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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] |
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black Dragon'', ''Daredevils of the Red Circle'', ''Zorro's Fighting Legion'', and ''Drums of Fu Manchu''. Prolific and pugnacious, Witney began directing while still in his 20s, and continued working until 1982. Early years Witney was born in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was four years old when his father died, and he lived with his uncle, who was an Army captain at Fort Sam Houston. Colbert Clark, Witney's brother-in-law, introduced him to films by letting him ride in some chase scenes for the serial ''Fighting with Kit Carson'' (1933). Witney stayed around the Mascot Pictures headquarters while preparing for the entrance exam to the U.S. Naval Academy. After he failed that exam, he continued at the studio. In 1936 Mascot was absorbed by Republic, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Harmon
James Judson Harmon (21 April 1933 – 16 February 2010), better known as Jim Harmon, was an American short story author and popular culture historian who wrote extensively about the Golden Age of Radio. He sometimes used the pseudonym Judson Grey, and occasionally he was labeled Mr. Nostalgia. Fiction During the 1950s and 1960s, Harmon wrote more than 50 short stories and novelettes for ''Amazing Stories'', ''Future Science Fiction'', ''Galaxy Science Fiction'', '' If'', ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', ''Venture Science Fiction Magazine'' and other magazines. These were collected in such science fiction anthologies as ''Fourth Galaxy Reader'', ''Galaxy: Thirty Years of Speculative Fiction'' and ''Rare Science Fiction''. The best of Harmon's science fiction stories were reprinted in ''Harmon's Galaxy'' (Cosmos Books, 2004) with an introduction by Richard A. Lupoff. The collection includes one from the December 1962 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Film Serials By Studio
This is a list of film serials by studio, separated into those released by each of the five major studios, and the remaining minor studios. The five major studios produced the greater number of serials. Of these the main studios are considered to be Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Republic Pictures. All three were active during the 1930s and 1940s. The other two major studios are Mascot Pictures, which later merged into Republic, and Pathé Exchange, which ceased serial production before the advent of sound. Major studios These studios were the main producers of serials. Columbia Pictures Mascot Pictures Note: Mascot later became part of Republic ( see below) Pathé Exchange Note: All of Pathé Exchange's serials were Silent Republic Pictures Universal Pictures Universal produced more serials (137) than any other company. Minor studios These studios produced only small numbers of serials. They were either small, independent studios themselves or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Film Serials
A list of film serials by year of release. 1910s 1920s 1930s Films still exist from this point on unless noted otherwise: 1940s 1950s See also * Serial (film) * List of film serials by studio References {{reflist External linksSerial Squadron * Serials |
Adventures Of Captain Marvel
''Adventures of Captain Marvel'' is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white serial film, movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English (director), 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 (DC Comics), 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. ''Adventures of Captain Marvel'' was the 21st of 66 film serials produced by Republic and their first comic book character adaptation (not counting comic strips). The serial featured the Fawcett Comics superhero, placed within an original screen story. It is considered the first comic book superhero movie. Captain Marvel fights a masked criminal mastermind called the Scorpion, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain Nazi
Captain Nazi (Baron Albrecht Krieger) is a Fawcett Comics and DC Comics supervillain, a rival of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr.. Captain Nazi made his first live-action appearance in a 2016 second season episode of The CW TV series ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', played by André Eriksen. Publication history Captain Nazi first appeared in ''Master Comics'' #21 (December 1941) and was created by William Woolfolk and Mac Raboy. Fictional character biography Fawcett Comics The super-strong Captain Nazi was genetically altered by his scientist father, and developed into the "perfect specimen" in order to fight for Adolf Hitler and the Axis Powers during World War II. He is given superhuman strength and stamina, and a special flying gas allows him to fly. He is sent to battle American superheroes by the Nazis after his power is demonstrated to them by Hitler, and some of the heroes are shown. Nazi first appeared in ''Master Comics'' #21 (December 1941), in opposition to both C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the previous ''Justice League'' animated series and picks up around two years after where ''Justice League'' left off. Like its predecessor, the show is also a prequel to ''Batman Beyond''. ''JLU'' debuted on July 31, 2004, on Toonami and ended on May 13, 2006. It is the eighth and final series of the DC Animated Universe, which started with '' Batman: The Animated Series'' in 1992. Boomerang reran the series from June 3, 2007 to March 26, 2010, as part of Boomeraction. The series also aired as part of The CW's ''Vortexx'' Saturday morning block from August 25, 2012 to August 23, 2014. Overview According to animator Bruce Timm, the series finale of ''Just ... [...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] |
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] |
David Sharpe (actor)
David Hardin Sharpe (February 2, 1910 – March 30, 1980) was an American actor and stunt performer, sometimes billed as ''Davy Sharpe''. Biography Sharpe won the US National Tumbling Championship in 1925 and 1926. He began his film career as a child actor in the 1920s. He was married for a short time to film actress Gertrude Messinger. Eventually he became the "Ramrod" (stunt coordinator) for Republic Pictures from 1939 until mid-1942 when the USA entered World War II. He was replaced in this role by Tom Steele while Sharpe joined the Army Air Corps in 1943. Death Sharpe died in 1980, aged 70, of Lou Gehrig's disease (some sources cited Parkinson's disease). B-Westerns.com. Accessed November 28, 2022. Recognition In 1979, Sharpe received the Yakima Canutt Award, which honors stuntmen.[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carey Loftin
William Carey Loftin (January 31, 1914 – March 4, 1997, a.k.a. Cary Loftin, Carry Loftin, Carey Lofton, Gary Loftin, William Carey Loftin) was an American professional stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stunt drivers. In a lengthy career spanning 61 years, his body of work included classic films such as '' Thunder Road'', ''Bullitt'', ''Vanishing Point, Duel,'' and '' The French Connection''. He was posthumously inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Loftin was born in Blountstown, Florida and grew up in Alabama and Mississippi where, he learned to ride a motorcycle when he was 10 years old. He attended high school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and began his stunt career at the age of 19 as a member of a traveling motorcycle stunt show in the early 1930s. Having to constantly repair and maintain motorcycles made him a proficient mechanic. After servi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
