''The Hurricane Express'' is a 1932 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

12-chapter

Mascot Pictures Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other ...

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 ...

. Written by

Colbert Clark Colbert Clark (August 31, 1898 – May 4, 1960) was an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He particularly specialized in making western films.Tuska p.196 As a producer at Columbia Pictures, Clark was responsible for resum ...

Barney Sarecky Barney Sarecky (May 7, 1895 – August 10, 1968) was an American film producer and screenwriter, from the late 1930s into the 1950s. The younger brother of producer/screenwriter Louis Sarecky, he had a much more prolific career, writing or produ ...

Wyndham Gittens Wyndham Gittens (7 February 1885 – 18 June 1967) was a West Indian screenwriter. He wrote for more than 60 films between 1917 and 1966. He was born in Barbados, West Indies and died in Dunedin, Florida. Selected filmography * ''Tim Tyle ...

, George Morgan, and

J.P. McGowan John Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 – March 26, 1952) was a pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a screenwriter and producer. McGowan remains the only Australian to have been made a life member of the Screen Directo ...

, the serial was directed by Armand Schaeffer and

and produced by

Nat Levine Nat Levine (July 26, 1899 – August 6, 1989), was an American film producer. He produced 105 films between 1921 and 1946. He was personal secretary to Marcus Loew, formed Mascot Pictures in 1927, and merged Mascot with Herbert Yates's Rep ...

. ''The Hurricane Express'' stars

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

as aircraft pilot Larry Baker. Wayne goes after a

mystery villain A masked villain, also seen as masked mystery villain, is a stock character in genre fiction. It was developed and popularized in movie serials, beginning with The Hooded Terror in ''The House of Hate'', (1918) the first fully-costumed mystery v ...

named "The Wrecker", who was responsible for a train crash that killed Baker's father.

Plot

The L & R Railroad is in competition with an airline for lucrative transport contracts. When the "Hurricane Express" is sabotaged and involved in a train wreck, one of his victims is Larry Baker's father, Jim. A mysterious figure known as "the Wrecker" is responsible for the train crashes. Air Transport Company pilot Baker wants to find the Wrecker, but with a host of suspects, it will be difficult, since the murderer can disguise himself to look like almost anyone. One of the main suspects in the train crashes is Walter Gray, the airline manager and Larry's boss, who stands to gain if the L & R Railroad loose contracts. Suspicion is also cast on Tom Jordan, a recently discharged and disgruntled railroad engineer. Another suspect is Frank Stratton, an escaped convict who had wrongfully been convicted. Complicating matters is that Gloria Stratton is Frank Stratton's daughter, and Larry is in love with her. Gloria tries to help Larry find the villains behind the train crashes, and when the "Hurricane Express" is again ready to go back into service, the pair are in air, flying as an escort to the speeding train. With a full load of gold, the train is a tempting target for the Wrecker. The continuing attacks on the L & R Railroad put Gloria and Larry in danger, but they are determined to bring the Wrecker and his gang to justice. Finally, the young pilot is able to capture the murderers and can to look forward to a happy future with Gloria.

Chapter titles

# The Wrecker # Flying Pirates # The Masked Menace # Buried Alive # Danger Lights # Airport Mystery # Sealed Lips # Outside the Law # The Invisible Enemy # The Wrecker's Secret # Wings of Death # Unmasked _Source:

Cast

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

as Howard L. Edwards, Railroad manager *

Conway Tearle Conway Tearle (born Frederick Conway Levy, May 17, 1878 – October 1, 1938) was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films. Early life Tearle was born on May 17, 1878, in New York City, the son of the ...

as Stevens, Railroad attorney *

as Larry Baker *

Shirley Grey Shirley Grey (born Agnes Zetterstrand; April 11, 1902 – August 12, 1981) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1930 and 1935. Biography Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, Grey was the daughter of E. A Zetterstr ...

as Gloria Stratton, aka Gloria Martin *

Edmund Breese Edmund Breese (June 18, 1871 – April 6, 1936) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Breese was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Renshaw Breese and Josephine Busby. The Opera House in Eureka Spring ...

