Adventures of Captain Marvel movie serial

CAPTAIN MARVEL CULTURE

A Study of the The History of Captain Marvel (all of them)

Chapter 6: Hollywood Comes Calling

Film was a young but quickly-growing medium in the early nineteen-teens when the first "serials" or "chapter plays" appeared. The website "The Serials: An Introduction, an article by Garry Johnson in Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture (http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue04/infocus/introduction.htm)," traces the beginning of serials to McClure's Ladies World magazine’s attempt to build circulation by producing a new motion picture and publishing a new story about the same character with each new issue. In 1912, the 12 chapter serial What Happened to Mary was produced by the Edison Company and released to theaters. It was widely successful and in two years there had been over a dozen new serials released, including the famous The Perils of Pauline.

Though in the earliest serials, each chapter was a self-contained story, by 1915 the pattern had been established that each chapter would end with a “cliffhanger” that would bring the audience back for the next episode. The hero or heroine would be placed in an impossible situation, on the verge of death or worse, with no possible way out (like, say, hanging off the edge of a cliff).

Early film audiences were eager to embrace almost any new use of the medium, but as the feature film developed, growing in length, sophistication, and scope, audiences’ tastes changed. The serials, which by nature were made up of short chapters of high adventure, made quickly and with a modest budget, failed to keep up with this trend. The number of serials produced went from a bloated maximum of 32 in 1920 to a bare nine in 1932.

Westerns, jungle stories, and aviation adventures kept the serial alive through the first decade of the sound era (generally acknowledged to begin in 1927 with The Jazz Singer). By this time serials had been established as part of the motion picture package that was marketed to children on Saturday afternoons. Young kids, all over America, with a nickel or dime clutched in their tiny little hands (doubtless given by a parent relieved to have the little tykes out of their hair for a few hours), would rush to the neighborhood cinema for the weekly matinee. This program would typically include a few cartoons, a “B” western, a newsreel, a serial chapter, and a main feature. In the middle of the decade, however, something happened that proved a boon to both the serial and the comics.

In 1936, Universal Studios brought forth Flash Gordon, a serial adapted from the newspaper comic strip drawn by Alex Raymond, starring Olympic swimmer Buster Crabbe and the stunningly gorgeous Jean Rogers. Universal spent about three times as much money on this serial as had ever been spent on a serial before ($350,000), loaded the screen with both new and recycled sets and props, and got winning performances from its stars. The serial was booked into big-time theaters and attracted wide audiences. Apparently this led the studios to believe that serials based on comic strips would be popular, and Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, and Mandrake the Magician serials soon followed.

Republic Pictures, which in 1936 began to be one of the most prolific producers of serials, took note, and in 1941, attempted to produce a Superman serial. That deal fell through, so they turned to his competition, Captain Marvel. Thus, in 1941, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, the first motion picture based on a comic book character, was released.

The serial, directed by William Whitney and John English, is generally acknowledged to be one of the better adventure serials ever made. The production values were high, as serials went, the cliffhangers were varied and nerve-wracking, and the action was fast-paced and exciting. Tom Tyler played the hero. His voice seemed a bit high-pitched for such a mighty hero, but he had very few lines in the whole serial, and he certainly looked the part. The flying effects were handled by a clever combination of a flying dummy on a wire and acrobatics by stunt man Dave Sharpe. Frank Coghlan Jr. played Billy Batson with a courageous innocence and cleverness that well suited the role.

There was an interesting mix of faithfulness to and liberties taken with the source material. Billy Batson did meet old Shazam who gave him the power to turn into Captain Marvel at the speaking of his name, which was still an anagram for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. The suit Captain Marvel wore was a faithful realization of the orginal suit of Whiz Comics #2, with the jacket flap, the gold trim on the bottom of the cape, and the gold sash.

In this story, Billy was a member of the Malcolm Archeological Expedition, which was in Siam exploring the tomb of the “Scorpion Dynasty.” They violate the sanctity of the deepest chamber in the tomb and find the Golden Scorpion idol, which can turn stone into gold and blow things up. Billy declines to enter that chamber, and thus is selected by old Shazam to have the power to change into Captain Marvel and fight against evil to protect mankind from any harm that may come from the Scorpion. When the adventure ends after 12 episodes, of course our hero foils the nefarious plans of an evil villain also named The Scorpion and renders the golden idol harmless. The Captain then turns back into Billy, presumably for good, as his job is done.

