The Mysterious Pilot | |
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Directed by | Spencer Gordon Bennet |
Written by |
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Produced by | Louis Weiss |
Starring | Frank Hawks |
Cinematography | |
Edited by | Earl Turner (film editor) |
Music by | Abe Meyer (musical director/uncredited) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 15 chapters (300 min) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
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. [N 1] This was the second serial produced by Columbia. [2] In the serial, Hawks plays a flying "mountie". [3]
Carter Snowden (Kenneth Harlan) about to marry Jean McNain (Dorothy Sebastian), is accused of murder. When his accuser is killed, Jean flees the train she is on, and heads into the Canadian woods. Snowden sends a bodyguard to find Jean, who appeals to RCMP Captain Jim Down (Frank Hawks) for help. With his friend "Kansas" (Rex Lease) and Indian Luke (Yakima Canutt), Jim hides Jean.
Snowden tracks down Jean and tries to lure her to his aircraft by telling her that Jim is injured and needs her. As soon as they realize what has happened, Jim and Kansas take to the air and force Snowden's aircraft down. Jean is unhurt but Snowden dies in the crash. Trying to get down to Jean, Jim's parachute gets tangled in the trees and Jean ends up rescuing him.
Source: [4]
Mysterious Pilot was adapted from the novel "The Silver Hawk" by William Byron Mowery. [1] [5] Frank Hawks was billed in Mysterious Pilot as the "Fastest airman in the world." [1] After each episode, Hawks appeared to deliver a "flying lesson". A Sikorsky S-39 amphibian was featured in the serial. [6]
The Three Musketeers is a 1933 American pre-Code film serial directed by Armand Schaeffer and Colbert Clark, and produced by Nat Levine for Mascot Pictures. The film serial was very loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel The Three Musketeers, with the musketeers changed into three soldiers in the French Foreign Legion, and d'Artagnan being reconfigured as Lt. Tom Wayne, a pilot in the United States military.
S O S Coast Guard is a 1937 Republic film serial. It was the seventh of the sixty-six serials made by Republic. The plot concerns the mad scientist Boroff attempting to sell a superweapon to the highest bidder, opposed by Coast Guard Lieutenant Terry Kent, for both personal and professional reasons.
The Hurricane Express is a 1932 American Pre-Code 12-chapter Mascot Pictures film serial. Written by Colbert Clark, Barney Sarecky, Wyndham Gittens, George Morgan, and J.P. McGowan, the serial was directed by Armand Schaeffer and J.P. McGowan and produced by Nat Levine. The Hurricane Express stars John Wayne as aircraft pilot Larry Baker. Wayne goes after a mystery villain named "The Wrecker", who was responsible for a train crash that killed Baker's father.
The Vigilantes Are Coming is a 1936 American Republic film serial directed by Ray Taylor and Mack V. Wright. It was the third of the sixty six serials made by Republic Pictures.
King of the Texas Rangers (1941) is a Republic film serial. Set in the years prior to America entering World War II, the plot is slightly anachronistic in that the serial features a mix of period western and modern elements, which was not unknown in the B-Western films also produced by Republic. Although the serial's plot involves cowboys battling Axis agents in Texas. Nazis are never named as such but their presence is strongly implied within the serial.
Spy Smasher is a 12-episode 1942 Republic serial film based on the Fawcett Comics character Spy Smasher which is now a part of DC Comics. It was the 25th of the 66 serials produced by Republic. The serial was directed by William Witney with Kane Richmond and Marguerite Chapman as the leads. The serial was Chapman's big break into a career in film and television. Spy Smasher is a very highly regarded serial. In 1966, a television film was made from the serial footage under the title Spy Smasher Returns.
King of the Rocket Men is a 1949 12-chapter movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed Fred C. Brannon, that stars Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters, Jr., James Craven, and I. Stanford Jolley.
Flying Disc Man from Mars is a 1950 Republic Pictures 12-chapter black-and-white science fiction adventure film serial, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed by Fred C. Brannon, that stars Walter Reed, Lois Collier, Gregory Gaye, James Craven, Harry Lauter, and Richard Irving. Disc Man is considered a weak example of the serial medium, even compared to other post-World War II serials. In 1958 Republic edited the serial's 167 minutes of footage into a 75-minute feature, released under the new title Missile Monsters.
The Galloping Ghost is a 1931 American pre-Code Mascot serial film co-directed by B. Reeves Eason and Benjamin H. Kline. The title is the nickname of the star, real life American football player Red Grange. Serial historian Raymond William Stedman lists Lon Chaney Jr. as appearing in Ghost in a small uncredited part as a henchman, but this has never been verified.
The Shadow of the Eagle is a 1932 American Pre-Code Mascot 12 episode film serial, directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason and produced by Nat Levine. The film stars John Wayne in his first serial role. He would go on to star in two other serials for Mascot, The Hurricane Express (1932) and The Three Musketeers (1933). The Shadow of the Eagle is now in the public domain.
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1932 American pre-Code Mascot movie serial based on the 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.
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 Airmail Mystery is a 1932 Universal pre-Code movie serial directed by Ray Taylor, written by Ella O'Neill, starring James Flavin and Wheeler Oakman, and featuring Al Wilson doing the aerial stunts. The Airmail Mystery was Universal's first aviation serial that set the pattern for the aviation serials and feature films to follow. The film also marks the film debut of James Flavin. The Airmail Mystery is considered a lost film.
The Phantom of the Air is a 12-episode 1933 Pre-Code Universal film serial directed by Ray Taylor. The film stars Tom Tyler, who was cast most often in Westerns. Other actors include Gloria Shea, LeRoy Mason, Craig Reynolds and William Desmond.
Tailspin Tommy is a 12-episode 1934 Universal film serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest. Directed by Lew Landers and produced by Milton Gatzert, the serial was the 97th serial of the 137 released by that studio. The plot of Tailspin Tommy concerns a conflict over a government airmail contract.
Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery is a 12-episode 1935 Universal movie serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest and starring Clark Williams, Jean Rogers and Noah Beery, Jr. The picture was the 96th of the 137 serials released by the studio.
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936) is a Universal movie serial based on the Frank Merriwell books by Gilbert Patten.
Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies (1949) is a 15-episode Columbia Pictures movie serial based on the Bruce Gentry comic strip created by Ray Bailey. It features the first cinematic appearance of a flying saucer, as the secret weapon of the villainous Recorder.
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.
Doctor Satan's Robot is a 1966 made for television film condensed from the original 1940 Mysterious Doctor Satan film serial named after its chief villain. Master criminal Doctor Satan has a nemesis, a masked mystery man, the "Copperhead", whose secret identity is Bob Wayne. Wearing a copper mask, Wayne is searching for justice and revenge on Satan for the death of his step-father. With Doctor Satan creating a mechanical robot that will terrorize the world, Wayne is determined to stop the criminal plans of the evil doctor.