as Frank Stratton, Gloria's father *

Lloyd Whitlock Lloyd Whitlock (January 2, 1891 – January 8, 1966) was a prolific American actor who began working during Hollywood's silent era. Born in 1891, he appeared in nearly 200 films between 1916 and 1949. Distinguished by his height and stature, he ...

as Walter Gray, Airline manager *

Al Bridge Alfred Morton Bridge (February 26, 1891 – December 27, 1957) was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy mous ...

as Carlson, Plainville station agent *

Matthew Betz Matthew Betz (September 13, 1881 – January 26, 1938) was an American film actor. Betz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1881. Following an extended career in the U.S. Cavalry, Betz spent eight years in Vaudeville. His first stage play w ...

as Tom Jordan, a railroad engineer * Joseph W. Girard as Detective Matthews * James P. Burtis as Detective Hemingway, Matthews' assistant * Ernie Adams as Henchman Barney, The Wrecker's machine gunner henchman * Charles King as Mike, one of The Wrecker's henchmen *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Jim Baker, a railroad engineer (Larry Baker's Dad) * Al Ferguson as Sandy, The Wrecker's pilot * Glenn Strange as Jim, one of The Wrecker's henchmen * Fred "Snowflake" Toones as Sam, the Porter (uncredited) *

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 ...

as Henchman (uncredited)

Production

During the 1930s, after starring in ''

The Big Trail ''The Big Trail'' is a 1930 American pre-Code Western early widescreen film shot on location across the American West starring 23-year-old John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh. In 2006, the United States Libra ...

'' (1930), its subsequent commercial failure meant that Wayne was relegated to minor roles in A-pictures, or starring, with his name over the title, in many low-budget

Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did n ...

Westerns, mostly at

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

and serials for

Mascot Pictures Corporation Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and Western (genre), B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged wit ...

, such as ''The Hurricane Express''. ''The Hurricane Express'' was cheaply staged and relied heavily on studio sets for interior sequences. Two elements, however, were critical, the use of a train and an aircraft. Airline pilot Larry Baker flies as the co-pilot on a

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

(c/n NC8411). The aircraft flew from the

Grand Central Airport Grand Central Airport is a small privately owned airfield which is open to public air traffic. It is located in Midrand, halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa. Prior permission to land at Grand Central is not required for l ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

, a favourite locale for Hollywood films featuring aviation. While the Ford Trimotor appears in the first two chapters, the Curtiss "Jenny" is used in an aircraft-to-train transfer (a favourite stunt in the 1920s was a transfer from aircraft to aircraft, or other moving vehicles). A

Fokker Trimotor The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence. Design and dev ...

also appears.Farmer 1984, p. 315.

Reception

Although concentrating on the aviation aspects of the production, aviation film historian James M. Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984), characterized ''The Hurricane Express'' as a lightweight formula melodrama. Like many other serials, after the conclusion of the serial, ''The Hurricane Express'' was re-edited into a feature film version which eliminated approximately two-thirds of the original serial footage. Almost no footage from the middle chapters of the serial were used. Although one of the "poverty row" studios, Mascot was important to Wayne's career and he went on to make two more serials for the studio. In ''The Hurricane Express'', Wayne does most of his own stunt work, which solidified him as a bona fide action star."User reviews: 'The Hurricane Express'."
''IMDb'', 2019. Retrieved: July 8, 2019.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. "Filmography"., ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984, . * Clooney, Nick. ''The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen''. New York: Atria Books, 2002. . * Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . * Rainey, Buck. ''Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912–1956''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2010. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. ''To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. .

External links

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Download or view online

* (79 min, edited for TV) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurricane Express, The 1932 films American black-and-white films American aviation films 1930s English-language films Mascot Pictures film serials Films directed by Armand Schaefer Films directed by J. P. McGowan Fictional trains Rail transport films Articles containing video clips 1930s American films