Customer Reviews

Don Winslow of the Coast Guard [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Released by Universal in 1943, "Don Winslow of the Coast Guard" remains among the dullest, laziest serials ever made. The filmmakers sit back and let the World War II stock footage do all the work - thus saving the studio a fortune. As a result, the characters and cliffhanging situations are decidedly boring. To quote Groucho Marx, "That's what they call a waste of film."

"Don Winslow of the Coast Guard" is one of the dullest, laziest serials I have ever seen. The filmmakers just sit back and let the World War II stock footage do all the work -- which must have saved the producers a fortune. The characters are uninteresting and the cliffhanging situations decidedly boring. Enough said.

VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "Don winslow of the Coast Guard" (1943) (Dolby digitally remastered), adapted from King Features Syndicate with 13 Chapters of vintage serial episodes loaded with action sequences...story line involves the second adventures of our hero Don Winslow (Don Terry) and his sidekick Lt. 'Red' Pennington (Walter Sande) this time Winslow joins the Coast Guard to thwart the returning villain "The Scorpion" from his evil World War II plans...can Commander Winslow prevent this villain of villains from taking out our supplies for the War effort against the Japanese...can Winslow and Pennington protect our coastline from enemy agents, saboteurs, spies and the entire cast of heavies of Universal Pictures...don't miss the final chapter "Capturing the Scorpion" to see if it's curtains for The Scorpion.....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's Ray Taylor and Lewis D. Collins, producer Henry MacRae, screenplay by Paul Huston, Griffin Jay, George H. Plympton, additional dialogue Richard Brooks, original music score by H.J. Salter...the cast include Don Terry (Cmdr. Don Winslow), Walter Sande (Lt. 'Red' Pennington), Elyse Knox (Mercedes Colby), Philip Ahn (Hirota), June Duprez (Tasmia), Lionel Royce (Reichter, Chief thug), Nestor Paiva (The Scorpion), Edgar Dearing (CPO Ben Cobb), Charles Wagenheim (Mussanti), Eddie Dean (Clark, Winslow's aide), Jack Cheatham (Truck Driver)....back to the feature as Universal Pictures is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...some great stock footage in this 13 Chapter adventure...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. Trapped in the Blazing Seas

2. Battling a U-Boat

3. The Crash in the Clouds

4. The Scorpion Strikes

5. A Flaming Target

6. Ramming the Submarine

7. Bombed in the Ocean Depths

8. Blackout Treachery

9. The Torpedo Strikes

10.Blasted from the Skies

11.A Flight to the Death

12.The Death Trap

13.Capturing the Scorpion

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:

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 Columbia Pictures present "Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere" (1951) (digitally remastered), 15 Chapters.finally for the first time on video the really great Columbia Serial that broke the mold...we have everything a serial fan would want...the tinted sequences by Cinecolor and unique inventions that were unlike any other serial out there in the '50s...get out there as they're going fast, this is the one you've been waiting for.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Don Winslow of the Coast Guard" (1943), 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, 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: 240 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1747 ~ (10/04/1995)

An adventurous and true life story of espionage of the second world war.
The finesse of the talent in this film is superb. The character of the nurse, played by Elyse Knox with a purity and style. She had attended the Traphagen School of Fashion in Manhatten and is a talented portraitist and realist and went on to work as a designer for Vogue were she would sit in on photo sessions when models failed to report for work. Subsequently, one of her fashions photographs was seen by someone in Hollywood and invited her there. She and her mother made the long train ride out west, and she made three dozen movies including this one, "Don Winslow of the Coast Guard." She had met her future husband, Tom Harmon, at the Bing Crosby radio show. He had just graduated from University of Michigan, and gone of to war earning both the Purple Heart and Silver Star. Returning home they married and Tom worked as a sports broadcaster. They're family reminds me of my own family, and she strongly resembles my paternal grandmother whom passed away before I was born.
This is a perfect movie for all ages, and especially for school children learning about the second world war in the Pacific. With it's many depths and complexities with that freedom is not free; those magic words of: duty, honor, and country will always prevail.

This review is posted to serve as an alert for potential buyers of this new release. The 5-star rating that I've given this product is for VCI's past record in bringing us QUALITY dvd restorations of beat-up serials, especially UNIVERSAL serials, of which many have had poor vhs releases or no release at all. I'm sure that this release will meet all of VCI's excellent past standards.

PAY NO ATTENTION to any review posted before Feb.14, 2012, the release date of this NEW version. Those reviews are not for this product. Those are reviews for bad vhs releases of questionable quality.

Having a nicely restored version of DON WINSLOW OF THE COAST GUARD can turn a badly beat-up serial into an entirely new viewing experience. And I'm sure that VCI will not let us fans down. They have a track record for excellence.

This is one of the few video "dramas" about the US Coast Guard. Not the best acting or plot but for a Coastie it is great stuff.