The story covers a lot of adventurous ground. The expedition is attacked by natives in Siam, then back in America the members are beset by the henchmen of The Scorpion, a black-cloaked villain determined to get the golden idol for himself. Billy handles many of the perils on his own, only calling on Captain Marvel in dire emergencies. The Captain can fly, is super strong, and bullets simply bounce off his chest (close viewing reveals what may be a steel plate under his jacket that bullets bounce off of). He is not completely impervious to harm, as an electric shock lays him low and a melting mountain of molten rock appears to be a threat, but other than that he displays attributes that are, well, marvelous, or dare we even say…super?

In this adventure there was no Station WHIZ, no Sterling Morris, no Dr. Sivana. In their places were Mr. Malcolm and the Malcolm Expedition; an enigmatic Siamese named Tal Chotali; the nefarious Scorpion (who may be one of the expedition members in disguise); the leader of the native tribe loyal to the Scorpion, Rahman Bar; a young, skinny pal of Billy’s named Whitey Murphy; and a young, beautiful administrative assistant, Betty Wallace.

The cast of the serial was made up of competent, talented, character actors who had lengthy careers, both before and after this serial, yet never really became top-name leading performers in big-time movies.

Tom Tyler was born Vincent Markowski in 1903. He became a champion weightlifter once considered the “strongest man in America” and a member of the 1928 US Olympic team. He starred in many, many westerns as many, many characters named "Tom," as well as Stony Brooke in the lengthy Mesquiteers series with Bob Steele. He appeared with John Wayne in Stagecoach and Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind. He had a second turn as a superhero in 1943 the Phantom in the movie serial based on Lee Falk’s adventure comic strip.

Frank Coghlan Jr. Was called by Cecil B. De Mille “The Perfect Homeless Waif “ (The Fawcett Companion P.C. Hammerlinck, pg 123). He spent the first two and a half decades of his Hollywood career playing young boys. For the first half of this period he was credited as "Junior Coghlan," and for the second half of it he was frequently in uncredited roles. Some of these roles were in very popular movies, like Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Gone with the Wind (1939), Knute Rockne All American (1940), The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942), and This Is the Army (1943). His film career slowed after 1946, and he was working as the Director of Public Relations for the Los Angeles Zoo when the producers of the Shazam! TV series on CBS were looking to film an episode there. When he told them he had played Billy Batson in the serial, they wrote a part in the TV show for him.

William “Whitey” Benedict, who played Whitey Murphy, frequently played bellboys, delivery boys, and boys named “Whitey” a lot (presumably due to his white hair). He was an East Side Kid and a Bowery Boy. He worked steadily up to the 1980’s.

Louise Currie, who played Betty Wallace, who seemed to be there mostly to look pretty and get rescued by Captain Marvel, had a brief but interesting Hollywood career, appearing with such folks as Bela Lugosi, Orson Welles, Gene Autry, and W.C. Fields. She had more uncredited roles than credited ones, and the biggest movie she was “uncredited” in was Citizen Kane.

Nigel De Brulier, who played Shazam (appearing in only the first episode), was the elder statesman of the cast. An established and respected actor, he had played Cardinal Richelieu in two different Three Musketeers movies and two Iron Mask movies. He was in D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance, 1923’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1925’s Ben Hur, and 1927’s Wings (the first Academy Award winner for best picture), He worked steadily up to the 1940’s. He holds what is possibly the oddest credit of any of the serial’s alumni. The 1984 documentary Before Stonewall (about the history of the gay and lesbian community before a riot at a club in New York City’s Greenwich Village kicked off the modern Gay Rights movement), includes some footage of 1923’s Salome, an adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde. The footage includes De Brulier as Jokaanan. The Internet Movie Data Base states that the film is “Said to have been filmed with an all-gay cast, in honor of the playwright, Oscar Wilde.” Does this mean De Brulier was gay? Did his co-workers in the Captain Marvel serial know? Did they care?

And finally, regarding the cast of the serial, there was one performer who had further work in a comic book-related motion picture. Gerald Mohr, an established radio actor who had just begun a film career (and would go on to do many “B” westerns and crime thrillers) played the voice of the masked villain, the Scorpion. In 1967 he played the voices of not one, but two super heroes in TV cartoons: Green Lantern/Hal Jordan in "The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure,” and Mister Fantastic in “The Fantastic Four.” This last credit makes two connections between the original Captain Marvel and the Fantastic Four, the other being Jack Kirby, artist of 64 Pages of New Captain Marvel Adventures #1 and co-creator (with Stan Lee) of the FF.

