Mascot Pictures present "THE FIGHTING MARINES" (1935) (226 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 12-Chapter Mascot Movie Serial starring Grant Withers, Adrian Morris, Ann Rutherford, Robert Warwick & George J. Lewis, 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 Mascot Serial, released on November 3,1935, story thus far, U.S. Marines, in an attempt to build a landing field on Halfway Island in the Pacific, unwittingly endanger the secret hideout of a mysterious figure known as "The Tiger Shark" ... will "The Tiger Shark" therefore begin a program of sabotage and murder against the Marines ... what fate awaits our heroes Withers and Morris in this Mascot classic cliffhanger.

Under B. Reeves Eason (Director), Joseph Kane (Director), Nat Levine (Producer), Barney A. Sarecky (Associate Producer), Maurice Geraghty (Original Story),Sherman L. Lowe (Screenwriter), Wallace MacDonald (Original Story),Barney A. Sarecky (Screenwriter), Ray Trampe (Original Story), Lee Zahler (Original Score), Jack A. Marta (Cinematographer),William Nobles (Cinematographer), Richard Fantl (Editor) ------ the cast includes Grant Withers (Cpl. Larry Lawrernc), Adrian Morris (Sgt. Mack McGowan), Ann Rutherford (Frances Schiller), Robert Warwick (Col. W. R. Bennett), George J. Lewis (Sgt. William Schiller), Jason Robards Sr. (Kota), Richard Alexander (Henchman Ivan), Tom London (Miller, Hench M-90), Ted Adams (Pete, Pilot Henchman), Franklin Adreon (Capt. Holmes), George DeNormand (Marine), Eddie Parker (Marine Olson), Milburn Stone (Henchman Red), Carleton Young (Doctor) ------ Special foonote, Withers and Morris have great teamwork together which gives these characters personality ... great stunt work by the Mascot stunt personnel George DeNormand (stunt double: Grant Withers & Adrian Morris), Eddie Parker (stunt double: Adrian Morris & Grant Withers), Yakima Canutt (stunts) --- don't leave the theater until the final chapter "Two Against the Horde" ... another winner from the vaults of Mascot Pictures --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Human Targets
2. Isle of Missing Men
3. Savage Horde
4. Mark of the Tiger Shark
5. Gauntlet of Grief
6. Robber's Roost
7. Jungle Terrors
8. Siege of Halfway Island
9. Death From the Sky
10.Wheels of Destruction
11.Behind the Mask
12.Two Against the Horde

BIOS:
1. Grant Withers (aka: Granville G. Withers)
Date of birth: 17 January 1904 - Pueblo, Colorado
Date of death: 27 March 1959 - North Hollywood, California
2. B. Reeves Eason (aka: William Reaves Eason) (Director)
Date of birth: 2 October 1886 - New York, New York
Date of death: 9 June 1956 - Sherman Oaks, California
3. Joseph Kane (aka: Jasper Joseph Inman Kane) (Director)
Date of birth: 19 March 1894 - San Diego, California
Date of death: 25 August 1975 - Santa Monica, California

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: 226 mins on DVD ~ Alpha Video ~ (2/22/2005)

"The Fighting Marines" has a 1936 copywrite on the screen credits. The improbable misadventures of a pair of Marine NCO's as they face the "masked villian" in 12 cliff-hanging chapters, this serial shows its western movie heritage! I mention the date because the movie has science fiction elements. The serial was the grand daddy of today's television series. "The Fighting Marines" makes a valiant effort to maintain continuity. There is a lot to like about this serial even though it is a low-budget production. The special effects are great for the era. The plot line is hokey--a mysterious "masked villian" is doing things to stop the establishment of an airfield on Halfway Island. The villian's motivation could have been developed better.

I'd like to know more about where "The Fighting Marines" was filmed. The location shots appear to be Southern California, and there are some nice aircraft footage.

Bonus features on the DVD include a trailer, a Flip the Frog cartoon and a newsreel. The newsreel shows USSR bomber and paratroop operations, a rocket pack test on ice skates, a footbal game, and "Looking Back on 1937" (with labor activism, the Spanish Civil War in Madrid, King George VI's coronation, flooding in the Ohio Balley, Texas gas explosion, Amelia's last flight, the Hindenburg) The newsreel had an instrumental sound track--only music.

The vintage newsreel is a piece of history. The serial was okay--I imagine it was quite a bit better back in the 1930's.

MASCOT PICTURES made serials under its own name from 1926 to 1935. After that, MASCOT and four other lesser "Poverty Row" studios were combined under the REPUBLIC PICTURES banner.

THE FIGHTING MARINES was the last serial MASCOT produced before the REPUBLIC merger and the first project future REPUBLIC PICTURES producer Franklin Adreon was involved with. The ex-Marine acted as consultant and played Captain Holmes.

THE STORY of FIGHTING MARINES:
A Marine sergeant invents a new "gyro-compass," which is coveted by a master criminal and his gang.

CAST:
Grant Withers - Cpl. Lawrence
Adrian Morris - Sgt. McGowan
Ann Rutherford - Frances Schiller
Robert Warwick - Col. Bennett
George J. Lewis - Sgt. Schiller [Chs. 1-4]
Pat O'Malley - Cpt. Grayson [Ch. 1]
Jason Robards Sr. - Kota
Lee Shumway - Capt. Drake [Chs. 1, 8, 10] (uncredited)

CHAPTERS:
1. Human Targets
2. Isle of Missing Men
3. Savage Horde
4. Mark of the Tiger Shark
5. Gauntlet of Grief
6. Robber's Roost
7. Jungle Terrors
8. Siege of Halfway Island
9. Death From the Sky
10. Wheels of Destruction
11. Behind the Mask
12. Two Against the Horde

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› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars