The Adventures of Captain Marvel
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Adventures of Captain Marvel is a 1941 twelve-chapter film serial directed by John English and William Witney for Republic Pictures, adapted from the popular Captain Marvel comic book character then appearing in Fawcett Comics publications. It starred Tom Tyler (who also played The Phantom) in the title role of Captain Marvel and Frank Coghlan, Jr. as his alter ego, Billy Batson.
This serial was the twenty-first of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic and their first comic book adaptation (not counting comic strips such as Dick Tracy). Spy Smasher, also based on a Fawcett character, would follow in 1942.
This serial was the first film adaptation of a comic book superhero. That claim would have gone to the previous serial, Mysterious Doctor Satan, which was intended to have been a Superman serial until National Comics (now DC Comics) pulled out of negotiations. National Comics unsuccessfully attempted to sue Republic for producing a Captain Marvel serial.
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Plot
The serial featured an adaptation of the Fawcett Comics superhero, placed within an original story in which he fights a criminal mastermind, called The Scorpion, who is determined to gain total control of a magical gold scorpion figurine. It is actually a disguised optical weapon of incredible power (including, but not limited to, melting rock via a projected death ray).
Billy Batson is an assistant radio operator with the Malcolm archaeological expedition to "the Valley of the Tombs". The expedition is attacked by natives but Tal Cholatli parleys with Rahman Bar. A sacred legend states no desecration will occur until the volcano, Scorpio, is active again. At the tombs, Billy refuses to enter the inner tomb as it would desecrate the religious beliefs of others. Instead he goes to pack pottery in another tunnel. In the inner tomb, Tal Cholatli, Prof Malcolm, Prof Luthor Bentley, Dwight Fisher, and Dr Stephen Lang, find the Golden Scorpion. A ray from the Scorpion collapses the entrance to the tombs and opens a hidden passage between Billy and the ancient wizard Shazam. Shazam grants him the ability to change into Captain Marvel in order to prevent the Golden Scorpion from falling into the wrong hands. It is his "duty to see that the curse of the Scorpion is not visited on innocent people."
The lenses from the Golden Scorpion are divided among the five scientists. Scorpio then erupts which triggers a Native attack. The expedition is rescued by cavalry from Fort Mooltan. Captain Marvel then flies to a group of natives with a machine gun, knocks them out by throwing one at the other, and takes over the gun. Marvel then throws aside the gun and attacks with his bare fists. Marvel learns he is invulnerable after bullets bounce off his chest.
Back in the United States, one of the expedition members masquerades as the Masked Mystery Villain, The Scorpion. He attempts to acquire all of the lenses and the Scorpion for his own power. Several expedition members are killed in his quest despite Captain Marvel's continual efforts to thwart the villain.
Eventually a second expedition sets out because Long had hidden his lens in the Valley of the Tombs. The Scorpion witnesses Billy's change during this and captures him - tying him up and gagging him. The Scorpion interrogates Billy for the secret. When Billy agrees to tell him, The Scorpion removes the gag and Billy says "Shazam", which transforms him into Captain Marvel.
The Scorpion is then later revealed to be Bentley. He is killed by the disillusioned native chief, Rahman Bar, who uses the Scorpion in death ray mode. Shazam himself is heard to say the magic word and Captain Marvel is transformed back into Billy Batson.
Cast
- Tom Tyler as Captain Marvel
- Frank Coghlan Jr. as Billy Batson, radio operator with the Malcolm Expedition and secret identity of Captain Marvel.
- William Benedict as Whitey Murphy, a friend of Billy Batson.
- Louise Currie as Betty Wallace, a friend of Billy Batson.
- Robert Strange as John Malcolm, leader of the Malcolm Expedition.
- Harry Worth as Prof Luther Bentley, a member of the Malcolm Expedition and the mystery villain The Scorpion.
- Bryant Washburn as Harry Carlyle
- John Davidson as Tal Chotali, the Malcolm Expedition's guide.
- George Pembroke as Dr. Stephen Lang, a member of the Malcolm Expedition.
- Peter George Lynn as Prof Dwight Fisher, a member of the Malcolm Expedition.
- Reed Hadley as Rahman Bar, the native chief in the Valley of the Tombs.
- Jack Mulhall as Howell
- Kenneth Duncan as Barnett
- Nigel De Brulier as Shazam, the wizard who gives Billy the power to become Captain Marvel.
- Tetsu Komai as Chan Lai
- Stanley Price as Owens
- Gerald Mohr as the voice of The Scorpion
Special effects
The serial has been hailed as among the finest of the form for both its writing and its production values. In particular, the special effects produced primarily by the Lydecker brothers, and specifically the shots showing Captain Marvel flying, are often impressive.
The flying effects were performed with a dummy. The dummy was slightly larger than life, at 7 feet tall, and made of paper mâché so that it weighed only 15 lbs. The uniform was made of thin silk and a cotton jersey. Four pulleys connected to each shoulder and calf, which were strung on two wires so the dummy moved along them by its own weight. The wires were attached to two objects across the view of the camera, and the dummy slid from one to the other, giving the appearance of flight. This system was originally intended for a Superman serial, a prototype of which was built but discarded. The flying pose used for the dummy, arms outstretched and back arched, was based on drawing by Mac Raboy. If Captain Marvel needed to be seen flying upwards, the cape was weighted down and the dummy slid backwards. The film of this was then reversed.
Dave Sharpe was the human part of the effect. Dressed as Captain Marvel, he would leap from a high point with his body straight, as if able to fly, then roll to land at the last second. The combination of effects and stunts produced the overall illusion of a flying person. Sharpe also performed other stunts as Captain Marvel, such as back flipping and knocking down attacking natives in the first chapter.[5] Some shots of Captain Marvel flying were filmed with Tyler against rear projected clouds. However, some of these scenes show the wires used to hold him up.
According to Stedman, the flight scenes were "the most successful illusion of such aerobatics ever put upon the screen, in serial or feature."
The technique had been developed in the earlier serial Darkest Africa (1936) and was later used again in the "Rocket Man" serials (King of the Rocket Men, Radar Men from the Moon, Zombies of the Stratosphere and Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe) released during 1949-1953.
The much cheaper Columbia Pictures Superman serials which appeared in the late 1940s used animated cartoon sequences to represent various actions, most frequently Superman's flights (Columbia produced the cheapest serials of the period and producer Sam Katzman was notorious for cutting costs).
Chapter titles
1. Curse of the Scorpion (30 min.) 2. The Guillotine (16 min.) 3. Time Bomb (17 min.) 4. Death Takes the Wheel (16 min.) 5. The Scorpion Strikes (16 min.) 6. Lens of Death (16 min.) 7. Human Targets (17 min.) 8. Boomerang (17 min.) 9. Dead Man's Trap (16 min.) 10. Doom Ship (16 min.) 11. Valley of Death (16 min.) 12. Captain Marvel's Secret (16 min.)