Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Frank Merriwell [VHS]

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VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "The Adventures of Frank Merriwell" (1936) (Dolby digitally remastered), with 12 Chapters of vintage serial episodes featuring the hero of a thousand college stories by Gilbert Patten based on several stories by Burt L. Standish loaded with action sequences...here comes the world's greatest fiction hero bringing to you the mightiest thrills of more than 900 books, the idol of a hundred million adventure lovers who have thrilled to his exploits and admired his fine sportsmanship athletic prowess...indomitable courage...all the excitement and glamour of carefree college days...thrill to the whistle for the kick-off, the call of batter up, the bark of the starter's gun...feel the excitement to the mile a minute action and wild adventure as Merriwell wins games in the last minute of play...grapples with monsters of the deep...fights savage indians...faces ravenous jungle beasts...battles with a grim gang of ruthless desperadoes for a fabulous fortune in buried treasure...for thrills of a lifetime don't miss a single chapter...story line...don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "The Winning Play"....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 Cliff Smith, producer Henry MacRae, Original screenplay by George Plympton, Maurice Geraghty, Ella O'Neill, Basil Dickey, musical score by David Klatzkin, Sam Perry...the cast includes Donald Briggs (Frank Merriwell), Jean Rogers (Elsie Belwood), John "Dusty" King (Bruce Browning), Carla Laemmle (Carla Rogers), House Peters Jr (House Peters), Herschel Mayall Jr ('Hersh' Mayall), Wallace Reid Jr (Wally Reid), Edwards Arnold Jr (Eddie Arnold), Bryant Washburn Jr (Bryant Washburn), Al Bridge (Black-henchman), Edmund Cobb (Pete-henchman), William Desmond (Captain of the 'Viking'), Dickie Jones (Jimmy McLaw ), Dave O'Brien (George Baldwin)......special note that after appearing in the serial "Ace Drummond" (1936), John King was signed as one of the trio leads in Monogram B-Westerns "The Range Busters" (1940), as "Dusty" for 18 films that gave us many thrills...Jean Rogers was a leading lady in 30s and 40s in Hollywood, but best remembered as Dale Arden, the hero's girlfriend, in two of the three "Flash Gordon" serials......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.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. College Hero
2. The Death Plunge
3. Death of the Crossroads
4. Wreck of the Viking
5. Capsized in the Cataract
6. Descending Doom
7. Monster of the Deep
8. The Tragic Victory
9. Between Savage Foes
10.Imprisoned in a Dungeon
11.The Crash in the Chasm
12.The Winning Play

BIOS:
1. Don Briggs
Birth Date: 1/28/1911 - Chicago, Illinois
Died: 2/03/1986 - Woodland Hills, CA
2. John "Dusty" King (aka Miller McLeod Everson)
Birth Date: 7/11/1909 - Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: 11/11/1987 - San Diego, CA
3. Jean Rogers
Birth Date: 3/25/1916 - Belmont, MA
Died: 2/24/1991 - Sherman Oaks, CA
4. Cliff Smith (Director)
Birth Date: 8/22/1894 - Richmond, Indiana
Died: 9/17/1937 - Los Angeles, CA
5. Henry MacRae (Producer)
Birth Date: 8/29/1876 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died: 10/02/1944 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA

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. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
4. Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
5. The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
6. Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
7. Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
8. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
9. Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
10.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)
11.Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
12.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
13.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
14.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above...check out another release from VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present Zane Grey's "King of the Royal Mounted" (1940) (digitally remastered), 12 Chapters of vintage serial loaded with action sequences...is there a discovered substance called "Compound X", which may cure infantile paralysis...has Tom Merritt stumbled on such a rare find...is there a war between Canada and sources known later as the "Father Land".....get out there as they're going fast, this is the one you've been waiting for.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "The Adventures of Frank Merriwell" (1936), 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: 220 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1771 ~ (10/27/2000)