|
|
Crimson Ghost (Colorized) |
 |
Crimson Ghost (Colorized)
|
by Republic Pictures
Sales Rank: 36119
Price: $9.98
|
|
|
This is the first serial William Witney directed at Republic without his usual associate John English. Witney was just back from WWII, and English had gone on to other things, so Fred Brannon entered the picture. Brannon had been at Republic just a year (his first serial was "The Purple Monster Strikes"). His career at Republic consisted of 8 serials and 10 westerns from 1945 to 1953, ended by his death just short of his 52nd birthday. <br /> <br />After WWII anything "atomic" was very popular, thus the thrust of this picture. Actually the Crimson Ghost character is so hokey it's hard to take him seriously. The picture would have been much better with a more ordinary villain. I. Stanford Jolley gets starring credit, but he's really just a voice-over; the Ghost's physical presence is Bud Geary. Jolley was a great B-western actor, usually playing a conniving, genteel, cheroot-puffing crook in silk-damask weskit, in literally hundreds of movies and TV shows. <br /> <br />Charles Quigley ("Daredevils of the Red Circle,") is the hero in this one, and he seems not quite as effective all by himself. Clayton Moore is the Ghost's chief underling, but in my opinion he just doesn't fit well in a bad-guy role--his voice as the Lone Ranger is just too familiar to accept him as a crook. Linda Stirling, the "Queen of the Serials," does her usual fine job; in this one she even looks a little like Lauren Bacall. In Chapter 9 she sits down wearing a skirt, and when she gets up she's back in her slacks. Another strange happening occurs in Chapter 5: The hero is driving toward an airplane taxiing to take off. Instead of simply driving away from the path of the plane, he goes to all the trouble of leaping out and letting the car crash into the plane. <br /> <br />One lesson to be learned from this and all other serials: The good guys are always extremely careless when holding their enemies at gunpoint--they invariably stand too close and let the bad guys overcome them. And both sides tend to be very bad shots. <br /> <br />Charles Quigley is doubled in the fight scenes by Dale Van Sickle. Early in the movie he makes a move that's literally off-the-wall, predating Jackie Chan by about 50 years! The musical score by Mort Glickman complements the action very nicely.
Viewer Reviews
Republic Pictures present "THE CRIMSON GHOST" (1946) (164 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 12-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Linda Stirling and Clayton Moore, relive those thrilling days week after week venue brought you to the theater, as you were mesmerized in your seat waiting for the final chapter ... exciting action within 12 episodes from one of my favorite Republic Serials, as an evil mastermind known as "The Crimson Ghost" is playing havoc to short circuit all electrical current on the planet Earth, will he succeed in stealing the Cyclotrode, the device that will perform this dastardly deed ... certainly a cliffhanger if ever I saw one ... the suspense is riveting inclusive fast paced fight scenes as everyone is having fun with this classic.
Under Fred C. Brannon (Director), William Witney (Director), Ronald Davidson (Associate Producer), Albert DeMond (Screenwriter), Basil Dickey (Screenwriter), Jesse Duffy (Screenwriter), Sol Shor (Screenwriter), Bud Thackery (Cinematographer), Cliff Bell Sr. (Editor), Harold Minter (Editor), Russell Kimball (Art Direction), Fred A. Ritter (Art Direction), Cy Feuer (Musical Director), Mort Glickman (Musical Director) ------ the cast includes Charles Quigley (Duncan Richards), Linda Stirling (Diana Farnsworth), Clayton Moore (Ashe), I. Stanford Jolley (Dr. Blackton), Kenne Duncan (Prof. Chambers), Forrest Taylor (Prof. Van Wyck), Emmett Vogan (Anderson), Sam Flint (Maxwell), Joseph Forte (Prof. Parker), Stanley Price (Count Fator), Wheaton Chambers (Wilson), Tom Steele (Henchman), Dale Van Sickel (Henchman Harte), Rex Lease (Bain), Fred Graham (Snyder/Zane), Bud Wolfe (Apartment thug), Eddie Parker (Henchman Sherman), Duke Taylor (Lab henchman), Ken Terrell (Warehouse thug), Robert J. Wilke (Scott, armored car driver) ------ our story and plot line is top notch entertainment with a capital E ... who is this mystery man wearing a skull mask and red robe planning to steal the Cyclotrode ... favorite actor Kenne Duncan is the inventor of this device, Charle Quigley the criminologist, with assistant lovely Linda Stirling who both were in great form for this classic serial ... normally the hero Clayton Moore is at his evil best and plays the villain to the hilt ... the serial music is outstanding from Cy Feuer and Mort Glickman, keeping you glued and unglued in your seat at all times ...great stunt work by the Republic stunt personnel Polly Burson (stunt double: Linda Stirling), Tom Steele (stunt double: Clayton Moore & I. Stanford Jolley), Dale Van Sickel (stunt double: Charles Quigley ), Joe Yrigoyen (also stunt double: Charles Quigley) ... don't leave the theater until the final chapter "The Invisible Trail" ... another winner from the vaults of Republic Serials --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.
CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Atomic Peril
2. Thunderbolt
3. The Fatal Sacrifice
4. The Laughing Skull
5. Flaming Death
6. Mystery of the mountain
7. Electrocution
8. The Slave Collar
9. Blazing Fury
10.The Trap That Failed
11.Double Murder
12.The Invisible Trail
BIOS:
1. Linda Stirling (aka: Louise Schultz)
Date of birth: 11 October 1921 - Long Beach, California
Date of death: 20 July 1997 - Studio City, Los Angeles, California
Special Footnote, Linda Stirling was the most popular action star of serials in the 1940s, she was spotted in an advertisement by executives of Republic Studios, who were looking for a beautiful but athletic woman to star in their upcoming serial, "The Tiger Woman" (1944). Despite having no experience in the kind of stunts and athletics that would be required, Stirling was able to convince not only the executives but ace stuntman Yakima Canutt of her capability. She won the role and a contract from Republic, and played hard-riding and -fighting heroines in numerous serials, Westerns, and low-budget adventure films over the next three or four years ... Stirling appeared in three other notable serials "Zorro's Black Whip" (1944), "Manhunt of Mystery Island" (1945), "The Purple Monster Strikes" (1945) and "Crimson Ghost" (1946) ... where she rapidly earned the title "Queen of the Serials." ... She married Republic screenwriter Sloan Nibley in 1946, then retired from films the following year, had a family and once her children were grown Stirling enrolled at UCLA, eventually earning an MA, a BFA and--at age 50--a PhD ... during 1960s, she began a whole new career as a teacher of college English and Drama.
BIOS:
2. Clayton Moore (aka: Jack Carlton Moore)
Date of birth: 14 September 1914 - Chicago, Illinois (some sources say 1908)
Date of death: 28 December 1999 - Los Angeles, California
3. Charles Quigley
Date of birth: 12 February 1906 - New Britain, Connecticut
Date of death: 5 August 1964 - Los Angeles, California
Second Special Footnote, Clayton Moore was a circus acrobat at the age of eight and grew up in the Midwest (Illinois)...worked in the circus and traveled to New York and then Hollywood where he became a stuntman and bit player.. appeared in various serials "Peril of Nyoka" (1942), "The Crimson Ghost" (1946), "Jesse James Rides Again" (1947), "The Adventures of Frank and Jesse James" (1948), "G-Men Never Forget" (1948), "Ghost of Zorro" (1949), "Radar Men from the Moon" (1952), "Jungle Drums of Africa" (1953) ... .inducted into the "Stuntman's Hall of Fame" in 1982...also received the "Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame'" also the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" both in 1990...Clayton was once quoted "Playing him [the Lone Ranger] made me a better person.", "Once I got the Lone Ranger role, I didn't want any other. I was playing the good guy."..."I will continue wearing the white hat and black mask until I ride up into the big ranch in the sky." (On his costume as the Lone Ranger, February 4, 1985)...Clayton very much enjoyed quoting and lived by "A Ranger's Creed" which included this moral lesson "That God put the firewood there, but every man must gather and light it himself."
If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)
5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)
8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)
9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)
11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)
13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)
Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!
Total Time: 164 min on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (5/30/1995)
Back To Top
|
Crimson Ghost (Colorized)
Available from Amazon
|
|
NOTICE: All product prices, availability, and specifications
are subject to verification by their respective retailers.
Copyright © 2009, Dominant Systems Corporation
info@HowlingVideo.com
Privacy Policy
Last Modified : 1-6-2009
|
