''S O S Coast Guard'' is a 1937 Republic

film 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 ...

. It was the seventh of the sixty-six serials made by Republic. The plot concerns the mad scientist Boroff (

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

) attempting to sell a superweapon to the highest bidder, opposed by

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Terry Kent (

Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909 – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna ...

), for both personal and professional reasons. The main stars were

and

. It was made during the 2-year period when the

Hayes Office The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

put a moratorium on horror movies, Lugosi's usual genre, and in the midst of Byrd's notoriety for the highly popular Dick Tracy serials.

Plot

Boroff is a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...

who has invented a "disintegrator gas" and plans to smuggle it to his buyers in Morovania. When his ship, the ''Carfax'', gets stranded on outlying rocks in the first chapter, the

comes to rescue him. Recognized by the reporters, Jean and Snapper, Boroff runs and kills the pursuing Coast Guard Ensign Jim Kent, who turns to be Lt. Terry Kent's brother. As the gas is made from the rare substances ''Arnatite'' (which is

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

) and ''Zanzoid'', Boroff attempts to acquire more of these materials to create more (including salvaging supplies of arnatite from the sunken ''Carfax''). Hot on his heels are the Coast Guard, led by Lt. Kent, and the two reporters, with the expert aid of Jean's chemist brother, Dick. Eventually Terry finds, and leads a squad against, Boroff's cave-based hideout, with disintegrator gas bombs exploding around them.

Cast

Main cast

as Terry Kent, Coast guard

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

as Boroff,

. The name is very similar, and possibly based on, that of

's rival,

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

. * Maxine Doyle as Jean Norman, reporter. Maxine later married the director William Witney after meeting him for the first time during production of this serial. * Richard Alexander as Thorg, mute, lobotomised servant of Boroff *Lee Ford as Snapper McGree, reporter

Supporting cast

Herbert Rawlinson Herbert Banemann Rawlinson (15 November 1885 – 12 July 1953) was an English-born stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound f ...

as Boyle, Coast guard commander *John Picorri as G. A. Rackerby,

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

henchman A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal Employment, employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose val ...

working for Boroff *

Lawrence Grant Percy Reginald Lawrence-Grant (30 October 1870 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England – 19 February 1952 in Santa Barbara, California, USA) was an English actor known for supporting roles in films such as ''The Living Ghost'', '' I'll Tell ...

as Rabinisi, Boroff's henchman * Thomas Carr as Jim Kent, Terry's brother and a Coast guard

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of Sta ...

as Dodds, Boroff's henchman *Allen Connor as Dick Norman, Jean's brother and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

George Chesebro George Newell Chesebro (July 29, 1888 – May 28, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1915 and 1954. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * '' M ...

as L.H. DeGado, Boroff's henchman *

Ranny Weeks Randall Webster Weeks (February 25, 1907 – April 26, 1979) was an American bandleader, actor, naval commander, and university administrator. Early life Weeks was born in 1907 in Everett, Massachusetts. His father, William E. Weeks, was ...

as Wies, Boroff's henchman

Production

''S O S Coast Guard'' was budgeted at $107,217 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 $128,530 (a $21,313, or 19.9%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1937 and the most expensive of all Republic serials until the release of ''The Lone Ranger'' in 1938. It was filmed between 10 June and 15 July 1937. The serial's production number was 422. Director

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 Bl ...

met his first wife, Maxine Doyle, while working on this serial.''In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door''; Witney, William; 1995;

Stunts

*Earle D. Bunn *

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing t ...

*Loren Riebe *Duke Taylor

Special effects

The serial's special effects were created by Jack Coyle and the

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 ...

Release

Theatrical

''SOS Coast Guards official release date is 28 August 1937, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. A 71-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together with some additional scenes shot during the serial's production, including a new shot featuring Bela Lugosi, was released on 16 April 1942. The new scenes involved a substantial plot alteration to feature a made-up chemical, called arnatite, as a deadly explosive in and of itself, and other dialogue to cover continuity gaps arising from the editing.

Chapter titles

#Disaster at Sea ''(30 min 3s)'' #Barrage of Death ''(19 min 46s)'' #The Gas Chamber ''(18 min 40s)'' #The Fatal Shaft ''(19 min 35s)'' #The Mystery Ship ''(18 min 31s)'' #Deadly Cargo ''(18 min 4s)'' #Undersea Terror ''(15 min 46s)'' #The Crash! ''(16 min 34s)'' #Wolves at Bay ''(15 min 56s)'' #The Acid Trail ''(16 min 58s)'' #The Sea Battle ''(17 min 12s)'' #The Deadly Circle ''(17 min 3s)'' _Source:

Cliffhangers

#''Disaster at Sea:'' Terry and Thorg fight on a

Tramp steamer A boat or ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule, itinerary nor published ports of call, and trades on the spot market as opposed to freight liners. A steamship engaged in the tramp trade is sometimes called ...

as it sinks. #''Barrage of Death:'' Terry is tied up aboard a boat as the Coast guard open fire unawares. #''The Gas Chamber:'' Terry and Snapper are trapped in a glass cabinet as the Disintegration Gas melts the room. #''The Fatal Shaft:'' A

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...

crashes down onto Terry. #''The Mystery Ship:'' Whilst attempting to shut them down, Terry is caught in a

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

explosion. #''Deadly Cargo:'' A

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

, weakened by the Disintegration Gas, collapses on Terry. #''Undersea Terror:'' While fighting underwater, Thorg cuts through Terry's air line. #''The Crash!:'' The car carrying Terry, Jean and Snapper plunges down a steep slope after Boroff's

henchmen A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies pri ...

shoot out a tyre. #''Wolves at Bay:'' Terry, Jean and Snapper are caught inside an exploding warehouse. #''The Acid Trail:'' When Terry attempts to rescue Dick Norman from a burning truck, the brake line melts and it plunges over a cliff into the sea. #''The Sea Battle:'' Terry is caught by Thorg and pulled into the water to drown.

References

External links

* * {{William Witney 1937 films 1937 crime films American black-and-white films American crime films American detective films 1930s English-language films Films about the United States Coast Guard Films directed by Alan James Films directed by William Witney Films produced by Sol C. Siegel Films scored by Raoul Kraushaar Republic Pictures film serials 1930s American films