''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' (1943) is a

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

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, gene ...

based on the popular

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack ''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' is an aviation comic strip that first appeared October 1, 1933, in the ''Chicago Tribune'' and ended April 1, 1973. After a run of 40 years, it was the longest-running aviation comic strip. The strip was created ...

'' by

Zack Mosley Zack Terrell Mosley (December 12, 1906 - December 21, 1993) was an American comic strip artist best known for the aviation adventures in his long-running ''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' which ran in more than 300 newspapers from 1933 to 1973. ...

. It was directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor.

Plot

In 1941, an American aviator, 'Smilin' Jack' Martin wishes to resign as an advisor to the Nationalist Chinese Army in order to return to the United States to enlist as an aviator in America's military buildup prior to the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

. He is delayed when the Chinese discover that the neutral

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an like Mandon "Province" contains a secret road from India to China crucial for the Allied war effort. Determined to obtain the secret for themselves, or equally determined to have the secret destroyed is the Japanese espionage organisation "The Black Samurai" and the German intelligence agent Fräulein von Teufel who masquerades as an American newspaper reporter.

Cast

Production

The serial was based on the comic strip by Zack Moseley but it was not in the spirit of the strip as would normally be expected from a Universal production. Very little of the original comic strip was used and a new character, Tommy Thompson, was created by Universal. The similarity to Tommy Tomkins, of the Tailspin Tommy stories, may imply a crossover of sorts. Cline suggests that it was "a quick attempt to get a story on screen about a topical subject, and could have had almost any flyer with any name as a hero.”

Chapter titles

# The High Road to Doom # The Rising Sun Strikes # Attacked by Bombers # Knives of Vengeance # A Watery Grave # Escape by Clipper # Fifteen Fathoms Below # Treachery at Sea # The Bridge of Peril # Blackout in the Islands # Held for Treason # The Torture Fire Test # Sinking the Rising Sun _Source:

Quotes

''United Nations means united friends''-Capt. Wing

References

External links

* *

Download or view online

Complete serial at The Internet Archive
* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Smilin' Jack, The 1943 films 1943 adventure films American aviation films World War II films made in wartime Films set in Asia American black-and-white films War adventure films 1940s English-language films Universal Pictures film serials Films based on American comics Films directed by Ray Taylor Films directed by Lewis D. Collins American adventure films