Captain America (serial)
| Captain America | |
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| Directed by | Elmer Clifton John English |
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| Produced by | William J O'Sullivan |
| Written by | Story: Royal Cole Harry Fraser Joseph Poland Ronald Davidson Basil Dickey Jesse Duffy Grant Nelson Character: Jack Kirby Joe Simon |
| Starring | Dick Purcell Lorna Gray Lionel Atwill Charles Trowbridge Russell Hicks George J. Lewis John Davidson |
| Music by | Mort Glickman |
| Cinematography | John MacBurnie |
| Editing by | Wallace Grissell Earl Turner |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  5 February 1944 (serial)[1] 30 September 1953 (re-release)[1] |
| Running time | 15 chapters / 243 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $182,623 (negative cost: $222,906)[1] |
Captain America (1944) is a Republic serial film based (loosely) on the comic book character Captain America. It was the last Republic serial made about a superhero. It also has the distinction of being the most expensive serial that Republic ever made.
The serial sees Captain America, really District Attorney Grant Gardner, trying to thwart the plans of The Scarab, really museum curator Dr. Cyrus Maldor - especially regarding his attempts to acquire the "Dynamic Vibrator" and "Electronic Firebolt", devices that could be used as super-weapons.
In a rare plot element for Republic, the secret identity of the villain is known to the audience from the beginning, if not to the characters in the serial. The studio's usual approach was the use of a mystery villain who was only unmasked as one of the other supporting characters in the final chapter.
Contents |
Plot
A rash of suspicious suicides among scientists and businessmen, all found holding a small scarab, gets the attention of Mayor Randolph. He demands that Police Commissioner Dryden and District Attorney Grant Gardner get to the bottom of the case, while openly wishing that Captain America, a masked man who has helped defeat crime in the past, were around to solve the mystery.
All of the suicides were members of an expedition to some Mayan ruins. One of the few remaining survivors, Professor Lyman, turns to his friend Dr Maldor for support. Dr Maldor, however, reveals that he is the man responsible for the deaths. He wants revenge because he planned and organised the expedition but everyone else claimed the fame and fortune. However, Lyman has developed the "Dynamic Vibrator" - a device intended for mining operations but one that can be amplified into a devastating weapon. Using his "Purple Death", a hypnotic chemical responsible for the suicides, Dr Maldor forces Lyman to disclose the location of his plans.
Captain America intervenes as the Scarab's heavies attempt to steal the plans and this leads to a sequence of plots by the Scarab to acquire a working version, as well as other devices, while trying to eliminate the interfering Captain before he succeeds in discovering Dr Maldor's true identity or defeats him.
Cast
- Dick Purcell as District Attorney Grant Gardner and Captain America. Purcell was cast as the hero despite appearing a bit overweight and average.[2] He died a few weeks after filming was completed. The strain of filming Captain America had been too much for his heart and he collapsed in the locker room at a Los Angeles country club.[3]
- Lorna Gray as Gail Richards, Grant Gardner's secretary
- Lionel Atwill as Dr Cyrus Maldor/The Scarab
- Charles Trowbridge as Police Commissioner Dryden
- Russell Hicks as Mayor Randolph
- George J. Lewis as Bart Matson
- John Davidson as Gruber
- Stanley Price as Purple Death chemist
Production
Captain America was budgeted at $182,623 although the final negative cost was $222,906(a $40,283, or 22.1%, overspend). It was the most expensive of all Republic serials (as well as the most over budget).[1]
It was filmed between 12 October and 24 November 1943.[1] The serial's production number was 1297.[1]
Captain America was written by seven of the top serial screenwriters, including Harry Fraser’s only work at Republic.[4]
The Captain America costume was really grey, white and dark blue as these colours photographed better in black and white. The costume also lost the wings on the head, the pirate boots became high shoes and the chainmail became normal cloth. Miniature flags were added to the gloves and the belt buckle became a small shield.[2]
Republic was notorious for making arbitrary changes in their adaptations. This occurred with Captain America more than most. Timely, the owner of Captain America, were unhappy with the omission of Steve Rogers, the lack of an army setting and his use of a gun. Republic responded in writing that the sample pages provided by Timely did not indicate that Captain America was a soldier called Steve Rogers, nor that he did not carry a revolver. They also noted that the serial was well into production by this point and they could not return to the original concept without expensive retakes and dubbing. Finally they pointed out that Republic was under no contractual obligation to do any of this.[2]
The changes made in this serial are more extreme than with other Republic comic adaptations, such as Adventures of Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher. For example:
- His secret identity is District Attorney Grant Gardner rather than U'S. Army Private Steve Rogers.
- The "Super-Soldier Serum" origin is not used.
