Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray of Adventures of Captain Marvel is a binge-worthy serial that does not disappoint. Consider by cinephiles as perhaps one of the top serials of all time.
One of the Greatest Serials of All Time!
Considered by many to be the finest serial ever made, Adventures of Captain Marvel chronicles the exploits of Captain Marvel (Tom Tyler, The Phantom), the world’s mightiest mortal, as he combats the Scorpion, a hooded villain intent on obtaining six optical lenses that turn ordinary stones into gold! Highlighting the serial are the great flying sequences by Republic’s ace special effects team, Howard Lydecker and Theodore Lydecker.
Quentin Tarantino called Tyler’s Marvel “the most homicidal berserker superhero of cinema”
Combining a wired dummy photographed against real backgrounds in natural sunlight, with spectacular take-off leaps and landings supplied by action ace David Sharpe, the final effects are still as fascinating today as they were in 1941. Adventures of Captain Marvel marked the very first time a comic book superhero’s exploits were transferred to the silver screen, and the resulting 12-chapter serial has yet to be equaled in excitement and entertainment and directed by the great team of William Witney and John English, responsible for making some of the greatest serials of all time including the legendary Daredevils of the Red Circle.
Superman was originally considered for this project, however, when National Periodical Publications (now known as DC Comics) turned Republic down, the producers made the offer to Fawcett Comics for its top character and was accepted.