Another character from Whiz Comics later had his own serial: Spy Smasher. This serial has garnered even more praise than The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Other comic book characters who got their own serials included Captain Midnight, Batman, Captain America, The Vigilante, and Congo Bill, with varying degrees of creative success.

Superman’s first foray into motion pictures was a series of cartoons in 1941 produced by the Fleischer brothers’ studios. Never before or since have hand-drawn cartoons been so beautiful and glorious. This was because the studio paid the workers very low wages and thus could afford the work that was required.

A Superman serial was finally produced by Columbia Pictures in 1948, starring Kirk Alyn as the Man of Steel. This serial began on Superman’s planet of birth, Krypton, where his father, Jor-El is trying to convince the government that the planet is doomed. The governing council does not take him seriously. It was standard practice in Hollywood to use stock costumes wherever possible to save money and time, especially in low-budget productions like serials. In this case, the practice may have allowed Superman’s producers to get in a dig at their rival. The leader of the government council is wearing Tom Tyler’s costume from The Adventures of Captain Marvel!

In what is probably a coincidence, there is also an actor named William Fawcett in the cast, playing what the Internet Movie Database lists as “Phoney News-Hawker.” He also shows up in an uncredited appearance in the follow-up serial, Atom Man Vs. Superman, as the Mayor of Metropolis. Is it possible that the casting director knew about the original Captain Billy and cast this actor with a sense of irony?

Due to their low budgets, frantic production schedules, and general attitude of disdain by the industry, many serials descended into camp. Stock footage was used over and over again. Cliffhangers became repetitive and predictable. The growth of television in the 1950’s ultimately put the final nail in the coffin. It became hard to justify the expense of paying to go to a theater for an adventure when something just as good could be seen at home for free. The last serial based on a comic book character was Blackhawk in 1952. A few more serials were produced over the next couple of years, and that was it.

Click here to go to a website with a passionate writeyup of the serial "Adventures of Captain Marvel"

Go to the outline of Captain Marvel history
Chapter 1: The Captain and the Major
Chapter 2: The Big Blue Guy
Chapter 3: The Big Red Guy
Chapter 4: Early Captain Marvel
Chapter 5: Powers and Personality
Chapter 6: Going Hollywood
Chapter 7: Friends and foes: The Lietenant Marvels
Chapter 8: Friends and Foes: Captain Marvel Junior
Chapter 9: Friends and Foes: Mary Marvel
Chapter 10: Friends and Foes: Mr. Tawny
Chapter 11: Friends and Foes: Dr. Sivana
Chapter 12: Mr Mind
Chapter 13: Friends and Foes: Other Foes
Chapter 14: Enter the Binder
Chapter 15: Superman V. Captan Marvel
Chapter 16

Links

Go to the homepage of Captain Marvel Culture Go to Zorikh's Creating Comics tutorial
Go to a list of Comic Book movies
Watch This Space Enterprises home page
Zorikh Lequidre's home page

Some of the movies and serials mentioned in this chapter are available on Amazon.com:

Captain Marvel

OTher Comic Book Heroes:

Superman:

Flash Gordon:

Other Serials

Dick Tracy

Nigel deBrulier Films:

Go to the outline of Captain Marvel history
Chapter 1: The Captain and the Major
Chapter 2: The Big Blue Guy
Chapter 3: The Big Red Guy
Chapter 4: Early Captain Marvel
Chapter 5: Powers and Personality
Chapter 6: Going Hollywood
Chapter 7: Friends and foes: The Lietenant Marvels
Chapter 8: Friends and Foes: Captain Marvel Junior
Chapter 9: Friends and Foes: Mary Marvel
Chapter 10: Friends and Foes: Other Friends
Chapter 11: Friends and Foes: Dr. Sivana
Chapter 12: Mr Mind
Chapter 13: Friends and Foes: Other Foes
Chapter 14: Enter the Binder
Chapter 15: Superman V. Captan Marvel
Chapter 16

Go to the homepage of Captain Marvel Culture Go to Zorikh's Creating Comics tutorial
Go to a list of Comic Book movies
Watch This Space Enterprises home page
Zorikh Lequidre's home page

Go to Watch This Space Enterprises
Go to Zorikh's homepage

All characters named in are copyrighted by their respective copyrght holders.
This outline is not sponsored or endorsed by the holders of any of these copyrights or the creators of any of these characters.