NEW Vol. 1-chapter 1-6 (DVD)

This serial is an outstanding example of why so many of the Universal serials of the 1940-1944 period were inferior to their Republic counterparts. In this case much of the Universal formula for making inferior serials is evident: intensive use of stock-shots, very poor production values, dull writing, continuous use of Mendelssohn's Fingal Cave Overture which is completely unrelated to the action that is going on screen. Universal's good serials in the forties are few and far between. This is one of their worst.

A mysterious saboteur known as the "Sea Raider" has been destroying Allied merchant ships. Four wharf rats (Billy, Toby, Bilge, and Butch, played respectively, if not respectfully, by Halop, Hall, Dell, and Punsly) try to find out who the Sea Raider is. Meanwhile, Billy's big brother has invented some really nifty stuff, including a new type of torpedo boat, that the Sea Raider wants, and big brother works for Captain Carlton, who is really the Sea Raider, so there's all kinds of chicanery going on, and aren't you sorry you asked?

Reed Hadley, who played the lead in the great ZORRO'S FIGHTING LEGION (1939), must've done something terrible in his life, because only two years after that he's reduced to playing stooge for the Dead End Kids. He's an extremely unbelievable foreign agent; they may as well have signed Kate Smith to play a Nazi. There're a lot of other people in this serial, but for the sake of any good performances they may have given elsewhere, I won't mention them. Except for William Hall. Him I want to hurt. He plays a combination harbor cop and truant officer, he's dating somebody's sister (I forget whose, and it doesn't matter anyway) and he's a big, dumb, stupid clod and I hate him. And if you think I'm being too harsh, well, you should just see him. This isn't much of a chapterplay to begin with; we don't need some buttinsky copper hobbling around, spoiling what little quality in the film there is to begin with.

Most Universal serials run out of gas in the late going, and this one is no exception. The Universal chapterplay writers seem to try and jumpstart the stalled plot (or, more likely, they've simply lost any vestige of sobriety) in the final few episodes, and take the serial in a weird direction, and that's just what happens here. In chapter 8, the Boys are shanghaied by a whaling ship and nearly drown when they get caught in a harpoon's rope. In chapter 9, Halop gets eaten (nearly) by an octopus. In his underwear. That is, Halop, not the octopus, is wearing underwear. He took his clothes off for no apparent reason (all of the other Kids kept their modesty) except to match some antediluvian stock footage. In chapter 10, the Kids, shipwrecked on an island, get eaten by a panther. Nearly. I think they get away by smacking him on the nose with one of those concrete-like pretzels I used to buy from a street vendor in Manhattan at the entrance to the 3rd Avenue subway.

Wow. I got so wrapped up in the plot that I nearly forgot you all were still here. I will give you a special reward for staying with through so much blithering nonsense: I'll wrap up the review now. Or nearly now. I have to tell you my favorite part of the serial: the soundtrack. Folks, you've GOT to hear this. Whereas most Universal serials of the period simply reuse the score from BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and other horror hits, somebody at Universal thought it would be a good idea to play classical music during this chapterplay. And if that's not bad enough, the music was apparently just chosen at random. It's as if they had forgotten to create a score for it, simply grabbed a stack of classical 78s, and recorded them, willy-nilly. You won't believe your own ears as gentle, lilting Rossini tunes are played over fight scenes. You'll doubt your own sanity. You'll wonder why, lord, why, and so I'm going to give you the answer: Because.

The Alpha DVD is a 3  on a scale of 1-10. Not worse than the typical Alpha product, but certainly not better, either.

VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present..."Sea Raiders" (1941) (Dolby digitally remastered), a 12 Chapter cliffhanger from an action packed Universal serial era featuring an outstanding cast with Ford Beebe and John Rawlins at the helm....our story has to do with the sinking of our allied shipping lanes by the mystery ship known as the "Sea Raider", responsible is a Nazi organization...will the Dead End Kids get into the thick of things, Billy Halop, Huntz Hall and Gabe Dell always cutting up and giving their fans 100% entertainment...is the navy's defense in danger with Edward Keane and Reed Hadley (Zorro's Fighting Legion) on the loose while heading a foreign sabotage group to make things a little sticky within the 12 chapter plays...what is this torpedo boat that John McGuire has invented for our U.S. Navy, will it make the difference and save the day...only our gang of juvenile delinquents can thwart veteran heavies that have been cast in our exciting and thrilling Universal Serial....don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "Paying the Penalty"....just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss a single spine thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter.

