The Serials
Columbia entered the field of cliffhanger serials in 1937 with the release of JUNGLE MENACE. What followed were 19 years and 56 more of these staples of Saturday Morning adventures. Presented in chapters (usually 12, 13, and 15), these 15-20 minute adventures were presented weekly, and always kept the audiences coming back to the theater to see the fate of their favorite heroes and heroines.
There is a lot of silly visual and verbal humor to be found in the Columbia serials, and many of these that fall into this category were directed by comedy shorts veteran James W. Horne. Horne directed all of Columbia's serials from the late '30s to his death in the early 1940s. These Horne directed efforts aren't quite on the same level as a Jules White directed two-reel comedy, but serials such as THE IRON CLAW, THE GREEN ARCHER, and THE SHADOW come close, relying on a heavy dose of comedy relief.
The goofiest of all Horne serials by far is THE SPIDER RETURNS. The lead masked villain, The Gargoyle, is a hoot. In one scene, he spies on his henchmen, who are having a party and wearing silly party hats. "No wonder all my plans fail" he mutters.
The various producers of the serials include The Weiss Brothers, Jack Fier, Larry Darmour, Rudolph Flothow, and Sam Katzman. Knox Manning did most of the serial narration, coming on board around 1941 and continued until 1954. RIDING WITH BUFFALO BILL was Manning's last narrated Columbia serial. Columbia's last three serials, ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN AFRICA, PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS, and BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL, were narrated by someone else. Manning was an excellent narrator, as he added life to the beginnings and endings of Columbia serial chapters. His distinctive voice was sorely missed in the final serials.
In 1956, Columbia decided to bring down their final curtain with the customary cheapness expected from them; they chose a Western, BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL, and a very routine one at that. The simple plot found evil Rance Devlin (Don C. Harvey) planning to create a private army to take over the territory. Opposing him were Lee Roberts and Dennis Moore (Moore had the dubious distinction of appearing in the final serials of both Universal and Columbia). The film was so full of stock-footage from earlier serials and features that it was hard to accept it as a new attraction. Spencer Gordon Bennett, who had directed over twenty assorted titles for Columbia, as well as the thrill-packed Republic serials SECRET SERVICE IN DARKEST AFRICA, THE MASKED MARVEL, and HAUNTED HARBOR seemed a fitting choice to bring the life of the serial, now in its terminal stage, to a peaceful and routine end. BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL climaxed an uninterrupted flow of silent and sound serials which totaled more than five hundred titles spanning a period of forty-odd years.
A handful of serial titles were syndicated by Screen Gems Television in the late 1950's, while a few others would be theatrically re-released in the 1960's.
THE FOLLOWING IS A COMPLETE LIST OF THE COLUMBIA SERIALS BY YEAR OF RELEASE
1937
JUNGLE MENACE
THE MYSTERIOUS PILOT
1938
THE SECRET OF TREASURE ISLAND
THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL HICKCOCK TRIVIA: Segments of this serial were issued in 2 200 ft 8mm home movie versions by Columbia in the 1960's.
THE SPIDER'S WEB
1939
FLYING G-MEN
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON
1940
THE SHADOW
TERRY AND THE PIRATES
DEADWOOD DICK
THE GREEN ARCHER
1941
WHITE EAGLE
THE SPIDER RETURNS
THE IRON CLAW TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in December
1964
HOLT OF THE SECRET SERVICE
1942
CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT
PERILS OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED
THE SECRET CODE TRIVIA: At the end of every chapter, a series of lessons on code, written and directed by code expert Henry Lysing, was given, and a book called "The Secret CODE Digest" (by Mr. Lysing) was on sale in the theater lobby for ten cents.
THE VALLEY OF VANISHING MEN
BATMAN TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically as "An Evening With Batman" in 1965, and on 8mm in 7 silent home movie chapters. In the mid 1970's, Columbia again reissued the serial in it's complete form in the super 8mm format. It was sold in individual chapters.
THE PHANTOM
1944
THE DESERT HAWK
BLACK ARROW
1945
BRENDA STARR, REPORTER
THE MONSTER AND THE APE
JUNGLE RAIDERS TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in June 1964
WHO'S GUILTY?
1946
HOP HARRIGAN TRIVIA: Columbia reissued this serial in the mid 1970's in it's complete form in the super 8mm format. It was sold in individual chapters.
CHICK CARTER, DETECTIVE
SON OF THE GUARDSMEN
1947
JACK ARMSTRONG
THE VIGILANTE
THE SEA HOUND
BRICK BRADFORD
1948
TEX GRANGER
SUPERMAN
CONGO BILL
1949
BRUCE GENTRY
BATMAN AND ROBIN
THE ADVENTURES OF SIR GALAHAD
1950
CODY OF THE PONY EXPRESS
ATOM MAN VS SUPERMAN
PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS
1951
ROAR OF THE IRON HORSE
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
CAPTAIN VIDEO
1952
KING OF THE CONGO
BLACKHAWK SON OF GERONIMO
1953
THE LOST PLANET
THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN KIDD
1954
GUNFIGHTERS OF THE NORTHWEST
RIDING WITH BUFFALO BILL
1955
ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN AFRICA TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in April 1965
1956
PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in September 1964
BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL
There is a lot of silly visual and verbal humor to be found in the Columbia serials, and many of these that fall into this category were directed by comedy shorts veteran James W. Horne. Horne directed all of Columbia's serials from the late '30s to his death in the early 1940s. These Horne directed efforts aren't quite on the same level as a Jules White directed two-reel comedy, but serials such as THE IRON CLAW, THE GREEN ARCHER, and THE SHADOW come close, relying on a heavy dose of comedy relief.
