COOL SERIALS & LESSER KNOWN HEROES (1930's, 40's & 50's)

 

This electrifying Saturday Night Special is all about the serials!

Serials were a big deal in the 30's, 40's, and 50's, but these days they're about as popular as 8-track tapes. We've covered a lot of the cool ones that featured colorful characters like Captain Video, Commander Cody, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Captain Marvel, Superman, The Batman, and The Green Hornet, but there are some lesser known heroes I know we'll probably never get around to, but I'm about to remedy that a bit!

 

In 1934, Jack Muhall played a hero who was also a race car driver in a twelve chapter serial called "Burn-'Em-Up' Barnes."

 

In 1936, there was a character named "The Clutching Hand." "15 Thunderbolt Chapters," now how cool is that? 

 Republic Studios were responsible for many of these serials, and in the "The Fighting Devil Dogs" from 1938, the United States Marine Corp were the heroes.

In 1940, Republic Pictures decided to turn it around a bit, and used the name of the villain instead of the hero as the title for the serial!

Dr. Satan was "CRAZED WITH THE LUST TO KILL" or at least that was what the tagline said.

  The hero of this series was actually named Copperhead and was played by Robert Wilcox.

 

Villains were big in 1940, and "Drums Of Fu Manchu" was another 15 episode serial brought out by Republic. 

 

 

Also from 1940 was "The Green Archer," which seems like it's going to be a period piece, but isn't. Based on an Edgar Wallace novel, it's modern times, but older weapons are used by the hero, such as a box and arrow!

 

 1942 brought us a new hero, a fellow named "Spy Smasher." Seriously, who is going to fuck with a guy named "Spy Smasher?" 

 

 

If you're a spy guy, and you're not in the mood to get smashed, I suggest you get the Hell out of town!

 

"Secret Agent X-9" was a serial from 1945 that starred Lloyd (Sea Hunt) Bridges in 13 thrilling episodes.
 

You can actually buy a freakin' 27" X 40" replica of this poster from Walmart for $19.98, and while I normally would never give a plug to Walmart, that's one Helluva deal!

 

In 1966, they decided to try and recycle the 1946 serial titled "The Crimson Ghost" into "Cyclotrode X," and while I give them a lot of credit for trying, you have to admit "Cyclotrode X" sounds a lot like it could be the next Covid variant!

There were many more colorful heroes and villains in serials over the years like Dick Tracy, Tarzan, Zorro, The Masked Marvel, The Black Widow, Spy King, and Don Daredevil. The list goes on and on and on. Probably 90% of them can be found on YouTube or The Internet Archive so there's no excuses for not watching them instead of the drivel they choose to air on TV these days!

In 1947, television was pretty much responsible for the demise of the serial, now it's time to turn the tables.

THE FLYING SQUAD - "Our Miss Brooks" (1940)

 

This week's Saturday Night Special is a 1940 British film penned by Dungeon Hero Edgar Wallace called "The Flying Squad."

 

When I first saw the title "The Flying Squad," I immediately thought this was a war film, but it's not. "The Flying Squad" was an independent arm of the law formed in 1919 that was originally called "The Mobile Patrol Experiment." Their job was to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence on known robbers and pickpockets. They were given no boundaries and were attached to no divisions, and basically only answered to themselves.

Mark McGill is a dirty no good, lowdown murderer and dope smuggler played by Jack (Theater Of Blood) Hawkins.

Pretty Phyllis Brooks is a gullible and naive woman named Ann Perryman.

Phyllis was born in Boise, Idaho, and traveled in social circles that included people like John F. Kennedy, who was the Godfather of her oldest son. She was also in two Charlie Chan movies.

Sebastian (Anakin Skywalker) Shaw is Inspector Bradley of "The Flying Squad."

Ann Perryman's brother Ronald is up to his neck in trouble, and Tiser is Mark McGill's henchman.

Sedeman is washed up out of work actor, and Li Joseph is a senile olde man who only knows how to play one annoying song on the violin.

The trap door in the floor is a straight drop into the river. McGill uses it to throw out the trash.

Ronald introduces his sister to McGill.

The olde man Li is driving the gang crazy with his incessant violin playing.

This looks like a shot from some Edgar Allen Poe film.

McGill kills Ronald, and poor olde Li saw it happen, so he has to be disposed of too.

Rat dog McGill convinces Ann that Inspector Bradley was responsible for the death of her brother, even though he was really the one who did it, and she falls for it.

These two are just regular colourful Edgar Wallace characters.

Phyllis Brooks was engaged at one time to Cary Grant, but she ended up marrying Torbert Macdonald, who had been John F. Kennedy's roommate at Harvard University, and went on to become an 11-term Congressman in Massachusetts.

Dumbass McGill blows his cover when he leaves the phone off the hook after talking to Ann.

