Serials-ly Speaking: Essays on Cliffhangers

by William C. Cline

Overview

This collection of essays (first published in Big Reel) lovingly recalls the glory days of the movie serial. The primary focus is on the fans of the serials--what they thought of them in their heyday, what they think of them now, and why these episodic tales are still so popular. Preceding each article is a brief commentary about the essay explaining why the topic was chosen and the reader response it evoked when first published.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786409181
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	09/15/2000
Edition description:	ALTERNATE
Pages:	271
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.54(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late William C. Cline was a widely known movie serials specialist who wrote a popular column for Big Reel. He lived in Concord, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	ix
	Preface	xiii
1	"What's a Serial, Daddy?"	1
	The Question and an Unseen Friend	1
	Of Trash and Treasure	6
	The Magnificent Curse	12
	The Captive-ated Audience	17
	The Echo-ing Sound of Adventure	21
2	"Didn't You Used to Be Don "Red" Barry?"	27
	The Circuit Riders	29
	From the Horse's Mouth	37
	The "What-If" Time Warp	43
	The Cliffhanger Revisited	48
3	"Sure, I Can Do It.... Do What?"	51
	The Way You Do It, Making Movies	51
	Gentle Deception	56
	The King of the Hill	60
	"Directed by Spencer G. Bennet..."	63
4	"Do It As Well As You Can, But Do It Only Once!"	71
	Masters of the Shoestring	73
	An Unsung Hero	77
	Coming Back Like a Song	81
	Tom-Tom: Anonymous But Not Unknown	87
5	"Imagine, Kid, by Labor Day You'll Be a Star!"	95
	The Cowboys and the Cliffhangers	95
	One-Shot Winners	101
	The Man Who Became Wild Bill...	107
	A Triple Treasure	112
	Rex Bennett Revisited	119
6	"Look, All You Gotta Do Is Shave the Moustache!"	123
	Good at Being Bad	123
	Who's Behind That Mask?	129
	When the Leopard Changed Its Spots	137
	The Double Take	141
7	"Who Knows What All This May Lead To?"	148
	The Futile Wish	149
	Kemo Sabe and the Cliffhangers	154
	The Start of Something Big	160
	Remakes and Side Effects...	164
	The Beat Goes On	170
8	"Well, Maybe We Could Just Flip a Coin"	175
	The Devil's Due	176
	The Comparison Urge: Curse of the Infidel	179
	The 228 Best Serials Ever Made	183
	A Second Look--And Wrong Again	189
	Your View or Mine	193
9	"But, Dad, That's Not What You Said a Serial Was!"	201
	Counterfeit Cliffhangers	202
	Just Say It Wasn't So...	207
	Countdown to Destruction	213
	Illusions and Delusions	216
10	"It's Been a Long Tunnel, Guys, But There Is the Light!"	222
	Saga of the First Baptist Church	223
	Keepers of the Flame	226
	The Excitement of Wondering	233
	Alive and Well--And Going Strong	238
	Index	245

Editorial Reviews

lovingly recalls the glory days of the movie serial”—Westerns and Serials; “fun to read, a delightful skirmish over the hills and roughs of serialdom”—Nostalgia Westerns; “cover[s] all aspects of serial production. A good book”—Wrangler’s Roost; “nostalgic essays on cinema serials”—Interzone.

From the Publisher

cover[s] all aspects of serial production. A good book

Wrangler's Roost

fun to read, a delightful skirmish over the hills and roughs of serialdom

Nostalgia Westerns

lovingly recalls the glory days of the movie serial

Westerns and Serials

nostalgic essays on cinema serials

Interzone