It has been a journey of over 40 years, but fans of
the classic theatrical serial genre are being rewarded for the long, long
wait.
Back in the 1970s, VCI Entertainment acquired the
“non-theatrical” distribution rights to 48 serials from Universal Pictures
through a third party. After an arduous
struggle with “chain-of-title” documentation, Universal Pictures has finally turned
over the original film elements to 38 of those serials and is currently working
on tracking down the materials for the remaining ten.
VCI Entertainment will be bringing the entire
collection to market as either 2K or 4K scans from either the original
negatives or remaining fine grain elements (35mm black and white positive
elements) during the coming months.
The first of these were announced for DVD
distribution during the past few weeks — two double-disc, 2K restorations of
serials starring Western screen legend Buck Jones, The
Roaring West (15 chapter serial) and The Red
Rider (15 chapter serial) … both of which will be
available for fans to enjoy on May 28.
This week the news is even bigger! Before Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon arrived
on the silver screen with their sci-fi serial adventures, there was the spring
of 1934 Universal Pictures 12-chapter serial from director Lew Landers (aka: Louis
Friedlander), The Vanishing Shadow.
Ray guns, robots, a device to render one invisible
and all packed in a 12-chapter thrill-a-minute serial. First time on Blu-ray on June 25… indeed,
for years the film was thought to be lost.
Even if you are not into serials, as a stand-alone example of early
sci-fi in the world of cinema, this one is a must.
This “before-its-time” gem was no accident. The previous year the studio had a “monster”
theatrical hit with director James Whale’s film adaptation of the H.G. Wells’
novel, The Invisible Man. And so it was imperative to develop more
material to capitalize on the success of that film … the result was The
Vanishing Shadow.
Not only was it a first for the use of a “ray gun” in
the movies (of note, H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel, “The War of the Worlds,” has been
noted as the first use of a “heat ray” weapon … so the connection to Wells,
Universal Pictures and The Vanishing Shadow all
seems to fit quite nicely), but it was also the first film to be directed by
Lew Landers, who would become one of the most prolific filmmakers in the
history of Hollywood.
A sampling of his films include The Raven
(1935, with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi), Alias
Boston Blackie, The
Return of the Vampire (1943, with Lugosi), The Power
of the Whistler, Adventures
of Gallant Bess … and more, many more.
As to The Vanishing Shadow,
Onslow Stevens (The Three Musketeers, House of Dracula, Angel on
My Shoulder, etc.) stars as inventor Stanley
Stanfield, who is also the son and heir to his father’s newspaper, The Tribune,
which is under attack from the evil Wade Barnett (Walter Miller — King of
the Wild, The Last of the Mohicans, The Roaring West).
With the help of professor Carl Van Dorn (James
Durkin — Perils of Pauline),
Stanfield plans to thwart Barnett’s plans, but all too often the gadgets they
conjure up end up in the hands of Barnett’s gang (a cautionary warning about
such things).
Also joining in the conflict is ace Tribune
reporter, Gloria Grant (Ada Ince), who has a closely guarded secret of her own. 12 thrill-packed chapters of whiz-bang
inventions, danger, daring escapes and that secret revealed!
Absolutely mark June 25 on your viewing calendar …
and like we said, even if classic serials are not your bag, this one, for all
of its historic value, is the 1930s equivalent of Star
Wars, Raiders of the Lost Arc and Star Trek all rolled
into one.
As for die-hard serial fans, toss away those
bootlegged DVD copies (yeah right, “The Film Collectors Society,” which is a
long winded way of saying “pirate” … hey Warner Bros., when did King Kong fall
into the public domain?).
The Vanishing Shadow is
the holy grail of lost serials … it’s like finding the missing elements to The Lone
Ranger or watching a restored version of King of
the Mounties. June 25th can’t come soon enough!!
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