The goofiest of all Horne serials by far is THE SPIDER RETURNS. The lead masked villain, The Gargoyle, is a hoot. In one scene, he spies on his henchmen, who are having a party and wearing silly party hats. "No wonder all my plans fail" he mutters.
The various producers of the serials include The Weiss Brothers, Jack Fier, Larry Darmour, Rudolph Flothow, and Sam Katzman. Knox Manning did most of the serial narration, coming on board around 1941 and continued until 1954. RIDING WITH BUFFALO BILL was Manning's last narrated Columbia serial. Columbia's last three serials, ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN AFRICA, PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS, and BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL, were narrated by someone else. Manning was an excellent narrator, as he added life to the beginnings and endings of Columbia serial chapters. His distinctive voice was sorely missed in the final serials.
In 1956, Columbia decided to bring down their final curtain with the customary cheapness expected from them; they chose a Western, BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL, and a very routine one at that. The simple plot found evil Rance Devlin (Don C. Harvey) planning to create a private army to take over the territory. Opposing him were Lee Roberts and Dennis Moore (Moore had the dubious distinction of appearing in the final serials of both Universal and Columbia). The film was so full of stock-footage from earlier serials and features that it was hard to accept it as a new attraction. Spencer Gordon Bennett, who had directed over twenty assorted titles for Columbia, as well as the thrill-packed Republic serials SECRET SERVICE IN DARKEST AFRICA, THE MASKED MARVEL, and HAUNTED HARBOR seemed a fitting choice to bring the life of the serial, now in its terminal stage, to a peaceful and routine end. BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL climaxed an uninterrupted flow of silent and sound serials which totaled more than five hundred titles spanning a period of forty-odd years.
A handful of serial titles were syndicated by Screen Gems Television in the late 1950's, while a few others would be theatrically re-released in the 1960's.
THE FOLLOWING IS A COMPLETE LIST OF THE COLUMBIA SERIALS BY YEAR OF RELEASE
1937
JUNGLE MENACE
THE MYSTERIOUS PILOT
1938
THE SECRET OF TREASURE ISLAND
THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL HICKCOCK TRIVIA: Segments of this serial were issued in 2 200 ft 8mm home movie versions by Columbia in the 1960's.
THE SPIDER'S WEB
1939
FLYING G-MEN
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON
1940
THE SHADOW
TERRY AND THE PIRATES
DEADWOOD DICK
THE GREEN ARCHER
1941
WHITE EAGLE
THE SPIDER RETURNS
THE IRON CLAW TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in December
1964
HOLT OF THE SECRET SERVICE
1942
CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT
PERILS OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED
THE SECRET CODE TRIVIA: At the end of every chapter, a series of lessons on code, written and directed by code expert Henry Lysing, was given, and a book called "The Secret CODE Digest" (by Mr. Lysing) was on sale in the theater lobby for ten cents.
THE VALLEY OF VANISHING MEN
BATMAN TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically as "An Evening With Batman" in 1965, and on 8mm in 7 silent home movie chapters. In the mid 1970's, Columbia again reissued the serial in it's complete form in the super 8mm format. It was sold in individual chapters.
THE PHANTOM
1944
THE DESERT HAWK
BLACK ARROW
1945
BRENDA STARR, REPORTER
THE MONSTER AND THE APE
JUNGLE RAIDERS TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in June 1964
WHO'S GUILTY?
1946
HOP HARRIGAN TRIVIA: Columbia reissued this serial in the mid 1970's in it's complete form in the super 8mm format. It was sold in individual chapters.
CHICK CARTER, DETECTIVE
SON OF THE GUARDSMEN
1947
JACK ARMSTRONG
THE VIGILANTE
THE SEA HOUND
BRICK BRADFORD
1948
TEX GRANGER
SUPERMAN
CONGO BILL
1949
BRUCE GENTRY
BATMAN AND ROBIN
THE ADVENTURES OF SIR GALAHAD
1950
CODY OF THE PONY EXPRESS
ATOM MAN VS SUPERMAN
PIRATES OF THE HIGH SEAS
1951
ROAR OF THE IRON HORSE
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
CAPTAIN VIDEO
1952
KING OF THE CONGO
BLACKHAWK SON OF GERONIMO
1953
THE LOST PLANET
THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN KIDD
1954
GUNFIGHTERS OF THE NORTHWEST
RIDING WITH BUFFALO BILL
1955
ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN AFRICA TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in April 1965
1956
PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS TRIVIA: Re-Released theatrically in September 1964
BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL
