Custer's Last Stand (serial)

Last updated

Custer's Last Stand
Custer's Last Stand FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Elmer Clifton
Screenplay by George Arthur Durlam
Eddie Granemann
William Lively
Story byGeorge 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
January 2, 1936
April 3, 1936 (film)
Running time
15 chapters (328 min)
84 min (film)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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.

Contents

In April of the same year, the serial was edited into an 84-minute feature film, which was released under the same name.

Plot overview

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.

Cast

Production

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]

Stunts

Release

Theatrical

Custer's Last Stand was well received by action fans, regardless of its historical inaccuracies. [1]

Chapter titles

  1. Perils of the Plains
  2. Thundering Hoofs [sic]
  3. Fires of Vengeance
  4. The Ghost Dancers
  5. Trapped
  6. Human Wolves
  7. Demons of Disaster
  8. White Treachery
  9. Circle of Death
  10. Flaming Arrow
  11. Warpath
  12. Firing Squad
  13. Red Panthers
  14. Custer's Last Ride
  15. The Last Stand

Source: [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Lost Planet</i> 1953 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet

The Lost Planet is a 1953 American horror 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.

<i>Adventures of Red Ryder</i> 1940 film by John English, William Witney

The Adventures of Red Ryder is a 1940 12-chapter Republic movie serial directed by William Witney and John English and starring Don "Red" Barry and Noah Beery, Sr., based on the Western comic strip Red Ryder. This serial is the 18th of the 66 serials produced by Republic.

<i>Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.</i> 1941 film by John English, William Witney

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.

<i>The Vanishing Legion</i> 1931 film

The Vanishing Legion is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film serial from Mascot, directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason.

<i>The Mystery Squadron</i> 1933 American film

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.

<i>The Law of the Wild</i> 1934 American film

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.

The Lightning Express is a 1930 American Universal film serial, featuring the adventures of "Whispering Smith". This serial is considered a lost film.

<i>Battling with Buffalo Bill</i> 1931 film

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.

<i>Heroes of the West</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

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).

<i>Rustlers of Red Dog</i> 1935 film

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.

<i>The Roaring West</i> 1935 film

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.

<i>The Phantom Rider</i> (Universal serial) 1936 American film

The Phantom Rider is a 1936 American Western film serial directed by Ray Taylor for Universal and starring Buck Jones and Marla Shelton.

<i>Jungle Jim</i> (serial) 1937 American film

Jungle Jim is a 1937 Universal serial film based on Jungle Jim, the comic strip by Alex Raymond. Grant Withers starred as Jungle Jim, and Henry Brandon played the villainous Cobra.

<i>Wild West Days</i> 1937 American film

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.

<i>Radio Patrol</i> (serial) 1937 American film

Radio Patrol is a 1937 Universal movie serial based on the comic strip Radio Patrol.

<i>The Mysterious Pilot</i> 1937 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet

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".

<i>The Last Frontier</i> (serial) 1932 film

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.

<i>The Green Archer</i> (1940 serial) 1940 film by James W. Horne

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.

<i>The Desert Hawk</i> (serial) 1944 American film

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 own evil twin brother. Co-stars included serial regulars Charles Middleton, Frank Lackteen and I. Stanford Jolley.

<i>The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd</i> 1953 film by Derwin Abrahams

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Cline, William C. (1984). "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. p.  39. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
  2. Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. p.  217. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.