Old Time Serial Resurrection Into a Franchise
What past movie serial that has the coolest title character that's named in the title do you think could make a comeback and be resurrected today as a franchise?
After voting, please discuss here.
After voting, please discuss here.
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- DirectorEdward JoséGeorge B. SeitzStarsPearl WhiteCreighton HaleSheldon LewisEpisode 1: "The Vengeance of Legar" The story begins years ago on an island in the South. Enoch Golden, a wealthy planter, catches Jules Legar, a scheming physician, making love to his wife in an attempt to learn the secret hiding place of Golden's wealth. Suspecting the worst, Golden sends his wife away, and as punishment to Legar has his handsome face branded with white-hot irons and his hand crushed in a vise. Then Legar, set free, swears vengeance and begins his villainy by opening the sluice-gates that keep the sea from inundating the island. The waters rush in and the entire island is flooded and its houses swept away in the swirling waters. Legar kidnaps Golden's daughter, Margery, whom, in the next scene, twenty years later, we see grown to beautiful maidenhood, in his ominous power. Hate still lives in Legar's heart, and he sends Margery to a denizen of the underworld in whose house she is to be detained. But here steps in a mysterious gallant known as "The Laughing Mask," who saves her, for the nonce, from her fate.
- DirectorGrace CunardFrancis FordStarsFrancis FordGrace CunardJean HathawayEpisode 1: "The Vanished Jewels" Patricia Montez, niece of the wealthy Eleanor Van Nuys, is the most popular girl in the American colony of Paris. Her one idea is to bring comfort to the suffering poor. Her aunt, Mrs. Eleanor Van Nuys, is likewise charitably inclined. The Children's Asylum, a refuge for orphans, is the principal hobby in Mrs. Van Nuys' scheme of charity. To her friends, Patricia is affectionately known as "Pat." The result of Pat's popularity has been to give the spirited girl an excellent opinion of herself, and when Phil Kelly snubs her she resents it and resolves to go to any length in retaliation. Kelly is a famous detective, known all over Europe as "The Sphinx." Pat's first venture, in retaliation for Kelly's rudeness, is to steal her aunt's jewels. She then notifies Kelly. Pat hides the jewels in her dressing table drawer. They are stolen by Jacques, the butler, who takes them to the rendezvous of his fellow Apaches, the Café Chat Noir. Pat has noticed Jacques' suspicious conduct and follows him to the café. She is followed by Phil Kelly and two of his assistants. Pat is disguised as an Apache's sweetheart, and bribes her cabman to assume the role of her lover. They enter the café and participate in the festivities. Pat sees Jacques displaying to his pals the Van Nuys' heirlooms. By deftly whirling her dancing partner to the table where Jacques sits, she manages to stumble and strike the butler's arm. The jewels fall from Jacques' hands. Pat picks them up and as she is leaving the place Phil Kelly confronts her. In her surprise, Pat drops the gems upon the steps. She dodges past the detective and makes her way home. Kelly observes the jewels lying on the ground, and pocketing them, departs.
- DirectorStuart PatonStarsHarry CarterPriscilla DeanEmory JohnsonEpisode 1: "The Bank Mystery" Mr. Carlow, a wealthy American living in London, is engaged to Lady Gwendolin, and has ordered from Arabin and Company, famous Fifth Avenue jewelers, a necklace worth two million dollars, to be made for her wedding present. She is anxious to see it, and he sends the junior partner of his London solicitors, Wade Hildreth, to America to get the jewel. He cables the young attorney's personal description to Arabin, and gives Wade his certified check for two million dollars. Wade makes ready to go with his secretary. Jean Marco. In New York is a master criminal known as the Gray Ghost. So perfect is his organization that he is never even suspected of the crimes and robberies which follow each other in quick succession. Only one member of the detective force really believes in his identity. This is Jerry Tyron. The Gray Ghost intercepts the message from Arabin. He prepares a reception for Hildreth, for he wishes to get the necklace and the check. Banker Olmstead is at dinner with his wife and son who is employed in the bank with him. His father is anxious that the books shall be in order, as the auditor is coming to examine them. He decides to go down to the bank. Young Olmstead is in the power of the Gray Ghost, to whom he has lost at cards. He goes to him to say that the game is up, and asks for mercy. Instead of helping him, the man plans to get him further into his power. Morn Light, a musical comedy star, whose connection with the Ghost is mysterious, arrives during their discussion. The Ghost asks her to retire, but she listens and watches. She sees the Ghost's men strike down Olmstead, and demands to know what is to be done with him. The Ghost tells her to mind her own business, and she is very angry. He sends her home. Olmstead has arrived at the bank and ordered the vault to be opened. The watchman is in the pay of the Ghost. Olmstead discovers his son's thefts from the bank. Suddenly he is shot down. It is the Ghost's men who have been introduced into the vault by the watchman. The men appear, carrying the boy. They place a revolver in his hand, and leave him lying upon his father's body. He comes to, and the watchman tells him that he has shot his father, and that the police are after him. He cannot believe it, but an officer rushes in and drags him out. In the car the officer changes his clothes to civilian attire, and when Olmstead demands to know what it means he is silenced. The Gray Ghost waits till one o'clock, and then he calls up Tyron and tells him that the bank has been robbed. Tyron sets out at once with a large force of police. They arrive at the bank, and find the unconscious watchman. The body of the banker has disappeared.
