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Cliff-Hanger Serials

A world unto their own, the great serial chapters of the 1930s, '40s and '50s brought adventure and intrigue to the cinema screens every week as young and old alike would check out the latest instalment to see if our hero would survive (naturally!) and if the bad guys would be stopped in their tracks (of course!). The best part was always the 'cliffhanger' where the filmmakers would come up with an ingenious hook to keep you coming back for more. Films like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and 'The Rocketeer' owe a debt to these thrill-a-minute extravaganzas, where saving the Earth from peril was all in a days work.

Batman and Robin: The Complete Movie Serial (1949)

6.2/10
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet
Starring: Robert Lowery, John Duncan, Jane Adams, Lyle Talbot

Join superheroes Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (John Duncan) as they help Commissioner Gordon (Lyle Talbot) battle The Wizard, a villainous madman... Read more

Blake Of Scotland Yard (1937)

5.8/10
Director: Bob Hill

Scotland Yard inspector Sir James Blake (Herbert Rawlinson) has financed a death ray designed by young inventor Ralph Byrd. The ray will be a boon to... Read more

Buck Rogers: The Serial (1939)

7.3/10
Starring: Larry 'Buster' Crabbe

A classic action packed sci-fi serial in 12 chapters. Emerging from a state of hibernation after 500 years, Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe) and young Budd... Read more

Captain America - 15 Chapter Serial: Chapters 1-5 (1944)

Director: John English, Elmer Clifton
Starring: Lionel Atwill, Dick Purcell

Captain America is a 1944 Republic black-and-white serial film loosely based on the Timely Comics (today known as Marvel Comics) character Captain Ame... Read more

Captain Midnight: The Serial (1942)

8/10
Director: James W Horne
Starring: Dave O'Brien, Dorothy Short

With a terror-stricken nation being blitzed by enemy bombers directed by the evil Ivan Shark, good guy Captain Albright becomes Captain Midnight and s... Read more

Captain Video (1951)

5.9/10
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet, Wallace Grissell
Starring: Gene Roth, Judd Holdren, Larry Stewart, George Eldredge

Two years after his television debut, the space-faring scientific genius and 'Captain of the Video Rangers' became the first TV character to make the... Read more

Classic Superheroes (1940)

Starring: Larry 'Buster' Crabbe, Victor Jory

'The Green Archer' - Crackerjack detective Spike Holland investigates the disappearance of beautiful Elaine (Iris Meredith). His search leads him to G... Read more

Dick Tracy: Volume 1 (1937)

6.1/10
Director: Ray Taylor, Alan James
Starring: Ralph Byrd, Smiley Burnette, Lee Van Atta, Kay Hughes

Police detective Dick Tracy is hard on the heels of the ruthless Spider Ring and their evil leader, the Lame One. As he gets closer, the Spider Ring p... Read more

Dick Tracy: Volume 2 (1937)

6.1/10
Director: Ray Taylor, Alan James
Starring: Ralph Byrd, Smiley Burnette, Lee Van Atta, Kay Hughes

Volume 2 of 3. Ace detective Dick Tracy appears in more action-packed serial adventures (this is the middle five of fifteen installments). Hard on the... Read more

Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe - All 12 Chapters (1940)

Starring: Larry 'Buster' Crabbe, Carol Hughes, Anne Gwynne, Charles Middleton

Contains the original 12 episodes of the sci-fi action serial based on the Alex Raymond comic strip, starring Buster Crabbe as the heroic Flash trying... Read more