Geekboy's Movie Poster Collection: Part 1

So I just spent the last two weeks doing a massive remodel of my bedroom.  Throwing Spackle around, repainting, building new shelves, tearing out old carpet, and rearranging my furniture.  I decided I wanted some new wall art to go with the new paint job.  I'd found a dealer on Ebay who specializes in the reproduction of vintage posters at reasonable prices, and I'd been drooling over them for a while.  I finally took the plunge and purchased some of my favorites.

First up we have the 1941 Republic serial 'Jungle Girl'.  If you know me you know that this is my all time favorite serial, so picking up this one was an obvious move.

As this dealer also had the 1942 follow up, 'Perils of Nyoka,' I bought it as well so I'd have a complete set.

Third we have 1949's 'King of the Rocketmen'.  This is the first of four Republic serials to feature the Rocketman suit - the others being 'Radar men from the Moon' (1952) 'Zombies of the Stratosphere' (1952) and 'Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe' (1953).  Each of the Rocketman serials uses a significant amount of stock footage from the previous installments, so watching them back to back can get pretty redundant.

Fun fact: The Rocketman serials are the primary source of inspiration for Dave Steven's comicbook hero 'The Rocketeer'.

George Lucas also named one of the Clone Troopers from Star Wars 'Commander Cody' as a tribute to the character from 'Radar Men' and 'Sky Marshal'.

And finally we have the 1968 science fiction film 'The Green Slime'.  This is kind of the odd one out in a collection for Cliffhanger Serial posters, but it's an awesome poster and I wanted it, okay?

It may be an awesome poster, but the movie that goes with it is slightly less awesome.  It does have a rocking theme song though - give a listen here:

 -Geekboy.

Old Dark House Mysteries - A Crash Course

 You walk towards the creepy old house (or maybe it's a crumbling castle) in a driving rain.  Thunder rolls in the background.  Perhaps your car broke down and you are seeking shelter from a storm.  Maybe you took the last ferry for the evening and cannot return to the mainland until morning.  Perhaps the bridge has washed out

Are you here as a guest?  Is an eccentric millionaire throwing a dinner party in order to lure all of his greatest enemies to the same place at the same time?  Perhaps you are in the will of your late rich uncle.

Regardless of your reason for entering the spooky old house on a dismal night such as this, you can expect the following to await you within: A collection of colorful guests with diverse reasons for being there, secret panels and passages, a lost treasure or hidden fortune that drives men to kill, and a killer on the loose (often a hooded figure to unmask or perhaps a gorilla with a taste for human flesh).

This is the 'Old Dark House' genre.  Repetitive, cliche, and oft parodied, but undeniably nostalgic.  If you've watched 'Abbot and Costello', classic 'Scooby Doo', or played the board game 'Clue' (or 'Cluedo' in Europe) you'd probably recognize an Old Dark House mystery when you saw one.

Where I live it's been a really wet spring, with rain for a solid week in May, and off and on so far in June.  There was a storm this afternoon.  It's the perfect time of year for this kind of story.

I just recently read John Willard's 1922 stage play 'The Cat and the Canary' which is said to be one of the first, and perhaps most influential, examples of the genre.  I had seen the 1927 silent film, and the 1939 version with Bob Hope, but a silent movie often has minimal dialog, and inflection is lacking.  The Bob Hope movie is a comedy, and I wanted a serious take on the story.  It never hurts to go back to the original source material.  I really enjoyed the play, reading it in a single afternoon, and would recommend reading it if you're interested.

"So, now that I've read 'Cat and the Canary' what next?" you may ask.  I'm glad you did.  I'll tell you.  Here are some Old Dark House movies that I personally enjoyed:

#1: House on Haunted Hill (1959).  This is a later Dark House movie, and I really feel like it dodges and plays around with the cliches.  Also, Vincent Prince is in this one.  'Nuff said right?

#2: And Then There Were None (1945).  Based on the Agatha Christie mystery of the same name.  This suspense story features 10 people trapped on an island.  Soon they are killed off one by one...  This movie is missing several common elements of an Old Dark House picture, such as secret passages and a killer in a mask, but it's still a very influential Old Dark House film.  The climax is different from the original book, however, giving the story your typical Hollywood happy ending.

#3: Dark and Stormy Night (2009).  An independent comedy from the creators of 'The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra'.  This movie spoofs a ton of classic Dark House movies.  Perhaps the most noticeable is 'Cat and the Canary,' because most Dark House stories take so many queues from the classic play.