- DirectorPaul HurstStarsJack HoxieAnn LittlePaul HurstTwo prospectors, one the father of Skye "Lightning" Bryce and the other the father of Kate Arnold, find a large gold deposit belonging to an Indian tribe. They head for home but each sends a note to their respective off-springs advising them of their good fortune. One of the fathers conceives a plan of taking a dagger and wrapping a piece of string around the blade, after which he prints on the string with a lead pencil, the exact location of their find. If something happens to them, the string goes to the son and the knife to the daughter. That night an Indian approaches their camp and blows some mysterious wolf powder which causes a man to see wolves in place of human beings. Lightning's father see his partner as a wolf and stabs him to death; later he is brought into town in a dying condition but before dying, hands the knife and the string over to the sheriff with instructions to deliver to Lightning and Kate. The sheriff also informs Kate that Lightning's father killed her father, and she immediately turns against Lightning. "Powder" Solvang also knows the story behind the knife and the string, and is determined to gain possession of both, even to the extent of making Kate his prisoner in an opium den in Chinatown.
- DirectorFord BeebeClifford SmithStarsJohn 'Dusty' KingJean RogersNoah Beery Jr.This 13 chapter serial is based on the comic strip character Ace Drummond created by Eddie Rickenbacker. Ace is a 'G-Man of the sky' working out of Washington D.C. He is sent to Mongolia to find out why a mysterious villain known only as 'The Dragon' is trying to prevent the newly formed International Airways from setting up an airport there. Ace meets Peggy Trainor (Jean Rogers) who is searching for her archaeologist father who has disappeared. Together they search for answers to the puzzles.
- DirectorAlan JamesRay TaylorStarsRalph ByrdKay HughesSmiley BurnetteA master criminal called The Spider puts the famous detective's brother under a hypnotic spell and turns him against Dick.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsEdna MurphyHarold MillerWhitehorseThree trappers protect a British Colonel's daughters in the midst of the French and Indian War.
- DirectorFord BeebeClifford SmithStarsScott KolkJean RogersDavid OliverA secret agent goes after the gang that stole the crown jewels of a European monarchy.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsRin Tin TinWalter MillerJune MarloweA prospector is murdered by The Cactus Kid and his gang, who hope to find the murdered man's goldmine. The miner's dog, Rin-Tin-Tin, recognizes the killers, who thereafter seek to use the dog to locate the lost mine. With the help of a government agent and a young girl, Rinty saves the mine and brings the bad guys to justice.AKA Rin Tin Tin
- DirectorJames W. HorneStarsDave O'BrienDorothy ShortJames CravenSecret Service Major Steel (Joseph W. Girard), is one of the few men in America aware of the fact that Captain Albright (Dave O'Brien) is also Captain Midnight, daring masked aviator dedicated to fighting gangsters and enemies of America. When murderous bombing attacks are made on West Coast munitions plants, Steel sends for Albright and asks him to track down the mysterious Ivan Shark (James Craven), the foreign agent mastermind behind the attacks. Shark has learned about an ingenious range finder, invented by John Edwards (Bryant Washburn) and makes plans to obtain a model of the invention. Edwards instructs his daughter, Joyce (Dorothy Short), to bring the model to Albright for safekeeping in his mountain laboratory. Shark takes Edwards prisoner by Albright assures Joyce that her father will be saved and an end put to Shark's reign of terror. Dressing as Captain Midnight and enlisting the aid of his friends, Chuck (Sam Edwards) and Ichabod Mudd (Guy Wilkerson), Captain Midnight delivers on his promises fourteen chapters later.
- DirectorLew LandersB. Reeves EasonStarsMark RobertsAdele JergensRobert B. WilliamsBuck Sherman and Jake Jackson, a couple of evil carpetbaggers, illegally enter a Navajo reservation to prospect for gold and end up killing Aranho, the Navajos chief. Black Arrow, presumed Aranho's son, refuses to kill the Indian agent, Tom Whitney, in revenge, as demanded by Navajo law. Then, he is driven off the reservation for his reluctance to kill Whitney and decides to join forces with Pancho, Mary Brent and the agent to go in search of the men who killed the chief.
