''Captain Midnight'' is a 1942 American serial film. It was

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

17th released serial and was based upon the radio adventure serial of the same name, broadcast from 1938 to 1949. ''Captain Midnight'' was only one of the many aviation serials released during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, whose leading characters were derived from early

pulp magazines Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

and radio show favorites.

Plot

Captain Albright is an extremely skilled aviator, better known by his alter ego as Captain Midnight. He is assigned to neutralize the sinister Ivan Shark, an evil enemy scientist who is aerial bombing major American cities with his unmarked aircraft. Captain Midnight leads the Secret Squadron, whose staff includes Chuck Ramsay, Midnight's ward, and Ichabod 'Icky' Mudd, the Squadron's chief mechanic. Shark has developed a highly efficient mercenary organization. He is aided by his daughter, Fury, his highly intelligent second in command, and Gardo the henchman, and Fang, an Asian ally. Shark is after a new aviation range finder invented by the altruistic scientist, John Edwards, whose beautiful daughter, Joyce, they attempt to capture in order to blackmail the patriotic inventor. Captain Midnight and the Secret Squadron continually battle the henchmen, thwarting Shark's evil plans, while avoiding destruction at every turn by making daring escapes during the serial's 15 weekly chapters.

Cast

* Dave O'Brien as Captain Albright / Captain Midnight * Dorothy Short as Joyce Edwards * James Craven as Ivan Shark *

Sam Edwards Sam George Edwards (May 26, 1915 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor. His most famous role on television was as banker Bill Anderson on ''Little House on the Prairie''.D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card completed on October 16, ...

as Chuck Ramsey *

Guy Wilkerson Guy Owen Wilkerson (December 21, 1899 – July 15, 1971) was an American actor, known primarily for his roles in Western B movies, who with his tall, lanky frame, he often played sidekick or comedy relief parts. Biography Wilkseron was ...

as Ichabod 'Icky' Mudd * Bryant Washburn as John Edwards * Luana Walters as Fury Shark * Joe Girard as Major Steel (as Joe Girard) *

Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...

as Borgman - Henchman #8 * George Pembroke as Dr. James Jordan *

Chuck Hamilton Charles George Hamilton (born January 18, 1939) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played four games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional i ...

as Martel, Henchman #7 (as Charles Hamilton) * Al Ferguson as Gardo- Henchman #5

Chapter titles

# Mysterious Pilot # The Stolen Range Finder # The Captured Plane # Mistaken Identity # Ambushed Ambulance # Weird Waters # Menacing Fates # Shells of Evil # The Drop to Doom # The Hidden Bomb # Sky Terror # Burning Bomber # Death in the Cockpit # Scourge of Revenge # The Fatal Hour _Source:

Release

The serial was released in Latin America in November 1942, under the title ''El Capitán Medianoche'', and was shown in English with Spanish subtitles.

References

External links