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Kenne Duncan was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but he also did occasional forays into horror, crime drama, and science fiction. He also appeared in over a dozen serials.
The Phantom is a 1943 15-chapter cliffhanger superhero serial, produced by Rudolph C. Flothow, directed B. Reeves Eason, and starring Tom Tyler in the title role. It is based on Lee Falk's comic strip The Phantom, first syndicated to newspapers in 1936 by King Features Syndicate. The serial also features Jeanne Bates as the Phantom's girlfriend Diana Palmer, and Ace the Wonder Dog as the Phantom's trusty German shepherd Devil.
Zorro's Black Whip is a 1944 12-chapter film serial by Republic Pictures starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of The Mark of Zorro in order to capitalize on it. Republic was not able to use the character of Zorro himself, however, and despite the title, the hero(ine) is called The Black Whip throughout.
Dick Tracy (1937) is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial starring Ralph Byrd based on the Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by Alan James and Ray Taylor.
Dick Tracy Returns (1938) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was the eleventh of the sixty-six serials Republic produced and a sequel to the 1937 serial Dick Tracy, with Ralph Byrd reprising his role as the title character. It was successful enough that two further sequels were released in 1939 and 1941, and Byrd become so connected with the character he went on to play him in a subsequent television series.
Secret Service in Darkest Africa is a 1943 Republic serial. It was Republic's 30th serial, of the 66 produced by the studio.
The Purple Monster Strikes is a 1945 Republic Movie serial. It was also released as a Century 66 television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
Jesse James Rides Again is a 1947 American Republic Western film serial.
Man with the Steel Whip is a 1954 Republic Western serial film. It uses considerable stock footage from the previous Republic serials "Zorro's Black Whip", "The Painted Stallion" and "Daredevils of the West."
Captain America is a 1944 Republic black-and-white 15-chapter serial film loosely based on the Timely Comics character Captain America. It was the last Republic serial made about a superhero. It also has the distinction of being the most expensive serial that Republic ever made. It stands as the first theatrical release connected to a Marvel character; the next theatrical release featuring a Marvel hero would not occur for more than 40 years. It was the last live-action rendition of a Marvel character in any medium until Spider-Man appeared in the Spidey Super Stories segment of the children's television series The Electric Company in 1974.
Sky Raiders is a 12-episode 1941 Universal film serial. The serial was directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. Sky Raiders stars Donald Woods, Billy Halop, Robert Armstrong and Eduardo Ciannelli. Sky Raiders has little in common with Universal’s other early-1940s espionage outings like Sea Raiders or Junior G-Men, although the serial is often lumped in together as if it is part of a series.
Sea Raiders is a 1941 Universal film serial starring the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys. This was the teen stars' second of three serials, between Junior G-Men (1940) and Junior G-Men of the Air (1942). Sea Raiders was the 52nd serial to be released by Universal. The plot concerns the heroes foiling Nazi attacks on American shipping.
Don Winslow of the Navy is a 1942 Universal Pictures Serial film based on the comic strip Don Winslow of the Navy by Commander Frank V. Martinek. It was theatrically released in January 1942.
Captain Midnight is a 1942 American serial film. It was Columbia Pictures 17th released serial and was based upon the radio adventure serial of the same name, broadcast from 1938 to 1949. Captain Midnight was only one of the many aviation serials released during World War II, whose leading characters were derived from early pulp magazines and radio show favorites.
Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945) was the 25th film serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was inspired by Brenda Starr, Reporter, a popular comic strip created by Dale Messick. The title role was played by Joan Woodbury, who had similar roles in feature films for Columbia and Monogram.
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.
Pirates of the High Seas is a 1950 American adventure serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr and starring Buster Crabbe, Lois Hall and Tommy Farrell.
Mysterious Island is a 1951 American 15-chapter movie serial from Columbia Pictures, the studio's 46th, that stars Richard Crane, Marshall Reed, Karen Randle, and Ralph Hodges. It is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 1874 novel, The Mysterious Island. As in the original story, which was Verne's follow-up to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, this serial is set in 1865. However, Columbia's screenwriters added alien Mercurians as an additional set of villains. The serial has been labeled a space opera version of Verne's novel.
Riding with Buffalo Bill is a 1954 American Western Serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Marshall Reed.
Blazing the Overland Trail is a 1956 American western serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Lee Roberts. It was the 57th and last serial produced by Columbia Pictures, and the last American serial ever produced for theaters. Universal Pictures had disbanded its serial unit in 1946 with The Mysterious Mr. M, and Republic Pictures had ceased serial production in 1955 with King of the Carnival.
References
- White, Raymond Hollywood Cowboys Go to War: The B-Western Movie during World War IIUnder Western Stars # 25 (Sept. 1986)