Before it's over, McGill has Ann moving drugs for him, and she doesn't even know it.

"The Flying Squad" is only 64 minutes long, so it doesn't waste your time with a bunch of fluff and filler! It's a bit droll, but it's worth an hour of your time.

SETTE ORCHIDEE MACCHIATE DI ROSSO - "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids" (1972)

This Edgar Wallace Saturday Night Special is a little bit different than most, starting with it's Italian, and not German!

 

Wanna watch a one minute version of "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids," well, here you go!!

 

Everybody else gets their credits superimposed on them from one of their scenes, but not big shot Antonio, he gets a full shot of just his name!

Antonio (When Men Carried Clubs And Women Played Ding Dong" Sabato just passed away this last January at the age of 77.

Being German, gooshy Uschi Glas, billed here as Uschi Glass, was in quite a few other Edgar Wallace films like "The Gorilla Gang," and "The Sinister Monk." She also graced the screen in classics like "Suck Me Shakespeer," and "Schmucklos!"

I think this was the only Edgar Wallace film that Pier Paolo Capponi was in, but he was in Argento's "The Cat o' Nine Tails."

I don't think Marina Malfatti was in any other Edgar Wallace films either, but she was in another bloodstained feature in 1973, "The Bloodstained Lawn!"

As far as I can tell, Rosella (Black Belly Of The Tarantula) Falk was in no other Edgar Wallace films either.

I don't see any other Edgar Wallace films in his portfolio, but talk about versatile, Claudio was in everything from "Gidget Goes To Rome," to "The Death Ray Of Dr. Mabuse."

But not for long!!

Marisa Mell was also in EW's "Secret Of The Red Orchid," and along with Cladio Gora was also in "Danger: Diabolik!"

I think I could have passed for that guy holding the bottle in 1972!

"Seven Blood-Stained Orchids" is a movie about a serial killer in Italy!

Now this is a formidable looking police car if I ever saw one!

They call him The Half-Moon Killer for good reason! He leaves one of these at the scene of the murder!

Pretty cool record if you're into straight razors!

"Sette Orchidee Macchiate di Rosso" was directed by Umberto (Eaten Alive!) Lenzi, and the great soundtrack was composed by Riz Ortonlani.

Here's a fantastic version of the theme song performed by Ozarks!

DAS VERRÄTERTOR - "Traitor's Gate" (1964)

"Das Verrätertor," now that's a mouthful, and the English translation as "The Traitor's Gate," or the betrayed gate, are words that just don't go together well, and I think that just kinda sets the mood for this Edgar Wallace Wednesday feature. Actually, when I got this, it was labeled "Trailor's Gate," and I was really have a hard time trying to figure out what in the Hell that meant!

 

"Das Verrätertor," was made in 1964, and is a little different from many of the Edgar Wallace films of the same time period, because they don't use the same players as much.

"Das Verrätertor" was a novel written by Edgar Wallace, but the screenplay was by Hammer's Jimmy Sangster credited as John Samson.

Something else that's different about this film is that it was directed by Dungeon fave Freddie Francis.
 

Gary Raymond was a co-star on the popular 60's TV show "The Rat Patrol" as Sergeant Jack Moffitt, but I think this was the only Edgar Wallace film he was in.

 

You just can't hardly have an Edgar Wallace movie without Klaus Kinski in it. There are a few, but usually he's lurking around in there somewhere!

Another unfamiliar face in Edgar Wallace films is Catherine Schell. This was only Catherine Schell's second on screen appearance, the first being "Lana, Queen Of The Amazons." She would later be in "Moon Zero Two," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," and appear as Maya in "Space:1999." Catherine came from a royal bloodline, and her Father was a Baron, but World War II put and end to all that.

Margot Trooger was also not in a lot of the Edgar Wallace films, except for this one and "The Mysterious Magician," and "Again The Ringer."

Same thing with Albert Lieven, besides this film he was in "The Devil's Daffodil," and one episode of "The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre."

Und....(That's German for 'And' for you non-German speakers. It took me three years of high school German class to figure that out!).............Eddi Arent, who like Klaus Kinski was in almost every Wallace film!

(And personally, sometimes I wish he wasn't.)

The basic story here is that a group of crafty thieves try and steal the Crown Jewels which are housed in The Tower of London!

Maestro Peter Thomas was once again responsible for the music, and that's reason enough in my book, to watch this film!

Other than that, there's a lot of this..............."Hilf Mir!!"

 

"Was meinst du damit, dass ich albern aussehe?"

 

"Keine Sorge Boss, das wird ein Kinderspiel."

Just using the keys would have been the simplest solution!

But you just can't go wrong with a team of guys with cutting torches. Just ask anybody who has ever had their catalytic convertor stolen! Very Effective!