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| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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'Full serials' of yesteryear An inveterate cinema buff recalls the days when he went home with a piece of his shirt missing, after the scramble to get tickets. by Maurice Dahanayake
The first serial I saw was "Burn em-up Barnes" with Jack Mulahall - a car racing action film which ran for over three hours - sometimes with two intervals. The gallery "gallows" as we called it, was 25 cts. a ticket, with rows of benches with no back rest. This was way back in 1945, I saw Rod Cameron in "Desert Agent", "Perils of Nayoka", "Tiger Woman" with stunt Queen Kay Alridge and Clayton Moore. "Phantom Empire" with singing cowboy Gene Autry and Betsy King Ross - The world's greatest stunt rider (horse back), then there were "space" serials "Flash Gordon trip to mars" "Flash Gordon conquers the universe" - Starring Larry "Buster" Crabbe - a then olympic swimmer. Herman Brix-acted in the serial "Hawk of the wilderness", he later changed this name to Bruce Benett and acted in "B" grade westerns, these serials ran into more than three hours each. They were shown from chapters, chapter 1 to Chapters 15. Most films were filmed by Republic Studios, Hollywood, and Monogram Pathe and in black and white with full sound effects etc. There was such a crowd (gallery) sometimes I used to go home with a piece of my shirt missing-after the scramble to get tickets. Every serial kept you at the edge of your seat and were thrillers. "Spy smasher" with Kane Richmond, "Haunted Harbour" Robert Lowry," "Darkest Africa" with Clyde Beatty, World's greatest animal trainer, were few of them. Full serial detective films were "Dick Tracy" and "Dick Tracy returns" with Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy. The second Tracy film was screened at Mylan Theatre - Jinthupitiya, they also screened "The Plantom" - with Tom Tyler. Capitol Screened "Adventures of Captain Marvel" with Tom Tyler, "Adventures of Captain America" with Dick Purcell", the "Vigilante" also starred Ralf Byrd. Of course there were plenty of western cowboy full serials, one ran into 4 hours "Flaming Frontiers" - starred Johnny Mac Browns, "Adventures of Red Ryder" - starred Don "Red" Barry, I also saw a full serial titled "Mystery Mountain" at Manel Cinema, Dematagoda - starred Ken Maynard. At Capitol they screened "King of the Texes Rangers" Starred Niel Hamilton - height 6'3" and I saw him act as Police Superintendent in the colour "Batman" series recently. Crown Cinema, Skinners road, also screened a few serials. Amongst them "King of the royal mounted" starred Allan "Rocky" Lane and "Daredevils of the red circle" starred Edward Sharpe - stunt man. Once again Capitol screened "Zorro's Fighting Legion" starring Reed Hadley. - I saw it twice with my pal Hussain Mukthar (decreased), "Zorro Rides Again" with John Carrol and Leo Carillo, also "Son of Zorro" with Jack Turner. There were a few horror serial films screened at the Capitol "The Mysterious Dr. Satan" starred Tristram coffin - "Drums of the Fu Manchu" and Dr. Fu Manchu" - starred Sydney Holler. The top villains in most of thse full serials were George J. Lewis and Roy Barcroft. I have seen over 300 full serials. In passing I should also mention Gamini Theatre, earlier known as National Theatre - Darley Road, close to New Olympia - now no more - screened westerns cowboy movies - double attractions - one before the Interval and one after the interval, titled the "Colt Comrades" and "Texas Masquerades" - starred our favourite Buck Jones and "Dawn of the great divide". The great cowboy stars Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson, Ben Turpin, Bob Steele" also acted in several full serials. "The miracle rider" - Tom Mix, ran to packed houses at the Capitol. Finally my father had me boarded at St. Patrick College, Jaffna, to stop me from this full serial habit - all the boarders with me were granted to see "Adventure of Captain Marvel", once again at Regal Cinema - Jaffna, in a tent opposite the Jaffna Dutch Fort. Back in Colombo I learnt that all old full serials were stored at Bloemendhal Road, Kotahena, at a former Cinema Hall "Dominion" near Wasala Road. I used to go there with friends to get discarded films clips of these full serials. I had a trunk full of film leaflets which I gave to a classmate Chandra Fernando of Panadura. Ceylon Theatres - should get copies of these wonderful full serials to be shown to the young set - This may deter them from going to see the present day English and Sinhala films, which are full of erotic sex scenes, vulgar dances and trash dished out nowadays. |
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In my school days I was called "Serial King" by my pals as I
saw almost every full serial screened. The late Jiffrey Yoooos-Cartoonist,
Itle "Bagi" Felthman joined me to see these films. Action packed
American movies, black and white with not a single love scene or a
"kiss".
