''Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies'' (1949) is a 15-episode

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a 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, ge ...

based on the Bruce Gentry comic strip created by Ray Bailey. It features the first cinematic appearance of a

flying saucer A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported type of disc-shaped unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was coined in 1947 by the United States (US) news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, Kenneth Arnold claimed fl ...

, as the secret weapon of the

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

ous Recorder.

Plot

Dr Benson (

Forrest Taylor Edwin Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from Silent film, silents through Sound film, talkies to the advent of Color motion picture fil ...

), a friend of charter pilot Bruce Gentry (

Tom Neal Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor and Amateur boxing, amateur boxer. Between 1932 and 1934, he was an amateur boxer who fought in many fights. As an actor, he was best known for his co-starring ...

), is kidnapped by the mysterious enemy agent, "the Recorder" who only issues orders through recordings. Benson is used to perfect the villain's flying saucers, launched and controlled by electronic means. Industrialist Paul Radcliffe (

Hugh Prosser Hugh Prosser (March 2, 1907 – November 8, 1952) was a Hollywood actor who appeared in over 90 films between 1936 and 1953. A native of Illinois, Prosser was a versatile supporting performer particularly adept at playing unscrupulous villain ...

) hires Bruce to investigate the saucers as he thinks they may have a commercial use. Necessary for the production of the flying saucers is a mineral called Platonite. The Recorder's only source, an abandoned mine on the land belonging to Jaunita (

Judy Clark Judy Clark (June 9, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film and television actress and singer. Clark adopted a brash and energetic singing style, similar to that of musical-comedy star Betty Hutton. Early life Clark was the daugh ...

) and Frank Farrell ( Ralph Hodges), has run dry and he needs to steal supplies from the US Government. When Bruce closes in on The Recorder, he finds out that his prey is actually Dr. Benson. Krendon ( Tristram Coffin), one of his henchmen, releases a deadly flying saucer on an attack against the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. In his aircraft, Bruce intercepts the saucer, crashing into it, and escaping the resultant explosion by taking to his parachute. Back at The Recorder's headquarters, the saucer controls explode, killing all the enemy agents.

Cliffhangers

At the end of chapter 14, Gentry drives over a cliff on a motorbike. In the resolution at the beginning of chapter 15, Gentry is replaced by an animated sequence which shows him escaping death by use of a parachute hidden under his jacket. The cliffhangers, and their resolutions, in chapters one and 12 are almost identical.

Cast

Production

The flying disc is described by Harmon and Glut as "an embarrassingly bad animated cartoon drawn over the action scenes." Animation also appears in the resolution of a cliffhanger, in which an animated Gentry is used instead of a stuntman.Harmon 1973, pp. 158–159. The flying disc, however, may be the first cinematic appearance of a flying saucer.Greer 2009, p. 33.

Chapter titles

# The Mysterious Disc # The Mine of Menace # Fiery Furnace # Grade Crossing # Danger Trail # A Fight for Life # A Flying Disc # Fate Takes the Wheel # Hazardous Heights # Over the Falls # Gentry at Bay # Parachute of Peril # Menace of the Mesa # Bruce's Strategy # The Final Disc _Source:Cline 1984, p. 248.

Critical reception

According to Harmon and Glut, ''Bruce Gentry'' was "one of Columbia's closest attempts at imitating the serials of Republic, a studio known for superbly staged action sequences" but it did not equal Republic's standards. Film historian William Cline describes the serial as a "pretty good airplane adventure."Cline 1984, p. 27.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. "2. In Search of Ammunition". ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. . * Cline, William C. "Filmography". ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. . * Greer, John Michael. ''The UFO Phenomenon: Fact, Fantasy and Disinformation''. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 2009. . * Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. "7. The Aviators "Land That Plane at Once, You Crazy Fool". ''The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury''. London: Routledge, 1973. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. ''To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973.

External links

*
Bruce Gentry at Toonopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce Gentry - Daredevil of the Skies 1949 films 1940s English-language films American aviation films 1940s science fiction adventure films American science fiction adventure films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures film serials Films based on American comics UFO-related films Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland Flying saucers in film 1940s American films Films scored by Mischa Bakaleinikoff English-language science fiction adventure films Films produced by Sam Katzman