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G-Men Vs The Black Dragon
''G-Men vs. The Black Dragon'' (1943) is a Republic Pictures movie serial. It is noteworthy among adventure serials as containing an unusually high number of fistfights, all staged by director William Witney and a team of stuntmen. This was Witney's last production before leaving to serve in World War II. He actually shipped out before filming was complete. It also sees the return of Witney's wife, Maxine Doyle, to acting for the first time since they met on the set of an earlier serial, ''S O S Coast Guard'' (1937). Plot After Japanese spies from the Black Dragon Society infiltrate United States borders, Federal Agent Rex Bennett is enlisted by the government to capture them. As Oyama Haruchi, leader of the dangerous paramilitary group, begins to destabilize the United States war effort through sabotage and corruption, Bennett must team up with British special agent Vivian Marsh and Chinese special agent Chang Sing to stop them and help win the war. Cast * Rod Cameron as US agen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more film serials than any other director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bennet first entered show business as a stunt man, when he answered a newspaper ad to jump from the Palisades of the Hudson River while wearing a suit for the serial film ''Hurricane Hutch'' (1921). The gig at that time paid $1 per foot he had to fall. He made his directorial debut in 1921's ''Behold the Man'' but made his serial directorial debut in 1925 with ''Sunken Silver''. He would keep making serials, as well as B-Western features, until the very end of the genre, directing the last two serials made in the United States, ''Blazing the Overland Trail'' (1956) and ''Perils of the Wilderness'' (1956). After the serials ended he directed a handful of features, his final directorial credit being 1965's ''The Bounty Killer'', which was also th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serial Film
A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, generally advancing weekly, until the series is completed. Generally, each serial involves a single set of characters, protagonistic and antagonistic, involved in a single story, which has been edited into chapters after the fashion of serial (literature), serial fiction and the episodes cannot be shown out of order or as a single or a random collection of short subjects. Each chapter was screened at a movie theater for one week, and ended with a cliffhanger, in which characters found themselves in perilous situations with little apparent chance of escape. Viewers had to return each week to see the cliffhangers resolved and to follow the continuing story. Movie serials were especially popular with children, and for many youths in the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Daheim
John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Epistle of John, often shortened to 2 John * Third Epistle of John, often shortened to 3 John People * John the Baptist (died c. AD 30), regarded as a prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ * John the Apostle (lived c. AD 30), one of the twelve apostles of Jesus * John the Evangelist, assigned author of the Fourth Gospel, once identified with the Apostle * John of Patmos, also known as John the Divine or John the Revelator, the author of the Book of Revelation, once identified with the Apostle * John the Presbyter, a figure either identified with or distinguished from the Apostle, the Evangelist and John of Patmos Other people with the given name Religious figures * John, father of Andrew the Apostle and Saint Peter * Pope John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dale Van Sickel
Dale Harris Van Sickel (November 29, 1907 – January 25, 1977) was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years. Van Sickel played college football for the University of Florida, and was recognized as the first-ever first-team All-American in the history of the Florida Gators football program. Early life Dale Van Sickel was born in Eatonton, Georgia,Internet Movie Database Dale Van Sickel Retrieved March 25, 2010. on November 29, 1907 to William Milton Van Sickel and Ella McGaen, but grew up in Gainesville, Florida. His father William owned a photography studio in Gainesville. The family came to Georgia originally from Guernsey County, Ohio. High school Van Sickel attended Gainesville High School, where he played high school football for the Gainesville Purple Hurricanes. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Terrell
Kenneth Jones Terrell (April 29, 1904 – March 8, 1966) was an American western and action film actor and stuntman best known for playing Joe Marcelli in the 1956 film ''Indestructible Man'' and Jess in the 1958 film ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' is a 1958 independently made American science fiction horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran (credited as Nathan Hertz) and starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. It was produced by Bernard ...''. Biography Born in the small town of Coolidge, Georgia, Terrell attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta. As a young man, he took up bodybuilding and developed the athletic skills that helped him become a Hollywood stuntman. His roles in action films were usually minor, and sometimes he did stunt work and acting in the same film. Terrell did only limited stunt work after a foot injury in the late 1950s. He died from arteriosclerosis at the age of 61. Filmography References Externa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Taylor
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked below princess nobility and grand dukes. The title comes from French ''duc'', itself from the Latin ''dux'', 'leader', a term used in republican Rome to refer to a military commander without an official rank (particularly one of Germanic or Celtic origin), and later coming to mean the leading military commander of a province. In most countries, the word ''duchess'' is the female equivalent. Following the reforms of the emperor Diocletian (which separated the civilian and military administrations of the Roman provinces), a ''dux'' became the military commander in each province. The title ''dux'', Hellenised to ''doux'', survived in the Eastern Roman Empire where it continued in several contexts, signifying a rank equivalent to a captain o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Steele (stuntman)