- His famous shield does not appear, replaced by a standard gun.
- Despite the fact that this serial was made in 1944, the Nazis are not part of the story in any way.
- His sidekick, Bucky, does not appear.
It has been reported by film historians Jim Harmon and Don Glut that the script was originally written as a sequel to 1940's Mysterious Doctor Satan, which featured the masked hero The Copperhead. This character was himself a substitution for DC's Superman, after Republic's bid for that character's film rights lost to Paramount, who had a series of cartoon shorts made by the Fleischer Studios.
Based primarily on the facts that Republic had adapted other Fawcett Comics characters (Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher), and that the lead is a crime-fighting district attorney, some have speculated that the script was originally written for Fawcett's comic book hero Mr. Scarlet, secretly D.A. Brian Butler.
Writer Raymond William Stedman believes that the changes were "for the better" as, for example, the hero did not have to sneak out of an army base every time he needed to change identities.[3]
Stunts
- Dale Van Sickel as Captain America (doubling Dick Purcell)
- Bert LeBaron as Dr Maldor/The Scarab (doubling Lionel Atwill)
- Helen Thurston as Gail Richards (doubling Lorna Gray)
- Ken Terrell Bart Matson/Dirk (doubling George J. Lewis & Crane Whitley)
- John Bagni
- Fred Graham
- Duke Green
- Eddie Parker
- Allen Pomeroy
- Tom Steele
Dale Van Sickel was the "ram rod" of the stunt crew, doubling Dick Purcell as Captain America. Ken Terrell doubled George J. Lewis and Fred Graham doubled Lionel Atwill. Additional stunts were performed by Duke Green and Joe Yrigoyen. Tom Steel only appeared in chapter one as he was busy on The Masked Marvel.[2]
Special effects
All the special effects in Captain America were created by Republic's in-house team, the Lydecker brothers.
Release
Theatrical
Captain America's official release date is 5 February 1944, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]
The serial was re-released on 30 September 1953, under the new title Return of Captain America, between the first runs of Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders and Trader Tom of the China Seas.[1]
Critical reception
Captain America is regarded as the "apex of the traditional action film fight...[in the] opinion of many cliffhanger enthusiasts."[2]
Stedman wrote that this was a "much better serial than either Batman or The Masked Marvel"[3]
Dr Maldor is, in Cline's opinion, Lionel Atwill's best serial role.[5]
References to the serial
In Captain America V1 issue 219, it is revealed that a Captain America serial also exists within the Marvel Continuity. In this version, Captain America himself plays the role (in secret), taking the place of the stunt man who was shot during production due to the prop master being the Nazi spy Lyle Decker. Like the real-life serial, Cap's shield is replaced with a standard gun, his identity is changed, and his sidekick Bucky is absent.
In 2007, after Marvel's Civil War event, Captain America (Steve Rogers) was killed off. News channel CNN produced a special on the death, showing the serial with Grant Gardner as Captain America while it was focusing on the death of Steve Rogers. In Issue 27[clarification needed] of Captain America, the movie poster is seen in The Captain America Museum.
Chapter titles
- The Purple Death (25min 40s)
- Mechanical Executioner (15min 38s)
- The Scarlet Shroud (15min 33s)
- Preview of Murder (15min 33s)
- Blade of Wrath (15min 33s)
- Vault of Vengeance (15min 33s)
- Wholesale Destruction (15min 34s)
- Cremation in the Clouds (15min 33s)
- Triple Tragedy (15min 33s)
- The Avenging Corpse (15min 33s)
- The Dead Man Returns (15min 33s)
- Horror on the Highway (15min 34s)
- Skyscraper Plunge (15min 33s)
- The Scarab Strikes (15min 32s)
- The Toll of Doom (15min 33s)
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mathis, Jack. Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 74–75. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8.
- ^ a b c d e Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut. "10. The Long-Underwear Boys "You've Met Me, Now Meet My Fist!"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 255, 258–259, 263. ISBN 9780713000979.
- ^ a b c Stedman, Raymond William. "5. Shazam and Good-by". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 131. ISBN 9780806109275.
- ^ Cline, William C.. "4. The Plotters of Peril (The Writers)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 61. ISBN 078640471X.
- ^ Cline, William C.. "7. Masters of Menace (The Villains)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 113. ISBN 078640471X.
- ^ Cline, William C.. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 237. ISBN 078640471X.
External links
- Captain America at the Internet Movie Database
- Captain America at Allmovie
- Captain America at Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience
- Captain America at coldfusionvideo.com
- The Complete Series Online
| Preceded by The Masked Marvel (1943) |
Republic Serial Captain America (1944) |
Succeeded by The Tiger Woman (1943) |
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