''Tim Tyler's Luck'' (1937) 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 comic strip

Tim Tyler's Luck ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' is an adventure comic strip created by Lyman Young, elder brother of '' Blondie'' creator Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip ran from August 13, 1928, until August 24, 1996. Characters and story ...

Premise

Tim Tyler stows away on a ship bound for Africa to find his father, Professor James Tyler. He meets, and is joined by, Lora Lacey, who is chasing the criminal "Spider" Webb, the man responsible for framing her brother.

Cast

Frankie Thomas Frank Marion Thomas Jr. (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was ...

as Tim Tyler * Frances Robinson as Lora Lacey, posing as Lora Graham *

Norman Willis Norman David Willis (21 January 1933 – 7 June 2014) was the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the United Kingdom from 1984 to 1993, and President of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) from 1991 to 1993. Li ...

as "Spider" Webb *

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

as Sargeant Gates *

Al Shean Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg (May 12, 1868 – August 12, 1949), known as Al Shean, was a comedian and vaudeville performer. Other sources give his birth name variously as Adolf Schönberg, Albert Schönberg, or Alfred Schönberg. He is mos ...

as Professor James Tyler, Tim's father * Anthony Warde as Garry Drake *

Earl Douglas This page is concerned with the holders of the forfeit title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, so ...

as Jules Lazarre *

William 'Billy' Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

as Spud * Frank Mayo as Jim Conway * Alan Gregg as Brent, one of Spider's henchman * Stanley Blystone as Captain Clark *

Everett Brown Everett G. Brown (January 1, 1902 – October 14, 1953) was an American actor. Biography Born in Texas, Brown appeared in about 40 Hollywood films between 1927 and 1953. His roles were small most of the time and most of his film appearances were ...

as Mogu, Spider's native henchman * Skippy as Ju Ju, the Chimp

Critical reception

Author Raymond William Stedman considers ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' to be perhaps the best of Universal's "Jungle Thrillers." ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' has good direction and convincing performances. The serial has quiet moments balancing the action, which was rare for a serial. The characterization is more nuanced than "might have been expected in an action serial".

Chapter titles

# Jungle Pirates # Dead Man's Pass # Into the Lions' Den # The Ivory Trail # Trapped in the Quicksands # The Jaws of the Jungle # The King of the Gorillas # The Spider Caught # The Gates of Doom # A Race for a Fortune # No Man's Land # The Kimberley Diamonds _Source:

DVD release

All 12 chapters were released on a single DVD on February 28, 2006 with special features including a 2005 interview with Frankie Thomas, bios, the original theatrical trailer, and bonus classic cliffhanger trailers.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tim Tyler's Luck 1937 films 1937 adventure films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on comic strips Films directed by Ford Beebe Films set in Africa Universal Pictures film serials American adventure films 1930s American films