Tom Steele (born Thomas Skeoch, 12 June 1909 – 30 October 1990) was a stunt man and actor, best remembered for appearing in serials, especially those produced by Republic Pictures, in both capacities. Early life Born in Scotland, he was the son of a construction consulting engineer. Steele came to America with his family at an early age, settling in Northern California. A very skilled horseman, he played polo competitively as a young man and also worked for a time in a steel mill, which was the source of his professional name Tom "Steele." Steele was a student at Stanford University, where he had a football scholarship. Film career At the start of the Depression he relocated to Hollywood to become an actor, and made his film debut in 1930 in the Western '' The Lone Star Ranger''. But soon Steele, relying on his skill as a horseman (he had played polo professionally with the San Mateo Redcoats), changed to stunts for better money and regular work. Despite this he can be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lydecker Brothers
Howard and Theodore Lydecker, always known—and billed—as such, were Howard "Babe" Lydecker (June 8, 1911 – September 26, 1969) and Theodore Lydecker (November 7, 1908 – May 25, 1990), a special effects team primarily working as contract staff members of Republic Pictures. They are best remembered as the producers and photographers of some of the best miniature effects of their time. Career They both worked at Republic from its creation in 1935 until the company could no longer afford to maintain full-time contract players and behind-the-camera artists in the middle 1950s, after which they went freelance and found themselves in significant demand for both film and television work. Their miniature effects made Republic serials the best for visual effects, far outstripping their competitors at Universal (where special effects maestro John P. Fulton, ASC was forbidden from working on serials) and Columbia Pictures. Their success came from building large, detailed models a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Marsh
Joan Marsh (July 10, 1914 – August 10, 2000) was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Marsh, born Dorothy D. Rosher, was the daughter of Lolita and Charles Rosher. Her parents later divorced. Career In 1915, Marsh made her first film appearance, an uncredited one, in the short ''The Mad Maid of the Forest'', which her father was filming.Katz, Ephraim and Nolen, Ronald. The Film Encyclopedia', pp. 1166-67 (HarperCollins 2013). Later that same year she was also cast in ''Hearts Aflame'' and then billed as Dorothy Rosher. In 1917 she appeared too in ''A Little Princess'' and in no less than five other productions in 1918, including the comedy-drama '' Women's Weapons'' for Paramount Pictures. After these minor roles as a baby and toddler, Marsh finally became a star in Mary Pickford films such as '' Daddy-Long-Legs'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Service In Darkest Africa
''Secret Service in Darkest Africa'' is a 1943 Republic serial. It was Republic's thirtieth serial, of the sixty-six produced by the studio. It was a sequel to ''G-Men vs. the Black Dragon'' released earlier in 1943, again starring Rod Cameron as American secret agent Rex Bennett. This time Bennet faces the Nazis rather than the Japanese. As with the earlier installment, Bennet is supported by characters from some of the allied nations in World War II. The serial is also known by the titles ''Manhunt in the African Jungles'', changed when it was re-released in 1954, and ''The Baron's African War'', when it was edited into a 100-minute film for television in 1966. Plot In an attempt to control the entire Middle East and defeat the Allies, Nazi agent Baron von Rommler (Lionel Royce) captures and impersonates Sultan Abou Ben Ali (also Lionel Royce), leader of all the Arabs. Opposed to him is Secret Service Agent Rex Bennett ( Rod Cameron), along with British reporter Janet Blake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spy Smasher (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''. Plot Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) as the Spy Smasher is a costumed vigilante and freelance agent, not associated with the US government as the country has not yet joined its allies in World War II. After discovering information about Nazi activities in occupied France, he is captured and ordered to be executed. However, with the help of Pierre Durand (Franco Corsaro), he escapes back to the United States, meeting with his twin brother Jack (Kane Richmond). Jack is inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Dragon Society
The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist group in Japan. History The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist Uchida Ryohei as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's ''Gen'yōsha''. Its name is derived from the translation of the Amur River, which is called Heilongjiang or "Black Dragon River" in Chinese (黑龍江 ?), read as ''Kokuryū-kō'' in Japanese. Its public goal was to support efforts to keep the Russian Empire north of the Amur River and out of East Asia. The ''Kokuryūkai'' initially made strenuous efforts to distance itself from the criminal elements of its predecessor, the ''Gen'yōsha''. As a result, its membership included Cabinet Ministers and high-ranking military officers as well as professional intelligence operatives. However, as time passed, it found the use of criminal activities to be a convenient means to an end for many of its operations. The Society published a journal, the ''Kokuryū Kaiho' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
