For more than a quarter of a century, Hollywood produced "chapterplays," adventures told in 10 to 15 installments. Each episode (but the last) built to a whirlwind finish, sometimes literally. At the peak of peril, the installment always ended with the command -- DON'T DARE MISS THE NEXT THRILLING CHAPTER! -- or words to that effect. This all-but forgotten genre gave us the word "cliffhanger," countless thrills and a special reason for Saturday matinees, as well as new exploits of such cultural heroes as Tarzan, Superman, Flash Gordon, The Lone Ranger, Dick Tracy, Zorro, The Green Hornet, Buck Rogers, Batman, The Phantom and Tailspin Tommy, just to name a bunch. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear as we examine with admiration, astonishment and unfailing good humor approximately half the surviving sound serials, in six breathtaking categories: Jungle Tales; Science-Fiction serials: Masked Heroes; Soldiers at War; Costumed Comic Book Heroes and Aerial Adventures.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST FOR SERIAL FANS!!!,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Don't Dare Miss the Next Thrilling Chapter (Paperback)
First, let's get the bad stuff out of the way. It's not much.
This book is in need of some good editing and proof reading. Some ideas flow together, requiring the reader to go over the sentence several times in order to figure out just what is being said, or who is doing what to whom. Now for the good part, which is just about everything else. Author Fletcher is no fanboy of serials stating the obvious. What he has to say is quite preceptive and well balanced. Not all the serials are covered, just ones that fall into certain catagories; jungle, armed forces, sci-fi, aviation, and masked and costumed heroes. Still that accounts for over 100 entries. Other books covering different catagories are due to follow (I hope so). Each serial is rated from 1 to 5 stars, 5 being the best. I'm usually against such a system because something like a serial is usually too difficult to rate as much of the enjoyment relies on one's preference rather than the artistic merit of the serial itself. However, this is the territory that Fletcher dares to enter, and I must say that he boldly succeeds. His opinions are backed by commenting on the MERITS and DEMERITS of each serial. Thoughtful and valid points are made, justifing the rating system. And I would find it hard to disagree with his commentary. Next, a plot summary is given with additional observations of wit and affection for the genre. I often found myself smiling. This book is an exceptionally fun read and there is alot to be gleened from the author's knowledge and obvious love of his material. If you have even the slightest interest in cliffhanger serials of the 1930's-50's then you need this book. No other book captures the spirit of this subject so well. I can't wait for the others in this series to follow.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Miss The Next Thrilling Chapter Next Week in This Theatre!!!!,
By lindsay devereux (brisbane, queensland Australia) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Don't Dare Miss the Next Thrilling Chapter (Paperback)
This is part 1 of a proposed series 3 books on the Movie Serials us baby boomers all loved as kids!! I still do!!!
Well put together,lots of information, concise and easy to enjoy. For all serial collector enthusiasts such as myself I recommend this book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
