Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revisiting the Past, January 6, 2000
I've just seen the serial film Darkest Africa and I loved it. If you think that it was made in 1936 , with all dificulties then existing, the flying bat man, The Goddes of Jobba and the performance of the main star Clyde Beatt you must consider that the result is excellent. I expected to see something extremely naive ...on the contrary, revisiting my past (because the first time I watched the film I was 10 years old) I was pleasantly surprised with a very well realesed serial motion picture. Last but not least - the copy is excellent. I recomend.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
REPUBLIC'S VERY FIRST SERIAL, November 23, 2004
Darkest Africa is noteworthy as it is the very FIRST serial produced by the newly formed Republic pictures. The jungle theme would become one of the most popular settings for serials and Republic would visit it many times.
Darkest Africa is a 15-episode serial in which Clyde Beatty, King of the Jungle, goes to darkest Africa to rescue the Goddess of Joba, who is being held by the high priest.
Beatty is a capable hero and surprisingly, the action moves at a pretty nice pace. The action sequences are will done and the supporting cast of no-names performs quite well. Republic obviously had a tiny budget on this one but did everything they could to give it an expensive look.
The set pieces and "special effects" are really pretty decent given the time-period and budget. The sound is not the best, particularly the music but again you might chalk that up to the time period.
Not one of Republics best, but a good start for them.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Darkest Africa" (1936) ... Clyde Beatty ... A Republic 15 Chapter Serial", January 31, 2007
Republic Pictures present "DARKEST AFRICA" (1936) (268 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 15-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Clyde Beatty, Manuel King, Elaine Sheppard, Lucien Prival & Ray Bernard, 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 15 episodes from the Republic Serials department, released in February 15, 1936, the plot line thus far Beatty meets Baru, a jungle boy who has come to the out land for assistance in rescuing his sister, the Goddess of Joba, a city in an unexplored part of Africa. Join real life lion tamer Clyde Beatty as he battles the bat men, frees the captive goddess and traps the man-eating blood-thirsty beasts in Republic's first serial. Beatty meets Baru, a jungle boy who has come to the out land for assistance in rescuing his sister, the Goddess of Joba, a city in an unexplored part of Africa --- This was the first serial released by the newly formed Republic Pictures. --- the once fabulous Republic Studio serial machine turned out true masterpieces of action during the late 30s and early 40s ... remember this serial from the Saturday double features at our neighborhood theater ... 15 breathtaking chapters come across with all the gusto Republic Studios has to offer.
Under B. Reeves Eason (Director), Joseph Kane (Director), Nat Levine (Producer), Barney A. Sarecky (Supervising Producer), Ted Parsons (Screenwriter), John Rathmell (Screenwriter), Barney A. Sarecky (Screenwriter), Edgar Lyons (Cinematographer), William Nobles (Cinematographer), Richard Fantl (Editor), John T. Coyle (Special Effects), Howard Lydecker (Special Effects), Theodore Lydecker (Special Effects), Harry Grey (Musical Director), William Witney (Script Supervisor) ------ the cast includes Clyde Beatty (Himself), Manuel King (Baru Tremaine), Elaine Shepard (Valerie Tremaine), Lucien Prival (Dagna), Wheeler Oakman (Durkin), Edward McWade (Gorn), Edmund Cobb (Craddock), Ray Turner (Hambone), Donald Reed (Negus), Joseph Boyd (Nagga), Ray Corrigan (Bonga, the Gorilla/Samabi, the Guard), Joe De La Cruz (Slave), Harrison Greene (Driscoll), Prince Modupe (Chief of the Tiger Men), Eddie Parker (Sentry), Henry Sylvester (Tomlin) --- great stunt work by the Republic stunt personnel Yakima Canutt (stunts), Eddie Parker (stunt double: Edmund Cobb) --- don't leave the theater until the final chapter ... another winner from the vaults of Republic Serials --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.
BIOS:
1. Clyde Beatty
Date of birth: 10 June 1903 - Bainbridge, Ross County, Ohio
Date of death: 19 July 1965 - Ventura, California,
Special footnote, Clyde Beatty, was a big game hunter who became famous as a
lion tamer and animal trainer. He was the first lion tamer to be featured in a circus.
Eventually, he became a circus impresario who owned his own show.
Beatty became famous for his "fighting act," in which he entered the cage with wild
animals armed only with a bull-whip and a pistol strapped to his hip. The act was
designed to showcase the five & a half-foot tall Beatty's courage and mastery of the
wild beasts, which included lions, tigers, pumas, and hyenas, sometimes brought together
all at once in a single cage in a potentially lethal combination. At the height of his fame,
the act featured Beatty solo, in a cage confronting 40 snarling, roaring and caterwauling
lions and tigers of both sexes.
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.The Lost City (Kane Richmond, William Stage Boyd & George Gabby Hayes)
16.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
17.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
18.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
19.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
20.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
21.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
22.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
24.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
25.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
26.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
27.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
28.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
29.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 of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) 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: 268 mins on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (5/30/1995)
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