- DirectorRay TaylorStarsEvalyn KnappCraig ReynoldsJames DurkinA famous scientist and his beautiful daughter travel to Indochina to find an ivory disc that has the formula for a deadly gas engraved on it. An evil doctor and his gang are also looking for it.
- DirectorLew LandersStarsOnslow StevensAda InceWalter MillerA 12-episode serial in which a son avenges the death of his father at the hands of corrupt politicians. He develops a wide variety of complex devices in his crusade . . . Ray guns, robots and a 'vanishing belt.'
- DirectorFord BeebeSaul A. GoodkindStarsBela LugosiRobert KentDorothy ArnoldA military intelligence officer and a pretty reporter try to find a scientist whose inventions can destroy the world.
- DirectorJohn EnglishWilliam WitneyStarsHenry BrandonWilliam RoyleRobert KellardThe nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu searches for the keys to the tomb of Genghis Khan, in order to fulfill a prophecy that will enable him to conquer the world. His nemesis, Dr. Nayland Smith, and his associates fight to keep the evil doctor from getting his hands on the keys.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetStarsWilliam ForrestLouise CurrieJohnny ArthurA mysterious detective called The Masked Marvel battles Japanese saboteurs intent on blowing up America.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetYakima CanuttRichard CherwinStarsMarten LamontHelen TalbotGeorge J. LewisCrime lord Jim Belmont escapes FBI custody and begins a reign of thievery that is thwarted at every turn by Jerry Blake, the FBI's Operator 99.
- DirectorDerwin AbrahamsStarsWilliam BakewellJennifer HoltRobert 'Buzz' HenryHop Harrigan (William Bakewell) and his pal "Tank" Tinker (Sumner Getchell) operate a small airport and flying service, and are hired by J. Westly Arnold (Emmett Vogan) to fly an eccentric inventor, Dr. Tabor (John Merton), to his secret laboratory where he has a revolutionary new power unit. However, a mysterious character known as the Chief Pilot is interested in the invention and uses a destroying ray to cripple Hop's airplane and kidnap Tabor. Hop and "Tank", aided by Gail Nolan (Jennifer Holt and her younger brother, Jackie (Robert 'Buzz' Henry), finally overcome the villains - and, then, Tabor goes mad and decides to blow up the world. There is still work to be done.
- DirectorLewis D. CollinsVernon KeaysStarsEdmund MacDonaldPamela BlakeDanny MortonAn evil scientist known as "Mr. M." uses a drug he has developed called "hypnotreme" to help steal submarine equipment. Federal agent Grant Farrell is dispatched to find the mysterious villain and stop his nefarious plans.
- DirectorRay TaylorStarsTom TylerJulie BishopEarl McCarthyA Canadian Mountie is assigned to bring in his brother, who was framed for the murder of a gold mine owner.
- DirectorDerwin AbrahamsStarsRobert KellardPeggy StewartRobert 'Buzz' HenryWhen Tex Granger rides into Three Buttes, Helen Kent persuades him to buy the local newspaper. However, loan shark Rance Carson appoints the bandit Blaze Talbot as town marshal to act as his enforcer and soon the town is in chaos. With fighting between rival gangs, Tex dons a mask to become The Midnight Rider of the Plains and bring the criminals to justice.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetThomas CarrStarsTom NealJudy ClarkRalph HodgesFamed aviator Bruce Gentry is working with scientist Andrew Benson, setting out to uncover the origin of a deadly secret weapon---an electronically controlled flying disc which can be directed at moving or stationary targets. The disc was master-minded by an enemy agent known only as "The Recorder" because...he speaks entirely via recordings. Aided by rancher Frank Farrell and his sister Juanita "Nita" Hodges, Gentry consistently foils "The Recorders" schemes, which are carried out by "The Recorder's" henchmen, Krendon, Allen and Chandler, including an attack on the Panama Canal.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetFred F. SearsStarsKirk AlynCarol FormanJohn CrawfordBased on a successful comic book that began in 1941, the Blackhawks were seven fliers who banded together during WWII to fight the Nazis. After the war, they continued to fight evil where ever they find it. In this movie, they are battling a group of spies and saboteurs bent on destroying democracy. The Blackhawks foil a succession of plots, with a cliff hanger ending in each episode.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetThomas CarrStarsDon McGuireCleo MooreJack IngramA girl is about to inherit a fortune, but she is missing in Africa. Only then, family charges Congo Bill, an adventurer, to find her, and bring her back to civilization. He follows a legend about some White Queen, but his path is full of difficulties, by an inhospitable jungle, and the man who will lose the fortune if the girl is found alive.
- DirectorWilliam WitneyStarsKay AldridgeClayton MooreWilliam 'Billy' BenedictIt's intrepid Nyoka and her friends versus Vultura, Queen of the Desert, on a quest for the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates.