Rating:  -
IN THIS 12 CHAPTER SERIAL, CAPTAIN MARVEL GOES UP AGAINST THE SCORPION. THIS HAS UNDOUBTEDLY GOT TO BE THE GREATEST SERIAL EVER MADE! FULL OF GOOD ACTION, THIS SERIAL IS A BEST BET FOR ANY FAN OF SERIALS. TRUST ME, IF YOU BUY THIS ONE, YOU'LL ENJOY IT FOR YEARS TO COME.
Rating:  -
No, there's no Dr. Sivana, Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel or even Uncle Marvel...but you do have the prototype for which all superhero movies should be judged. The origin is actually pretty close to the well-known comic origin, with the old wizard SHAZAM, just in a different setting. I grew up watching the CBS SHAZAM! series in the '70's, and actually loved it. But this blows that series away by a mile. The flying scenes, by today's standards, are mediocre...but for someone seeing this in a theatre in 1941, groundbreaking would not begin to describe them. This Cap isn't afraid to get rough with the badguys, and will even use a machine gun when necessary! If you love serials, superheroes, cliffhangers or Captain Marvel, you gotta get this!
Rating: -
Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Republic Pictures created some of the finest serials in movie history. "Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941) ranks among the studio's top chapterplays -- and it's yours for roughly $1 per chapter. Tom Tyler is ideally cast as "The World's Mightiest Mortal," who battles the evil Scorpion for 12 exciting episodes. The special effects by the Lydecker brothers are terrific -- not to mention the high-flying stunt work from David Sharpe (he's a bit shorter than Tyler, but who cares). The Republic DVD features excellent 35mm prints and the rarely-seen theatrical trailer. "Captain Marvel" may not surpass the thrill-a-minute exploits of "Spy Smasher" (1942), but it comes pretty close.
Rating: -
I had heard that "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" was very good, and I wasn't disappointed. The basic story is cleverly tailored to provide situations for cliffhangers, some of which are a bit weak, but most are very good. But the most impressive are the production values and the special effects. As has already been noted, the flying effects were a match to anything before "Superman" in 1978, and infinitely superior to those of the "Superman" TV series with George Reeves. But that's not all: a sequence on a ship during a storm very cleverly combined rear-screen projection with live-action "waves". As Captain Marvel, Tom Tyler has a real presence and is one of the most convincing superhero incarnations. On the other hand, his acting wasn't that good. The other actors were ok.
Objectively speaking, the violence is nothing by today's standards, but I was shocked at some of Captain Marvel's actions, especially when he deliberately throws a baddie off the top of a tall building. This is somehow refreshing.
There are a few plot inconsistencies and continuity errors (at least once, Billy Batson is wearing one set of clothes when he changes into Captain Marvel, and a different one when he changes back). Moreover, the authors seemed to think that Siam - modern Thailand - was a British colony, which it wasn't.
But that is of little consequence. I can only recommend this serial.
Rating: -
As a fan of the old Saturday morning show "Shazam!", but not familiar with the comic book Captain Marvel, I was eagerly looking forward to this serial. Many sources say this is the best serial ever made. I think "best" is a bit strong, but it is definitely one of the better ones I've seen. Lots of action and good cliffhangers. A warning, though. If you're expecting the same All-American goody-two-shoes hero as was on "Shazam!", you'll be disappointed. The Captain Marvel in this serial is quite stoic, and, dare I say, a bit mean. In various scenes, he does the following: uses a machine gun to mow down a bunch of Arabs; throws a bad guy off a bridge; throws another bad guy off a tall building; and threatens to throw a third criminal onto a bed of nails while trying to get some information out of him. I liked the flying effects, especially when compared to that used in the later "Superman" serials (1948 and 1950). In those, cartoon animation was used to depict the Man of Steel flying. Not so for Captain Marvel. Two devices are used. First is the standard of filming the actor against a background screen (think the 1950s "Superman" TV show). The second technique involves what looks like a full-sized dummy flying along on a guide wire. But it's quite difficult to see the wire. I thought this was an excellent technique to simulate flight. Overall, I highly recommend this serial. You won't be disappointed.
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