''Haunted Harbor'' (1944) is a Republic serial, based on the novel by

Ewart Adamson Ewart Adamson (23 October 1882 – 28 November 1945) was a Scottish screenwriter. He wrote for more than 120 films between 1922 and 1944. He was born in Dundee, Scotland, and died in Hollywood, California. Selected filmography * ''South ...

Plot

Sea captain Jim Marsden is about to be hanged for a murder he didn't commit, and is rescued from the gallows by two of his crewmen. To clear the captain's name, they head for the island of Pulinan, where they believe the real murderer is hiding. During the search for the killer, one thing leads to another and Jim and the crew soon find that their troubles have just started. Investigating a possible hiding place of the killer, Jim encounters huge sea monsters in Haunted Harbor.

Cast

Kane Richmond Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character L ...

as Jim Marsden * Kay Aldridge as Patricia Harding *

Roy Barcroft Roy Barcroft (born Howard Harold Ravenscroft; September 7, 1902 – November 28, 1969) was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. From 1937 to 1957, he appeared in more than 300 films for Re ...

as Carter (AKA Kane) *

Clancy Cooper Clancy Cooper (July 23, 1906 – June 14, 1975) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1938 and 1962. He also guest-starred on numerous TV series, such as ''The Rifleman'', '' Lawman'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', ...

as Yank * Marshall J. Reed as Tommy *

Oscar O'Shea Oscar O'Shea (8 October 1881 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953. Early years O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Acting O'Shea was a comic actor who earne ...

as John Galbraith *

Forrest Taylor Edwin Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from silents through talkies to the advent of color films. Early years Taylor was born in B ...

as Dr Oliver Harding *

Hal Taliaferro Floyd Taliaferro Alderson (November 13, 1895 – February 10, 1980) was an American film actor who specialized in westerns. After serving in the Great War, he began his career in the era of silent films, when he frequently used the name Wally ...

as Lawson

Production

''Haunted Harbor'' was based on a novel by

(writing as Dayle Douglas). The serial was budgeted at $170,099 although the final

negative cost Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example ''The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural ho ...

was $207,856 (a $37,757, or 22.2%, overspend). It was filmed between 14 April and 18 May 1944. The serial's production number was 1395. No other Jungle serial was released by Republic for nine years after ''Haunted Harbor'', when 1953's

Jungle Drums of Africa ''Jungle Drums of Africa'' is a 1953 12-episode American serial film shot in black-and-white. It was an original commissioned screenplay by Ronald Davidson produced by Franklin Adreon and directed by Fred C. Brannon for Republic Pictures. The ...

was released. This was the last serial adaptation made by Republic. This was

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Ronald Davidson Ronald Anstuther Davidson (July 13, 1899 – July 28, 1965) was an American screenwriter. He was born in Arizona, raised in Los Angeles, and died in San Diego, California. He was the son of Dr. Ansthuther and Alice Davidson. He graduated from t ...

's first time as a film producer. His first writing credit is the 1937 Republic serial ''

The Painted Stallion ''The Painted Stallion'' is a 1937 American Western film serial from Republic Pictures. It was the sixth Republic serial of the sixty-six made by that company. Western serials such as this made up a third of the serials from Republic, a studio t ...

''.

Release

Theatrical

''Haunted Harbors official release date is 26 August 1944, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges. The serial was re-released on 26 September 1951, under the new title ''Pirates' Harbor'', between the first runs of ''

Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion ''Government Agents vs Phantom Legion'' (1951) is a 12-chapter American black-and-white action film serial produced and distributed by Republic Pictures Corporation in 1951. It is an original, studio-commissioned screenplay by Ronald Davidson, ...

'' and ''

Radar Men from the Moon ''Radar Men from the Moon'' is a 1952 black-and-white Republic Pictures' 12-chapter movie serial, the first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody, Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, and serial veteran Roy Barcroft ...

''. It began a pattern of re-releasing an old serial between every new release, which lasted until Republic's last new serial was released in 1955. Three years of purely re-releases then followed.

Critical reception

Cline writes that this "jungle-horror-mystery-sea-story" includes all of the "cliffhanging tricks Republic could muster."

Chapter titles

#Wanted for Murder (25min 1s) #Flight to Danger (15min 33s) #Ladder of Death (15min 33s) #The Unknown Assassin (15min 33s) #Harbor of Horror (15min 33s) #Return of the Fugitive (15min 32s) #Journey into Peril (15min 34s) #Wings of Doom (15min 33s) #Death's Door (15min 33s) #Crimson Sacrifice (15min 33s) #Jungle Jeopardy (15min 33s) #Fire Trap (15min 34s) #Monsters of the Deep (15min 34s) #High Voltage (15min 34s) # Crucible of Justice (15min 33s) _Source:

References

External links

* {{Republic serials 1944 films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels 1944 adventure films 1940s English-language films Republic Pictures film serials Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet Seafaring films American adventure films Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland 1940s American films