Custer's Last Stand | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Elmer Clifton |
Screenplay by | George Arthur Durlam Eddie Granemann William Lively |
Story by | George Arthur Durlam Eddie Granemann William Lively |
Produced by | Louis Weiss |
Starring | Rex Lease Lona Andre William Farnum Ruth Mix Jack Mulhall |
Cinematography | Bert Longenecker |
Edited by | George M. Merrick Holbrook N. Todd |
Music by | Hal Chasnoff |
Distributed by | Stage & Screen Productions |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 15 chapters (328 min) 84 min (film) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Custer's Last Stand is a 1936 American film serial based on the historical Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn River. It was directed by Elmer Clifton, and starred Rex Lease, William Farnum and Jack Mulhall. It was produced by the Poverty Row studio Stage & Screen Productions, which went bust shortly afterwards as a victim of the Great Depression. This serial stars many famous and popular B-Western actors as well as silent serial star Helen Gibson playing Calamity Jane, Frank McGlynn Jr. as General Custer, and Allen Greer as Wild Bill Hickok.
In April of the same year, the serial was edited into an 84-minute feature film, which was released under the same name.
The serial follows multiple plot threads, centering on a Medicine Arrow taken in battle and a secret gold mine, in the lead up to the Battle of Little Big Horn.
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Commenting on the plot, Cline notes that this serial contains several historical characters in a purely fictitious setting. "The story rambled through a series of loosely connected plots and sub plots" leading to Little Big Horn. [1]
Custer's Last Stand was well received by action fans, regardless of its historical inaccuracies. [1]
Source: [2]
The Lost Planet is a 1953 American science fiction serial film 15-chapter serial which has the distinction of being the last interplanetary-themed sound serial ever made. It was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet with a screenplay by George H. Plympton and Arthur Hoerl. It appears to have been planned as a sequel to the earlier chapterplay Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere and shares many plot-points, props and sets, as well as some of the same cast. However, the Video Rangers do not appear, and their uniforms are instead worn by "slaves" created electronically by Reckov, the dictator of the Lost Planet with the help of mad scientist Dr. Grood and enslaved "good" scientist Professor Dorn.
The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938) is a 12-chapter Republic movie serial starring Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett. It was directed by William Witney and John English. While not often considered a great serial, as it contains much stock footage and two recap chapters, it is famous for its main villain, the Lightning—the first costumed supervillain. There is some speculation that George Lucas used the Lightning as a template for Darth Vader.
Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials. It was the last of the four Dick Tracy serials produced by Republic, although Ralph Byrd went on to portray the character again in two features and on television.
G-Men vs. The Black Dragon (1943) is a Republic Pictures movie serial. It is noteworthy among adventure serials as containing an unusually high number of fistfights, all staged by director William Witney and a team of stuntmen.
The Vanishing Legion is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film serial from Mascot, directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason.
The Wolf Dog is a 1933 American Pre-Code Mascot film serial directed by Colbert Clark and Harry L. Fraser and starring Frankie Darro and Rin Tin Tin, Jr. The plot concerns a young boy becoming the heir to a fortune and a villain attempting to take it from him. The boy's canine pet, Rin Tin Tin Jr., is the star of the film, protecting his master from a succession of murder attempts.
The Mystery Squadron is a 1933 American pre-Code 12-chapter Mascot film serial, directed by Colbert Clark and David Howard. The film was produced by Nat Levine, and stars Western star Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Lucile Browne, Purnell Pratt and Jack Mulhall. The Mystery Squadron made an impressive use of a great deal of aerial footage to enliven the action.
The Law of the Wild is a 1934 American western serial film produced by Nat Levine, directed by B. Reeves Eason and Armand Schaefer, distributed by Mascot Pictures, and starring two famous animal stars, Rex the Wonder Horse and Rin Tin Tin Jr. as the serial's two leads. Bob Custer played hero John Sheldon, Richard Cramer played villain Frank Nolan, and famed comedian Ben Turpin co-starred as the comic relief sidekick Henry.
Battling with Buffalo Bill is a 1931 American pre-Code Western serial film directed by Ray Taylor and starring Tom Tyler, Lucile Browne, William Desmond, Rex Bell, and Francis Ford.
Heroes of the West (1932) is a Universal Pre-Code movie serial that depicts the dangers and thrills of building a transcontinental railroad. This was the 82nd serial to be released by Universal. It was remade in 1938 as Flaming Frontiers (serial).
Rustlers of Red Dog is a 1935 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures based on the book The Great West That Was by William "Buffalo Bill" Cody. It was a remake of the earlier, 1930 serial The Indians are Coming.
The Roaring West is a 1935 American Western film serial starring Buck Jones as Montana Larkin. It co-stars his horse, Silver, and Frank McGlynn Sr. as his trusty sidekick Jinglebob Morgan. The film was released by Universal.
Wild West Days (1937) is a Universal film serial based on a Western novel by W. R. Burnett. Directed by Ford Beebe and Clifford Smith and starring Johnny Mack Brown, George Shelley, Lynn Gilbert, Frank Yaconelli, Bob Kortman, Russell Simpson, and Walter Miller, it was the 103rd of the studio's 137 serials, and was the first of three serials Brown made for the studio before being promoted to his own B-western series in 1939.
Radio Patrol is a 1937 Universal movie serial based on the comic strip Radio Patrol.
The Mysterious Pilot is a 15-episode 1937 Columbia movie serial based on the book by William Byron Mowery and starring the record-breaking aviator Frank Hawks. This was the second serial produced by Columbia. In the serial, Hawks plays a flying "mountie".
The Last Frontier is an American Pre-Code 12-chapter serial, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures in 1932. The story was based on the novel of the same name by Courtney Ryley Cooper.
The Green Archer is the 12th serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Edgar Wallace's 1923 novel The Green Archer, which had previously been adapted into the silent serial of the same name in 1925 by Pathé Exchange.
The Desert Hawk is a 1944 Columbia film serial. It was the 23rd serial produced by Columbia. Gilbert Roland played a dual role in this serial, that of Kasim, The Desert Hawk and also Hassan, his evil twin brother. Co-stars included serial regulars Charles Middleton, Frank Lackteen and I. Stanford Jolley.
Cody of the Pony Express is a 1950 American Western serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. It starred Jock Mahoney, Dickie Moore, Peggy Stewart and William Fawcett.
The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) was the 52nd serial released by Columbia Pictures. It is based in the historical figure of Captain William Kidd.