Under director's Ford Beebe and John Rawlins, associate producer Henry MacRae, original screenplay by Clarence Upson Young and Paul Huston dialogue director Paul Huston, supervising editor Saul A Goodkind, musical score by Charles Previn, Hans J. Salter, Frank Skinner and Franz Waxman, stunts by Eddie Parker (stunt double Eddie Dunn), Tom Steele (stunt double for Reed Hadley) and Bud Wolfe (stunt double for Richard Bond, Morgan Wallace and John McGuire) ...the cast includes Billy Halop (Billy Adams), Huntz Hall (Toby Nelson), Gabriel Dell (Bilge), Bernard Punsly (Butch), Hally Chester (Swab). Joe Recht (Swab), William Hall (Brack Warren), John McGuire (Tom Adams), Mary Field (Aggie Nelson), Elliott Carlton (Edward Keane), Marcia Ralston (Leach Carlton), Reed Hadley (Carl Tonjes), Stanley Blystone (Capt. Olaf Nelson), Richard Alexander (Jenkins), Ernie Adams (Zeke), Jack Clifford (Anderson), Richard Bond (Krans/Agent X-39 ), Morgan Wallace (Capt. Lester), Eddie Dunn (Capt. Meredith), James Blaine (Desk Sergeant), Ed Cassidy (Guard at Hospital), Jack Cheatham (Duke), Dick Curtis (Mate on the 'Astoria'), John Merton (First Island Guard), Jack Mulhull ('Dolphin' Radioman), Jack Perrin (Island Guard-Launch pilot), Tom Steele (Coral Strand crewman), Forrest Taylor (Fenwick/the inventor)........special footnote as we showcase three actors, Billy Halop began his acting career as a teenager in the stage hit "Dead End", was brought to Hollywood in a big success went on to become serials for Universal and Monogram Pictures "The Dead End/East Side Kids", most popular in the '40s B-Picture genre....another actor Huntz Hall also from New York auditioned for a part in "Dead End", rumor has it because he could imitate a machine gun director Martin Gable and playwright Sidney Kingsley gave him the role, Hall more than any other actor appeared in a total of 81 East Side Kids and Bowery Boys films plus serials, usually billed as the character "Satch" co-starring with Leo Gorcey...the final actor is Gabriel "Gabe" Dell who made his debut in "Dead End" another juvenile cast member, Gabe appeared in East Side Kids, Dead End Kids and final in the Bowery Boys, in the later playing a cop, gangster or reporter, always gave it his best shot in every film........meanwhile back to our Universal Serial which is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.

BIOS:

1. Billy Halop (aka William Halop)

Birth Date: 2/11/1920 - New York, New York

Died: 11/09/1976 - Brentwood, California

2. Huntz Hall (aka Henry Richard Hall)

Birth Date: 8/15/1919 - New York, New York

Died: 1/30/1999 - North Hollywood, California

3. Gabriel Dell (aka Gabriel Del Vecchio)

Birth Date: 10/08/1919 - New York, New York

Died: 7/03/1988 - North Hollywood, California

CHAPTER TITLES:

1. The Raider Strikes

2. Flaming Torture

3. The Tragic Crash

4. The Raider Strikes Again

5. Flames of Fury

6. Blasted From the Air

7. Victims of the Storm

8. Dragged to Their Doom

9. Battling the Sea Beast

10.Periled By a Panther

11.Entombed in the Tunnel

12.Paying the Penalty

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)

Coming soon January 2006 from VCI Home Video on DVD..."FLAMING FRONTIERS" (1938), Universal Serial with 15 chapters, featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Eleanor Hansen, John Archer, James Blaine and Ralph Bowman..."OREGON TRAIL" (1939), another Universal Serial with 15 exciting chapters featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, Roy Barcoft and Charles King..."THE TALL TEXAN" (1953), full length feature starring Lloyd Bridges, Lee J Cobb, Luther Adler and Marie Windsor...watch for more details on VCI Entertainment and Amazon your two favorite sites for serials and B-Westerns.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Sea Raiders" (1941), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s, '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 240 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1736 ~ (1/29/1996)

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews  3.6 out of 5 stars