Brian Taves

Blood 'n' Thunder's Cliffhanger Classics Brian Taves

The great movie serials of yesteryear are covered in 20 informative essays culled from the pages of BLOOD 'N' THUNDER, the premier journal of adventure, mystery and melodrama in American popular culture of the early 20th century. There are no gushy fanboy puff-pieces in this book; each essay is undergirded with solid research and, in many cases, interviews with the actors, writers and directors involved. Titles covered at length include THE IRON CLAW (1916), PATRIA (1917), THE GREEN ARCHER (1925), THE HOUSE WITHOUT A KEY (1926), JUNGLE MYSTERY (1932), THE RED RIDER (1934), NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN (1935), TIM TYLER'S LUCK (1937), SECRET OF TREASURE ISLAND (1938), THE LONE RANGER (1938), THE SHADOW (1940), DRUMS OF FU MANCHU (1940), and DAREDEVILS OF THE WEST (1943). Serial performers and technicians interviewed specifically for these articles (over a period of several decades) include Kay Aldridge, Henry Brandon, Herman Brix, Yakima Canutt, George DeNormand, Rose Hobart, Iris Meredith, Cecilia Parker, Barry Shipman, Frank Leon Smith, Frankie Thomas, and William Witney. Nearly 100,000 words long and over 300 pages, the book is illustrated with two lengthy galleries including dozens of rare stills, posters and lobby cards from the serials under discussion. This is a must-have volume for anyone who is seriously interested in the history of motion-picture chapter plays.