degrees of believability. The biggest fun of this serial is the science though, including Van Dorn's robot invention which proves to be able to defeat gangsters with ease. This serial also has a bit of a heart too, and a redemption story. Highly enjoyable.

Shadow of Chinatown (Serial) (1936)

A rather dreary serial, which even Bela Lugosi can't save.

A European import company is trying to put Chinese businesses out of action in Chinatown. The company is led by the Dragon Lady (Luana Walters) who hires Poten (Lugosi) to aid her. Poten is a mad racist who runs a string of crazy plans against the Chinese, foiled over and over again by keen reporter Joan (Joan Barclay) and her sweetheart Martin (Bruce Bennett)... oh and the police too. Things come to a head when Poten disguises himself as a Chinese waiter and plants to poison everyone at a banquet...

To be honest the final act is rather lame after a series of death defying cliff hangers which doesn't really make the struggle to get there that worthwhile. The serial isn't the most thrilling example in the genre, don't expect any death rays or other mad science. Do expect some rather awkward dialogue, sloppy execution (even by the usual standard of serials) and dated stereotypes. 

Holt of the Secret Service (Serial) (1941)

A reasonable crime fighting serial involving counterfeit dollars.

A top engraver has been kidnapped by a criminal gang to make very good fake US dollars. Top Secret Service agent Jack Holt goes undercover with fellow agent Kay Drew (Evelyn Brent) - posing as his wife - to try and infiltrate the gang and discover their secret lair. After a lot of death defying cliff hangers of course!

This is a decent enough movie serial though does seem a bit pedestrian compared to many others in the genre. The story progresses from a secret hide out to a small island nation ruled by a maniac which is an interesting setting. 

But the serial never really progresses beyond interesting. It is decently made for a serial and Jack and Evelyn work well together but the serial just lacks that bit of spark other serials had.

Spy Smasher (Serial) (1942)

Spy Smasher battles a Nazi spy in this wartime action serial adaptation of a comic book character.

Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) has a costumed alter-ego known as Spy Smasher, he is well named indeed as his job is to battle Nazi spies who have come across to America to cause mayhem. 

The spies are led by The Mask (Hans Schumm) who uses a U-boat as his secret base and puts Spy Smasher in peril by the end of every episode, check out next week to see how he escapes!

This is one of the better action serials with some good perils and good use of stock footage.

The Mystery Airman (Serial) (1928)

A classic serial set in the air, with ten episodes and nine death defying cliffhangers.

The Baker Airplane Company led by Jack Baker (Walter Miller) has developed some new world beating technology for it's aeroplanes. However, a rival company want this technology and are prepared to use nefarious means to get it (of course!) Baker and his aircraft are continually attacked by a fleet of mysterious raider aircraft led by Pilot X...

So, this is familiar serial fare. The aerial scenes are a bit hit and miss and can be a bit difficult to work out what is actually happening but the episodes have sufficient fast moving action and plot twists and turns toi keep you entertained. The identity of Pilot X is of course unknown though is one of the other characters with a mask, so you can try and work it out before the big reveal! Also stars Eugenia Gilbert, Robert Walker, Eugene Burr and Dorothy Tallcot... is one of those Pilot X? Find out next week (maybe).

Mandrake, the Magician (Serial) (1939)

An enjoyable comic book adaptation about a magician who fights crimes with his side kick (Al Kikume), kind of like Batman in a top hat.

Mandrake (Warren Hull) is on an ocean liner doing card tricks, and trying to avoid being shot by random hoodlums. Meanwhile, Professor Houston (Forbes Murray) is perfecting his new radium ray cannon but the technology is wanted by the maniacal villain The Wasp. Houston is kidnapped by The Wasp's henchmen. 

Can Mandrake and Houston's daughter Betty (Doris Weston) save the day in a series of death defying cliff hangers?

This is marvellously pulpy tosh though very entertaining all the same. It has all the ingredients for a decent 1930s serial and works very well overall though will get a bit a repetitive in the end as these serials tend to do. Great fun and The Wasp is a piece of genius.

Burn 'Em Up Barnes (Serial) (1934)

Burn 'Em Up Barnes is a highly successful racing driver, not someone who often crashes as you might imagine from that name!

Barnes (Jack Mulhall) and his mate Bobby (Frankie Darro) help Marjorie (Lola Lane), the owner of a bus company, who also owns a plot of seemingly worthless land. Of course the land isn't really worthless, it contains rich oil reserves which crooked race promoter Drummond (Jason Robarbs) wants for himself. He will stop at nothing to achieve his evil plans in a series of death defying cliff hangers!

Unfortunately it all gets a bit repetitive after about half a dozen episodes though the stunts are often amazing (though the speeding up of racing footage is obvious at times). Not the best 1930s serial but an enjoyable romp all the same.

The Perils of Pauline (Serial) (1933)

This shares a title with the famous serial which more or less started the genre, 1914's The Perils of Pauline but little else. This is, though, a pretty decent little set of cliffhangers.

Professor Hargrave (James Durkin) and his daughter Pauline (Evelyn Knapp) are in Indo-China during a time of revolution, Hargrave is working on a deadly gas which in the wrong hands would be a terrible weapon. Evil Dr Bashan (John Davidson) has those "wrong hands". With Bashan in pursuit, the Hargraves along with Robert (Craig Reynolds) seek out an ivory disc with the formula written on it...

The serial starts out strongly with a good budget and good use of newsreel footage though gets a bit stuck in the middle during an overlong stay in the Indonesian jungle (which for some reason, due to re-used sets, includes an Ancient Egyptian temple!) The climax in the US is a return to form though the ending is rather sudden.

This fulfils the brief for a perfectly acceptable movie serial, good cliffhangers, re-use of whatever sets and costumes were available and ridiculous plot lines (complete with a superbly evil baddie). Excellent entertainment.

The Perils of Pauline (Serial) (1914)

This is one of the earliest movie serials, although was more a series of standalone adventures with an overall theme rather than the multi-part adventures of later serials. Pauline's (Pearl White) uncle and guardian Sanford Marvin (Edward Jose) died and left Pauline a fortune. However, the money is in the care of Marvin's unscrupulous secretary Koerner (Paul Panzer) until Pauline marries. Koerner wants to keep the money for himself, he takes advantage of Pauline's zest for adventures by coming up with various schemes to get rid of her.

One example of this is she is tricked into getting into a balloon which is then set free and out of control. Others involve escaped lions, Indian tribes, bombs and various traps and kidnaps. Pauline escapes death often with the help of her beau Harry (Crane Wilbur) but not suspecting Koerner, he is free to try again next time!

Pearl White became the original serial queen, starring in a number of highly popular serials. She was notable for doing many of her own stunts, some of which did cause her life changing injuries. In many ways the serial is a bit obvious and nonsense but it had a huge influence on future serials and pop culture.

The Son of Tarzan (Serial) (1920)

Tarzan (P. Dempsey Tabler) and Jane (Karla Schramm) are now in London, though their son Jack (Gordon Griffith) dreams of being in the jungle like his father. He is discovered by Paulovich (Eugene Burr), his father's old enemy, and kidnapped. Jack is taken to Africa but there he escapes with the help of an ape, one of his father's old friends. Jack is given the jungle name Korak.

Korak grows into a man (Kamuela C Searle) in the jungle along with Meriem (Manilla Martan), whom he had rescued from Arab slave traders. Paulovich is still up to his devilish schemes and he lures Tarzan and Jane to Africa. The stage is set for a final showdown between Korak and Paulovich...

An interesting serial, Tarzan stays in the background for most of it leaving his son to drive the story which is just as well as the actor isn't the best Tarzan ever. Korak and Meriem do well throughout the many cliffhangers and plot twists. Unfortunately the serial can become a bit repetitive at times and could have done with a little more originality. A decent enough Tarzan portrayal though.

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Serial) (1940)

The evil Emperor Ming (Charles B Middleton) has returned to threaten the Earth with a new plague (no not Covid). After his rocket ships are seen spraying a purple mist in the atmosphere, Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe), Dale (Carol Hughes) and Dr Zarkov (Frank Shannon) head off to stop Ming all over again. They link up with old friends and infiltrate Ming's palace (rather easily it must be said).

Ming is holding the general of a new faction from the frozen North of Mongo captive and he must be rescued too as well as stopping the production of the purple mist. But Flash gets chucked down a large hole in the first of this serial's cliffhangers...

In some ways a bit of a retread of the original Flash Gordon serial and not quite as good, the action is not quite as dramatic with a bit too much padding out of the story. The addition of Frigia, and it's Arctic like wastes, is good for variety but overall this is a decent but not brilliant serial.

Zorro's Black Whip (Serial) (1944)

There is no Zorro in this serial despite the title, but there is the Black Whip who does a similar job. Idaho is a largely lawless territory which wants to change that with statehood. Local hoodlum Dan Hammond (Francis McDonald) doesn't want any pesky things like law and order getting in the way of his activities though and is determined to block any attempts. Newspaper owner Randolph Meredith (Jay Kirby) is one of the major proponents of statehood which makes him a target for Hammond, luckily Randolph is secretly the Black Whip.

Randolph / the Black Whip dies after a fight with Hammond's goons but his sister Barbara (Linda Stirling) dons the Black Whip costume and continues the fight against Hammond with the help of agent Vic Gordon (George J Lewis)... 

What follows are a standard series of fights, speeded up horse riding and revolvers which contain an amazingly large number of bullets plus lots of cliffhangers of course. This is a decent if not exceptional serial but what makes it stand out is the female lead which was highly unusual for it's day.

The Phantom Empire (Serial) (1935)

Now as we know, 1930s movie serials are often quite odd but this one must be one of the strangest of all. It is a kind of mixture of cowboy musical and the usual mad science adventure. The singing cowboy Gene Autry discovers his ranch is above part of the lost continent of Mu and a science city ruled by Queen Tika (Dorothy Christie) is right under his feet!

However, Tika has trouble. Lord Argo (Wheeler Oakman) has led a rebellion to overthrow Tika and threaten the world above. Autry rides to the rescue, assisted by a group of young cowpersons in metal helmets led by Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross. Can Autry save the world and also his radio show? That is a major plot point you see, the bad guys try to stop him from performing his radio show so he won't be able to keep up the payments on his ranch. There is a fortune in radium under there, and Mu's disintegration ray.

So this has the usual cliff hangers, ingenious (and doomed to fail) traps for our heroes, sparkling scientific apparatus and recycled costumes. Yes as usual the denizens of these lost cities full of advanced science (including sparkling electricity, clunky robots and television) fight with swords and helmets... The addition of cowboys and trick riding makes this serial quite frankly amazing and completely bonkers.

The Whispering Shadow (Serial) (1933)

A superbly complicated and fast moving serial full of fights, death defying stunts and mad science. A mysterious crime boss called the Whispering Shadow is stealing valuable items from a storage company. The transport manager Jack (Malcolm McGregor) is out to stop the criminal and uncover his secret identity.

Of course there are a lot of potential culprits, chief among them seems to be Dr Strang (Bela Lugosi) who had a macabre house of waxworks (and a lovely daughter - Viva Tattersall - whom Jack soon has the hots for!) Strang also has a television device, might he also have the radio death ray which the Whispering Shadow uses to kill his victims remotely? Or could it be the radio scientist (Roy D’Arcy)? Obviously it won’t be the apparently layabout and foolish radio operator Sparks (Karl Dane)...

Being a serial of course there are many cliff hangers, red herrings and epic stunts, including an autogyro crashing into a radio tower and a collapsing room. Many shots are fired too in countless shootouts though most are to no avail! (No one could aim straight in these 1930s serials that is for sure.) A terrific over the top serial.

Tarzan the Tiger (Serial) (1929)

Action packed serial with the usual cliff hangers and unlikely escapes. Tarzan (Frank Merrill) faces the menace of the Arab army of Queen La of Opar (Lillian Worth). Jane (Natalie Kingston) is kidnapped and Tarzan suffers an amnesia in the usual movie way, a blow to the head!

After several chapters as a rather vague simpleton Tarzan is finally back, cured of his amnesia also in the usual movie way (another blow to the head natch). Can Tarzan rescue Jane, resist Queen La and get his hand on the wealth of Opar?

The first sound Tarzan in a way, not a full talkie rather a transitional silent film with added sound effects including Tarzan's yells! Merrill brings some impressive physicality to the role though not much in the way of acting. However for the role he is perfect.