The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd

Last updated
The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd
The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd.jpg
Directed by Derwin Abrahams
Charles S. Gould
Written by George H. Plympton
Arthur Hoerl (story and screenplay)
Produced by Sam Katzman
Starring Richard Crane
David Bruce
John Crawford
George Wallace
Cinematography William P. Whitley
Edited by Earl Turner
Music by Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Color process Black and white
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • January 1, 1953 (1953-01-01)
Running time
15 Episodes, 97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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.

Contents

Plot

In 1697, agents Richard Dale and Alan Duncan are sent on an undercover mission by the British Fleet to find and gather information on the notorious pirate, Captain William Kidd. Dale and Duncan soon join Kidd's crew and discover, to their surprise, that the Captain is quite different from what they had expected.

Cast

Production

This was the last costume serial and possibly the most faithful of the rare serial entries in the swashbuckling genre since Pirate Treasure. [2]

The plot was based on the possibility that the real Captain Kidd was misjudged in an unfair trial. [1]

Stock footage from feature films allowed the inclusion of seafaring scenes, which would have been too expensive to film on a serial budget. This resulted in, according to Cline, "a unique flavour for which it is fondly remembered." [2]

Chapter titles

  1. Pirate vs. Man-of-War
  2. The Fatal Shot
  3. Attacked by Captain Kidd
  4. Captured by Captain Kidd
  5. Mutiny on the Adventure's Galley
  6. Murder on the Main Deck
  7. Prisoners of War
  8. Mutiny Unmasked
  9. Pirate Against Pirate
  10. Shot from the Parapet
  11. The Flaming Fortress
  12. Before the Firing Squad
  13. In the Hands of the Mohawks
  14. Pirate Gold
  15. Captain Kidd's Last Chance

Source: [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Adventures of Captain Marvel</i> 1941 serial by William Witney, John English

Adventures of Captain Marvel is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English and William Witney, that stars Tom Tyler in the title role of Captain Marvel and Frank Coghlan, Jr. as his alter ego, Billy Batson. The serial was adapted from the popular Captain Marvel comic book character, then appearing in the Fawcett Comics publications Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. The character is now owned by DC Comics and is known as Shazam.

<i>Danger Island</i> (serial) 1931 film

Danger Island (1931) is a Universal pre-Code film serial. It is considered to be lost. Kenneth Harlan played Captain Drake, and Lucile Brown played heroine Bonnie Adams. The film also co-starred Andy Devine.

<i>Ace Drummond</i> (serial) 1936 film

Ace Drummond is a Universal Pictures 1936 film serial based on the comic strip "Ace Drummond" written by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and drawn by Clayton Knight. The serial's cast features John King, Jean Rogers, Noah Beery Jr. and Jackie Morrow, with Lon Chaney Jr. in a supporting role.

<i>The Great Alaskan Mystery</i> 1944 film by Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins

The Great Alaskan Mystery is a 1944 Universal film serial about government agents trying to stop Nazi spies from getting their hands on futuristic weapons.

<i>Darkest Africa</i> 1936 American film

Darkest Africa (1936) is a Republic movie serial. This was the first serial produced by Republic Pictures and was a loose sequel to a Mascot Pictures serial called The Lost Jungle, also starring Clyde Beatty. Mascot, and other companies, had been taken over in 1935 by Consolidated Film Laboratories and merged to become Republic. Producer Nat Levine was formerly the owner of Mascot Pictures.

<i>Haunted Harbor</i> 1944 film by Wallace Grissell, Spencer Gordon Bennet

Haunted Harbor (1944) is a Republic serial, based on the novel by Ewart Adamson.

<i>The James Brothers of Missouri</i> 1946 film by Fred C. Brannon

The James Brothers of Missouri is a 1949 American Republic Western film serial.

<i>The Invisible Monster</i> 1950 film by Fred C. Brannon

The Invisible Monster is a 1950 Republic film serial, starring Richard Webb and Aline Towne.

<i>Trader Tom of the China Seas</i> 1954 film by Franklin Adreon

Trader Tom of the China Seas is a 1954 Republic film serial directed by Franklin Adreon and starring Harry Lauter, Aline Towne, Lyle Talbot, Robert Shayne, Fred Graham, and Richard Reeves. In 1966 the serial was edited into Century 66 100-minute television film with the new title Target: Sea of China.

<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>Pirate Treasure</i> 1934 American film

Pirate Treasure is a 1934 Universal film serial. It was the twenty-first sound serial released by Universal, of the sixty-nine they released in total. It was a rare example of the swashbuckling genre in the film serial medium.

<i>The Adventures of Smilin Jack</i> (serial) 1943 film by Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943) is a Universal movie serial based on the popular comic strip The Adventures of Smilin' Jack by Zack Mosley. It was directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor.

<i>Adventures of the Flying Cadets</i> 1943 film by Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins

Adventures of the Flying Cadets is a 13-episode 1943 Universal film serial directed by Ray Taylor and Lewis D. Collins.

<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 Monster and the Ape</i> 1945 American film

The Monster and the Ape was the 26th serial released by Columbia Pictures and was released in 1945.

<i>Son of the Guardsman</i> 1946 American film

Son of the Guardsman is an American film serial released in 1946 by Columbia Pictures. It was the 31st of the 57 serials produced by that studio.

<i>Pirates of the High Seas</i> 1950 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr

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.

<i>Mysterious Island</i> (serial) 1951 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet

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.

Derwin Abrahams (1903–1974) was an American film director. He directed four serials in the 1940s for Columbia Pictures, including Hop Harrigan, Chick Carter, Detective, Tex Granger, and Son of the Guardsman, followed by The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd in 1953. He also directed around two dozen western features, as well as episodes of the TV series The Adventures of Kit Carson, Hopalong Cassidy and The Cisco Kid.

References

  1. 1 2 Cline, William C. (1984). "5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 76. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
  2. 1 2 Cline, William C. (1984). "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 29. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
  3. Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 255. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.

Sources