6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The King of Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ The Vigilantes Are Coming (1936)", November 19, 2005
VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present..."The Vigilantes Are Coming" (1936) (Dolby digitally remastered), a 12 Chapter cliffhanger from an action packed Republic serial featuring an outstanding cast with Mack V. Wright and Ray Taylor at the helm....story line is in 1844, California in the last days of the Dons...it's carefree people dancing under the summer sun...and who is the masked hero they call "The Eagle" (Robert Livingston)....will he lead the ranchers of California against the Russian Cossacks who are planning to turn the territory into Russian colonies, does this mean we will become under the rule of Russia...can the evil General Burr (Fred Kohler), Russian Count Raspinoff (Robert Warwick) along with his henchman Yakima Canutt, Bob Kortman, John Merton and Bud Osborne who always follow dastardly instructions succeed in taking over California...what part does Salvation (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams), Whipsaw (Raymond Hatton), the Vigilantes and Doris Colton (Kay Hughes) play in this adventure during the early days of the west where there was treachery at every turn...some hard riding and outstanding stuntwork by the entire Republic stunt people, making Bob Livingston look good in every episode....don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "Fremont Takes Command"....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's Mack V. Wright and Ray Taylor, producer Nat Levine, supervised by J. Laurence Wickland, screenplay by John Rathmell, Maurice Geraghty and Winston Miller, original story by Maurice Geraghty and Leslie Swabacker, musical score by Harry Grey, stunts by Yakima Canutt (stunt double for Robert Livingston), ...the cast includes Robert Livingston (Don Loring/The Eagle), Kay Hughes (Doris Colton), Guinn "Big Boy" Williams (Salvation), Raymond Hatton (Whipsaw), Fred Kohler (General Jason Burr), Robert Warwick (Count Ivan Raspinoff), William Farnum (Father Jose), Ray "Crash" Corrigan (Captain John C. Fremont), Bob Kortman (Boris Petroff), John Merton (Rance Talbot/henchman), Lloyd Ingraham (John Colton), William Desmond (Elder Vigilante), Yakima Canutt (Barsam/henchman), Bud Osborne (Harris/henchman), Henry Hall (Señor Loring), Jack Ingram (henchman), Jack Kirk (Watchtower/henchman), Wally West (Mine slave)........special footnote, actor Robert Livingston was a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, worked at Universal, Fox and MGM in his mid '20s, got a break at Republic as the masked hero in the serial "The Vigilantes Are Coming" (1936), also got one of the lead roles in "The Three Mesquiteers" (1936-1941) a new Western series at Republic as the hot headed member of the trio Stoney Brooke in 29 films, appeared in the "Lone Rider" series (1941-1943) with sidekick Al St. John, completed his career playing character parts usually the villain in the "Gene Autry TV Shows" and "Roy Rogers TV Shows", Livingston's brother was actor Jack Randall who also starred in B-Westerns.......meanwhile back to our Republic 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.
