Rating:  -
Republic Pictures present "DAUGHTER OF DON Q" (1946) (167 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 12-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Adrian Booth, Kirk Alyn, Roy Barcroft, LeRoy Mason & Claire Meade, 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 12 episodes from the Republic Serials department, released in June 4, 1946, the plot line thus far as Carlos Manning (LeRoy Mason) discovers an ancient Spanish land grant that gives Don Quantero a large tract of land that is now the business district of a city. As a descendant Manning plots to inherit the vast fortune for himself by murdering his relatives. Delores Quantero (Adrian Booth/Lorna Gray) enlists the help of reporter Cliff Roberts (Kirk Alyn) to stop him ... classic badmen Roy Barcroft, LeRoy Mason, I. Stanford Jolley and George Chesebro ... 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 ... 12 breathtaking chapters come across with all the gusto Republic Studios has to offer.
Under Spencer Gordon Bennet (Director), Fred C. Brannon (Director), Ronald Davidson (Associate Producer), Albert DeMond (Screenwriter), Basil Dickey (Screenwriter), Jesse Duffy (Screenwriter), Lynn Perkins (Screenwriter), Mort Glickman (Musical Score), Bud Thackery (Cinematographer), Cliff Bell Sr.(Editor), Harold Minter (Editor) ------ the cast includes Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth (Dolores Quantero), Kirk Alyn (Cliff Roberts), LeRoy Mason (Carlos Manning), Roy Barcroft (Mel Donovan), Claire Meade (Marie Martinez), Kernan Cripps (Insp. Grogan), Jimmy Ames (Romero (nightclub owner), Eddie Parker (Store clerk-henchman), Tom Steele (Kidnap/Streetsweep/Mine/Bomb thug), Dale Van Sickel (Officer Angus/Pete(truck theft/bar/painting thug), Ted Mapes (Ned Gray (thug), I. Stanford Jolley (Lippy Monroe (thug), Buddy Roosevelt (Eddie Zarco (woods/mine/truck thug), Virginia Carroll (Rosa Peralta), George Chesebro (Art warehouse thug), Fred Graham (Rollins (killer), D'Arcy Miller (Walter (woods thug), Jack O'Shea (Juan Perez), Ken Terrell (Slick Sam Sloan, alias Channing),
Robert J. Wilke (Smith (mine thug #2), Bud Wolfe (Warehouse thug) ... great stunt work by the Republic stunt personnel Tom Steele, Eddie Parker and Dale Van Sickel --- 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 . Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth (aka: Virginia Pound)
Date of birth: 26 July 1918 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Date of death: Still Living
Special footnote, Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth was an American actress discovered by a
Columbia Pictures agent while modeling in a fashion show, she was put in the studio's B unit,
occasionally loaned out to Republic or Monogram, and when not making features was used
in several "Three Stooges" and "Buster Keaton" comedy shorts, she left Columbia and began
her long career with Republic Pictures in 1941, appearing in westerns, thrillers, horror pictures
and especially the serials in which the studio specialized ... "Deadwood Dick" (1940) ,
"Perils of Nyoka" (1942), "Captain America" (1944) and "Federal Operator 99" (1945).
2 Kirk Alyn (aka: John Feggo Jr.)
Date of birth: 8 October 1910 - Oxford, New Jersey
Date of death: 14 March 1999 - The Woodlands, Texas,
Special footnote, Kirk Alyn was an American actor, best known for being the first actor
to play Superman on screen, in the 1948 film serial "Superman", and its 1950 sequel
"Atom Man Vs. Superman", starring in some similar comic book-type serials
"Daughter of Don Q" (1946), "Federal Agents Vs. Underworld Inc" (1948),
"Blackhawk" (1952) Alyn shared a very short cameo with his serial co-star, Noel Neill,
as the parents of the young Lois Lane in the 1978 feature film, "Superman: The Movie".
Kirk Alyn had been Grand Marshal of the Metropolis, Illinois Christmas parade and
Annual Superman Celebrations several times.
