Product Details

• Actors: Gordon Jones, Anne Nagel, Keye Luke, Wade Boteler
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: Video Communications, Inc.
• VHS Release Date: March 20, 1991
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301963776
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #449,428 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

VCI Entertainment and Universal Studios present "THE GREEN HORNET" (1940) (290 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 13-Chapter Universal Movie Serial starring Gordon Jones, Anne Nagel, Keye Luke & Wade Boteler, relive those thrilling days week after week venue brought you to the theater, as you were mesmerized in your seat waiting for the final chapter ... exciting action within 13 episodes from the Universal Serials Factory, our plot line The Green Hornet (secretly publisher Britt Reid of the Daily Sentinel) and his trusted valet Kato take on a crooked insurance racket, an auto theft ring and a dishonest flying school... the Green Hornet series had an unmistakable theme "Flight of the Bumble Bee", the announcer would then state:"With his faithful valet Kato, Britt Reid, daring young publisher, matches wits with the underworld, risking his life that criminals and racketeers within the law may feel its weight by the sting of The Green Hornet."... law enforcement regards the Hornet as a criminal working outside the law ... the long and short of it, a solid professional piece of work with exciting cliffhanging episodes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing special, but all right for Hornet fans., January 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Green Hornet 13-Episode [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If, like me, you have a thing for the costumed heroes of old, you might get a kick out of this serial. As serials go, though, it's just so-so. The cinematography is simple and unexciting, the stunts kind of bland, and the cliffhangers predictable. Kato has absolutely nothing to do, and the gadgetry is minimal. The storyline is more episodic than many serials, with the Hornet whittling away at a crime syndicate one scam at a time; since there's therefore no real build-up towards the end, it's best viewed in several short bursts. Watching it in one stretch, you'll notice that the dramatic tension sort of moves sideways for several episodes. However, there are some great character bits among the supporting cast (especially Jay Michael as the perfect serial gangster--you'll get off da case, shee?), and a nice moment when Ried, after a couple narrow escapes, wonders how long he can keep this dual-identity thing going. Would've been nice to see more stuff like that. Overall, this one's more for folks who're already fans of the Hornet or of syndicate-busting; as long as you don't go in looking for Buster Crabbe panache or Yakima Canutt stuntwork, it'll be all right.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Green Hornet " (1940) ... Keye Luke ... A Universal 13 Chapter Serial", January 14, 2007

By 

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Green Hornet 13-Episode [VHS] (VHS Tape)

VCI Entertainment and Universal Studios present "THE GREEN HORNET" (1940) (290 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 13-Chapter Universal Movie Serial starring Gordon Jones, Anne Nagel, Keye Luke & Wade Boteler, relive those thrilling days week after week venue brought you to the theater, as you were mesmerized in your seat waiting for the final chapter ... exciting action within 13 episodes from the Universal Serials Factory, our plot line The Green Hornet (secretly publisher Britt Reid of the Daily Sentinel) and his trusted valet Kato take on a crooked insurance racket, an auto theft ring and a dishonest flying school... the Green Hornet series had an unmistakable theme "Flight of the Bumble Bee", the announcer would then state:"With his faithful valet Kato, Britt Reid, daring young publisher, matches wits with the underworld, risking his life that criminals and racketeers within the law may feel its weight by the sting of The Green Hornet."... law enforcement regards the Hornet as a criminal working outside the law ... the long and short of it, a solid professional piece of work with exciting cliffhanging episodes.

Under Ford Beebe (Director), Ray Taylor (Director), Henry MacRae (Associate Producer), George H. Plympton (Screenwriter), Basil Dickey (Screenwriter), Morrison Wood (Screenwriter), Lyonel Margolies (Screenwriter), Fran Striker (Original Characters), Jerome Ash (Cinematographer),William A. Sickner (Cinematographer), Irving Birnbaum (Editor), Joseph Gluck (Editor), Alvin Todd (Editor) ------ the cast includes Gordon Jones (Britt Reid/The Green Hornet), Keye Luke (Kato), Wade Boteler (Michael Axford), Anne Nagel (Lenore "Casey" Case), Phillip Trent (Jasper Jenks), Cy Kendall (Curtis Monroe (The Chief), Stanley Andrews (Police Commissioner), Selmer Jackson (District Attorney), Joseph Crehan (Judge Stanton), Walter McGrail (Henchman Dean), Gene Rizzi (Henchman Corey), James Blaine (Mr. Cooper), Jack Carr (Policeman), Ed Cassidy (Election Judge), Lane Chandler (Acme Driver Bill), Anne Gwynne (Josephine Weaver), Karl Hackett(Gorman, a workman), Al Hodge (The Green Hornet (voice), Reed Howes (Acme Driver Charlie), Bob Kortman (George Scanlon, ballot stuffer), Alan Ladd (Gilpin, student pilot) ------ take note many character actors in this classic serial, plus a minor part given to and upcoming star of the future Alan Ladd (his best film "Shane"/1953) ... great stunt work by the Universal stunt personnel David Sharpe (stunts) --- don't leave the theater until the final chapter ... another winner from the vaults of Universal Serials --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.

BIOS:
1. Gordon Jones
Date of birth: 5 April 1911 - Alden, Iowa
Date of death: 20 June 1963 - Tarzana, California

2. Keye Luke
Date of birth: 18 June 1904 - Guangzhou, China
Date of death: 12 January 1991 - Whittier, California

3. Anne Nagel (aka: Anne Dolan)
Date of birth: 29 September 1915 - Boston, Massachusetts
Date of death: 6 July 1966 - Hollywood, California

4. Ford Beebe (Director)
Date of birth: 26 November 1888 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Date of death: 26 November 1978 - Lake Elsinore, California

5. Ray Taylor (Director)
Date of birth: 1 December 1888 - Perham, Minnesota
Date of death: 15 February 1952 - Hollywood, California

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. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)
5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)
8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)
9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)
11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)
13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author: Trail Talk), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author: The Real Bob Steele) as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 290 mins on VHS ~ VCI Home Video ~ (5/20/1991)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I STILL LIKE IT, August 10, 2004

By 

MICHAEL TAYLOR "SNAKEFIST2" (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Green Hornet 13-Episode [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A SECOND GENERATION NEWSPAPER OWNER NAMED BRITT REID [PLAYED HERE BY GORDON JONES] PRINTS A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ABOUT AN UNDERWATER CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT THAT GOES TERRIBLY WRONG, DUE TO POOR MATERIAL. BLAMING CORRUPTION, A CRIME SYNDICATE GETS MAD AND THEY TRY TO KILL BRITT. OF COURSE, WE ALL KNOW THE OUTCOME OF THE STORY BEFORE WE EVEN WATCH IT. BUT IT'S STILL GOOD ENTERTAINING VINTAGE MATERIAL! THIS 15-CHAPTER SERIAL IS FULL OF ACTION AND CAR CHASES. KATO IS PLAYED HERE BY KEYE LUKE. IF YOU'RE EXPECTING HIM TO BE ACTIVE LIKE THE KATO THAT WAS LATER PORTRAYED BY BRUCE LEE ON THE 1966 TV SERIES, YOU'RE GONNA BE VERY DISSAPOINTED. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GREEN HORNET IN THIS SERIAL. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, A GOOD SERIAL WHICH YOU SHOULD TREASURE IF YOU HAVE IT. CAUSE THIS THING IS VERY HARD TO FIND NOWADAYS.