BIOS:
Bob Livingston (aka Robert Edgar Randall)
Birth Date: 12/09/1904 - Quincy, Illinois
Died: 3/07/1988 - Tarzana, California
(received the "Golden Boot Award" on 8/15/1987 presented by friend and fellow actor Gene Autry)
CHAPTER TITLES:
1. The Eagle Strikes
2. Birth of the Vigilantes
3. Condemned by Cossacks
4. Unholy Gold
5. Treachery Unmaksed
6. A Tyrant's Trickery
7. Wings of Doom
8. A Treaty with Treason
9. Arrow's Flight
10.Prison of Flame
11.A Race with Death
12.Fremont Takes Command
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)
Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "The Vigilantes Are Coming" (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: 225 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1714 ~ (11/01/2000)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The King of Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ The Vigilantes Are Coming (1936)", December 4, 2005
VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present..."The Vigilantes Are Coming" (1936) (Dolby digitally remastered), a 12 Chapter cliffhanger from an action packed Republic serial featuring an outstanding cast with Mack V. Wright and Ray Taylor at the helm....story line is in 1844, California in the last days of the Dons...it's carefree people dancing under the summer sun...and who is the masked hero they call "The Eagle" (Robert Livingston)....will he lead the ranchers of California against the Russian Cossacks who are planning to turn the territory into Russian colonies, does this mean we will become under the rule of Russia...can the evil General Burr (Fred Kohler), Russian Count Raspinoff (Robert Warwick) along with his henchman Yakima Canutt, Bob Kortman, John Merton and Bud Osborne who always follow dastardly instructions succeed in taking over California...what part does Salvation (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams), Whipsaw (Raymond Hatton), the Vigilantes and Doris Colton (Kay Hughes) play in this adventure during the early days of the west where there was treachery at every turn...some hard riding and outstanding stuntwork by the entire Republic stunt people, making Bob Livingston look good in every episode....don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "Fremont Takes Command"....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's Mack V. Wright and Ray Taylor, producer Nat Levine, supervised by J. Laurence Wickland, screenplay by John Rathmell, Maurice Geraghty and Winston Miller, original story by Maurice Geraghty and Leslie Swabacker, musical score by Harry Grey, stunts by Yakima Canutt (stunt double for Robert Livingston), ...the cast includes Robert Livingston (Don Loring/The Eagle), Kay Hughes (Doris Colton), Guinn "Big Boy" Williams (Salvation), Raymond Hatton (Whipsaw), Fred Kohler (General Jason Burr), Robert Warwick (Count Ivan Raspinoff), William Farnum (Father Jose), Ray "Crash" Corrigan (Captain John C. Fremont), Bob Kortman (Boris Petroff), John Merton (Rance Talbot/henchman), Lloyd Ingraham (John Colton), William Desmond (Elder Vigilante), Yakima Canutt (Barsam/henchman), Bud Osborne (Harris/henchman), Henry Hall (Señor Loring), Jack Ingram (henchman), Jack Kirk (Watchtower/henchman), Wally West (Mine slave)........special footnote, actor Robert Livingston was a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, worked at Universal, Fox and MGM in his mid '20s, got a break at Republic as the masked hero in the serial "The Vigilantes Are Coming" (1936), also got one of the lead roles in "The Three Mesquiteers" (1936-1941) a new Western series at Republic as the hot headed member of the trio Stoney Brooke in 29 films, appeared in the "Lone Rider" series (1941-1943) with sidekick Al St. John, completed his career playing character parts usually the villain in the "Gene Autry TV Shows" and "Roy Rogers TV Shows", Livingston's brother was actor Jack Randall who also starred in B-Westerns.......meanwhile back to our Republic 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.
BIOS:
Bob Livingston (aka Robert Edgar Randall)
Birth Date: 12/09/1904 - Quincy, Illinois
Died: 3/07/1988 - Tarzana, California
(received the "Golden Boot Award" on 8/15/1987 presented by friend and fellow actor Gene Autry)
CHAPTER TITLES:
1. The Eagle Strikes
2. Birth of the Vigilantes
3. Condemned by Cossacks
4. Unholy Gold
5. Treachery Unmaksed
6. A Tyrant's Trickery
7. Wings of Doom
8. A Treaty with Treason
9. Arrow's Flight
10.Prison of Flame
11.A Race with Death
12.Fremont Takes Command
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)
Coming soon January 2006 from VCI Home Video on DVD..."FLAMING FRONTIERS" (1938), Universal Serial with 15 chapters, featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Eleanor Hansen, John Archer, James Blaine and Ralph Bowman..."OREGON TRAIL" (1939), another Universal Serial with 15 exciting chapters featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, Roy Barcoft and Charles King..."THE TALL TEXAN" (1953), full length feature starring Lloyd Bridges, Lee J Cobb, Luther Adler and Marie Windsor...watch for more details on VCI Entertainment and Amazon your two favorite sites for serials and B-Westerns.
Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "The Vigilantes Are Coming" (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: 225 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1714 ~ (11/01/2000)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
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