3. Spencer Gordon Bennet (The Serial King) (Director)
Date of birth: 5 January 1893 - Brooklyn, New York, New York
Date of death: 8 October 1987 - Santa Monica, California
Special footnote, Spencer Gordon Bennet, was known as the "King of Serial Directors" he directed more film serials than anybody else, Bennet first entered show business as a stunt man, when he answered a newspaper ad to jump from the Palisades of the Hudson River while wearing a suit for the serial film Hurricane Hutch. The gig at that time paid $1 per foot he had to fall ... Bennet made his directorial debut in "Behold The Man" (1921), but made his serial directorial debut in with "Sunken Silver" (1925), Bennet would keep making serials, as well as B westerns features, until the very end of the genre, directing the very last two made in the United States, "Blazing the Overland Trail" (1956) and "Perils of the Wilderness" (1956). After the serials ended he directed a handful of features, his final directorial credit with "The Bounty Killer" (1965) with Dan Duryea, Bob Steele, Buster Crabbe, Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, I. Stanford Jolley Richard Arlen and Rod Cameron, which was also the final film to feature noted cowboy star Gilbert "Broncho Billy" Anderson ... when Bennet died in 1987, his tombstone was engraved "The Final Chapter" ... over his long career Bennet directed over a hundred serials including "Atom Man vs Superman" (1950) serial, "The Adventures of Sir Galahad" (1949), "Batman and Robin" (1949), "The Tiger Woman" (1944), "Captain Video" (1951), and numerous western serials. Among his western B-features were his long running "Red Ryder" series, featuring Don "Red" Barry, Wild Bill Elliott and Allan Rocky Lane during the '40s.
4. Fred C. Brannon (Director) ("The Black Widow" (1947)/Serial)
Date of birth: 26 April 1901 - Louisiana, USA
Date of death: 6 April 1953 - Los Angeles, California
Special footnote, "King of the Rocket Men" has a truly amazing mid-air chase in one of its early
chapters, ending with a startlingly realistic piece of stunt work as the rocket man flies in pursuit of
a plane, Brannon also directed episodes of the "Commando Cody" (1953) television series.
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) and Bob Nareau (author of "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: 167 mins on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (5/30/1995)
Rating: -
Adrian Booth was perhaps the only actress to star in six top Hollywood serials. She's probably best known for her over-the-top characterization of the evil Vultura in "Perils of Nyoka" (aka "Nyoka and the Tigermen"), when the actress was known as Lorna Gray. It's almost a shock to see her in a "good girl" role, as she is so much more convincing as her beautiful self in the lead role in this production. Adrian Booth was an extremely versatile actress in Hollywood, appearing in shorts with The Three Stooges, Andy Clyde, and Buster Keaton, as well as in top-budgeted westerns with Charles Starrett, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, and many others. She later became an ordained minister and in demand as a speaker, including at the Serial Squadron's annual serial fest in 2006 where she totally charmed the guests.
It's also a pleasant surprise to see how good Kirk Alyn looks as a normal human being after seeing him in his better-known role in the "Superman" serials. Truth to tell, though, he's only average as an actor. By the way, why is a newspaper reporter packing heat?
As Dolores Quantero, Adrian Booth really kicks butt, including some pretty good jiu jitsu moves (probably doubled by Helen Thurston). Unlike most serial heroines she more than holds her own in a fight, but like most serial heroines she gets knocked out awfully easily. No problem, though, because she has the happy facility of waking up just in time.
Some of the cliffhangers are pretty good, including flying knives, a whaling harpoon, and one scene in which Dolores is hanging out a window clinging to a curtain, while the curtain rings are slowly unsnapping like the shower scene in "Psycho."
Rating:  -
Kirk Alyn as a reporter who saves the beautiful Adrian Booth in chapter after chapter. Kirk was a Republic stuntman who finally got credit in his own serial. He shows little of the foot action that he was noted for as a stuntman. He is most noted for the later Superman serials. Roy Barcroft is the #1 bad guy, but even he is not up to his usual excellent job. Several of the cliffhangers are from other Republic serials. Adrian Booth is a beautiful woman. For Kirk Alyn and Roy Barcroft fans. Little else good about it. I give it 2 stars.
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