#4: The Monster Walks (1932).  Been a while since I've seen this one, but it's a good Old Dark House movie of the gorilla suit variety.

#5: Horror Island (1941).  This movie is very Scooby Doo, with a get-rich-quick Sea Captain who tries to con tourists into staying at a 'Haunted' pirate castle and search for buried treasure.  Unfortunately, a 'Real' ghost shows up.

#6: Hold That Ghost (1941).  Abbot and Costello inherit a gangster's haunted house in this classic comedy.

#7: The Gorilla (1939).  Again, it's been ages since I've watched this one, so I forget the details.  But I enjoyed this comical mystery, and should watch it again in the near future.

So, there are a few suggestions for your next summer thunderstorm.  If you're already a fan of classic mysteries, and I missed your favorite Old Dark House story, be sure to tell me about it in the comments.

Perils Of Nyoka (1942)

The 1942 serial "Perils of Nyoka" (Re-released under the title "Nyoka and the Tigermen") is a sequel to the 1941 serial "Jungle Girl".  Sort of.  Except for the part were it really isn't a sequel at all.

This serial stars Kay Aldridge as Nyoka GORDON, whereas Jungle Girl featured Frances Gifford as Nyoka MEREDITH.  Nyoka Meredith's father Dr. John Meredith was murdered in chapter 1 of "Jungle Girl", and "Perils of Nyoka" concerns Nyoka Gordon's search for her father Dr. Henry Gordon.  Nyoka Meredith swings around on vines, and Nyoka Gordon hangs out in the desert with her friendly native Bedouin buddies.  Get the picture?

But "Perils Of Nyoka" is a sequel in spirit.  This serial has plenty on globe trotting adventure, treasure hunting, and death traps.  And for those of us who are fans of people wearing gorilla costumes, Queen Vultura's pet ape Satan appears in almost every chapter.  Some people think that "Perils" is actually a better serial than "Jungle Girl".  I personally prefer Jungle Girl, but "Perils" is in my top 5 favorite cliffhangers.

So.  What's so great about "Perils of Nyoka?"

The Music.  This may be odd thing to talk about in a review of this sort, but I love the opening theme.  In my opinion "Perils" has the best music of any cliffhanger serial.

The Villains.  Queen Vultura is up there with great serial villains like Ming the Merciless and Fu Manchu.  Visually she is memorable, and, dare I say iconic?  She assassinates people with her poison ring, she masquerades first as Nyoka and later as a native sun goddess, and she has a legion of arabs and her afore mentioned pet gorilla at her command.  Actress Lorna Gray has also appeared as the heroine in serials such as Captain America (1944) and Daughter of Don Q (1946) but she really shines as this native Femme Fatale.




The Action.  While most serials have a brawling fistfight every chapter in which the heroes break all the  furniture in a room, this serial shakes it up with a swashbuckling swordfight in chapter 1.  We also get breaking suspension bridges, spike traps, human sacrifice, ect. ect.  My favorite chapter endings include a pit-and-the-pendulum style sacrificial altar, where the altar lifts to meet the pendulum rather than the pendulum descending, and a trap where cave winds threaten to blow our heroes out of a tunnel and over the edge of a cliff.

Why do I feel this serial is slightly weaker that "Jungle Girl?"

Our Heroine.  This Nyoka doesn't lead the action the same way Nyoka Meredith did in "Jungle Girl".  She gets knocked out pretty much every time she's in a fight, and is rescued by her boyfriend Larry (Played by the future Lone Ranger Clayton Moore) or her dog Fang, far more often than she escapes herself or bails out the guys when they get into trouble.

Fang is basically like Lassie in this story, to the point where are Nyoka is constantly locking the helpful canine in his cage or tying off his leash just so she can get into trouble easier!

The Globe Trotting.  Yep, one of the things that makes this serial great is also one of the things that weakens it.  After awhile all the trap filled lost temples our heroes need to explore in order to find the next clue on their treasure hunt start to feel a little redundant.  And then in the final chapter their quest takes them right back to where they started.  So, all of that traveling feels a little pointless.  Would it have helped if this serial was 12 chapters instead of 15?  Maybe.

But those aren't good reasons to NOT watch this serial.  If you love a good action adventure romp, go check this out ASAP.




Fawcett Comics published an adaption of this serial, which led to the Golden Age comic series "Nyoka the Jungle Girl".  Most of these comics are now public domain and can be read for free here.

Jungle Girl (1941)

The 1941 cliffhanger serial Jungle Girl is one of the best serials ever made.

It's got everything.  Evil identical twins?  Check.  Booby-Trap filled Diamond Mines?  Check.  An evil Witch Doctor?  Check.  Human Sacrifice?  Check.  Guy in a Gorilla costume?  Check.  A pretty Heroine who swings around on vines?  You betcha.


This was my first serial.  Sort of.

I had heard the term cliffhanger before.  Read that they inspired Star Wars and Indiana Jones.  But I had no idea what they were.  Reading a Flash Gordon comic by Al Williamson, I read that one of his greatest influences was something called "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe."  I decided to look it up on Youtube.  Turns out it wasn't a movie, but an early example of a mini series.  It didn't hold my interest.  I was new to the whole retro thing.

But something called "Jungle Girl" appeared on my "Recommended for you."  I decided to check it out.

Youtube only had chapters 1, 9, and 10.  ("Chapter" is cliffhanger speak for "Episode")
The ending of chapter 9 had me hooked.  Our three daring heroes were trapped in a tiny chamber by the evil witch doctor, who had pulled a secret lever, and now the floor was disappearing into the wall, and a gaping pit was opening under the feet of our imperiled protagonists...

Chapter 10 ended with our heroine, Nyoka, caught snooping around the bad guy's hideout.  She's left tied to a pole, just as the guy-in-the-gorilla-costume escapes from his cage.  He is coming towards her, intent on tearing the flesh from her bones (That's what guys in gorilla costumes do. Everybody knows that).


And then it just cut off!  Not only was I thrown into the middle, but I had no idea what would happen next!  As I was pretty green when it came to serials, I didn't know everything would turn out okay.

I became pretty obsessed by serials after that.  I watched every one I could find.  I don't know if that would have happened if Jungle Girl hadn't left me cliffhung.

Eventually I tracked down Jungle Girl on DVD.  Sort of.  My copy was defective.  The first 10 chapters played fine.  11 through 15 were missing.  I went through 3 DVDs before I found out how Nyoka escaped from the guy in the gorilla suit!

It was worth all the effort and frustration in the end.  Jungle Girl is one of the best serials out there.  Really solid story telling you won't find in other serials.

For example, in an early chapter, Nyoka, Jack, and Curly are trapped in an oil swamp.  The natives are chasing them and throwing flame tipped spears.  The oil catches fire and our gang is cut off from the shore.  How will they ever escape?  Find out at this theater next week!

Later on, the bad guys sweet talk the natives into stealing the fuel for the heroes airplane so they can't leave the valley.  Our heroes catch the natives in the act, and pursue.  They have a showdown at the cliffs, and in the fight, the cans of fuel catch fire and explode!  Avalanche!

So our heroes decide to refine the oil from the swamp, and build a refinery using bamboo and coconuts.    After a showdown in the refinery, Nyoka is in peril again, as she hangs above a vat of the boiling oil...

That one plot thread effectively keeps Nyoka and the Gang from leaving the valley, and leads to at least 3 chapter endings.  It's rare that you see that much foresight and planning in a serial!

People who complain about a lack of good action roles for women in Golden Age Hollywood really should watch some of these old cliffhangers.  Yes, by technical definition Nyoka is a "Damsel in Distress."  But more often than not, she's the one leading the action.  And in a good serial every main character spends some time in peril.  Jack is also a "damsel" in several chapters.  Even comic relief Curly spends some time in jeopardy.  And Kimbu-the-Annoying-Jungle-Kid is a total damsel in distress.


Use of a child actor is one of the weak points of this serial.  The other weakness is the way Shamba the Witch Doctor is forgotten towards the end of the serial.

Every chapter ending involving the Diamond Temple is terrific.  The first chapter has a flooding tunnel that is visually mirrored in 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'.  There is a big sacrificial alter it the shape of a lion's head.  The victim is strapped down to the lion's moving jaw and then lifted up to the roaring flames.  There's a big bamboo-and-coconut conveyor belt that leads to a big rock crusher that the natives use to mine the diamonds.

I get a kick out of the way, if our heroes need to sneak into the back entrance of the mines, they lower a vine from the cliff-top and climb down to a secret tunnel.  They toss the same vine down several times over the course of the Chapter-play.  What I want to know is, who's the Joker who keeps putting the vine back where it was?

Overall, this is a great serial.  Likable, if sometimes a bit wooden, characters.  Great chapter endings.  A story that holds together really well.

If you like Indiana Jones, Tarzan, or King Solomon's Mines, give this a watch.  It should be right up your alley.