''Hop Harrigan'' (aka ''Hop Harrigan America's Ace of the Airways'') (1946) is a Columbia

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

, based on the

Hop Harrigan Hop Harrigan (also known as The Guardian Angel and Black Lamp) is a fictional character published by All-American Publications. He appeared in American comic books, radio serials and film serials. He was created by Jon Blummer, and was a popular h ...

comic books by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. The serial comprised 15 two-reel chapters with Derwin Abrahams as the director, and Sam Katzman, the producer.

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

was one of the last Hollywood studios to continue in postwar years with the serial format. By 1947,

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

discontinued their serials, with only Republic Pictures and Columbia continuing with serials. The last serial was Columbia's ''

Blazing the Overland Trail ''Blazing the Overland Trail'' is a 1956 American Western Serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Lee Roberts. It was the 57th and last serial produced by Columbia and the last American serial ever produced by any studio (eith ...

'' (1956).

Plot

Hop Harrigan (

William Bakewell William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was an American actor who achieved his greatest fame as one of the leading juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Early years Bakewell was a native of Los Angeles, where he at ...

), a top Air Corps pilot, leaves the military and he and his mechanic, "Tank" Tinker ( Sumner Getchell), open up a small charter air service. They are hired by J. Westly Arnold (

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

) to fly an inventor, Dr. Tobor (

John Merton John Merton (born Myrtland F. LaVarre; February 18, 1901 – September 19, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1927 and 1959, mostly as a villain. He was the brother of filmmaker André de la Varre a ...

), to his secret laboratory, where he is working on a new and powerful energy machine. A mysterious villain named "The Chief Pilot" (

Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor. Early years Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools. He grew up in Fairfax, Vir ...

), however, is also determined to have the new energy machine for his own purposes. He uses a destructive raygun to cripple Hop's aircraft and kidnaps Dr. Tobor. Hop and Tank, aided by Gail Nolan (

Jennifer Holt Jennifer Holt (born Elizabeth Marshall Holt; November 10, 1920 – September 21, 1997) was an American actress. Early years She was born in Hollywood, California, to actor Jack Holt and his wife, Margaret Woods. She was the sister of wes ...

) and her younger brother, Jackie (Robert "Buzz" Henry), finally overcome the criminals only find a bigger threat to them all within their group. Dr. Tobor is insane and has a hideous plan to destroy the earth. Only Hop can stop him.

Chapter titles

# A Mad Mission # The Secret Ray # The Mystery Plane # Plunging Peril # Betrayed by a Madman # A Flaming Trap # One Chance for Life # White Fumes of Fate # Dr. Tobor's Revenge # Juggernaut of Fate # Flying to Oblivion # Lost in the Skies # No Escape # The Chute that Failed # The Fate of the World

Cast

as Gail Nolan *

Robert 'Buzz' Henry Robert Dee Henry (September 4, 1931 – September 30, 1971) was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in the 1946 serial film ''Hop Harrigan'', in which he played Jackie Nolan. Life and career Henry was born in Colorado, where his moth ...

as Jackie Nolan * Sumner Getchell as "Tank" Tinker *

as J. Westly Arnold * Claire James as Gwen Arnold *

as Dr. Tobor *

as Alex Ballard/The Chief Pilot * Ernie Adams as Retner * Peter Michael as Mark Craven *

Terry Frost Sir Terence Ernest Manitou Frost RA (13 October 1915 – 1 September 2003) was a British abstract artist, who worked in Newlyn, Cornwall. Frost was renowned for his use of the Cornish light, colour and shape to start a new art movement in ...

as Barry *

Anthony Warde Anthony Warde (born Benjamin Schwartz; January 1, 1909 – January 8, 1975) was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964. Early years Born as Benjamin Schwartz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on New Year' ...

as Edwards *

Jackie Moran Jackie Moran (January 26, 1923 – September 20, 1990) was an American movie actor who, between 1936 and 1946, appeared in over thirty films, primarily in teenage roles. Early life and Hollywood career A native of Mattoon, Illinois, Jo ...

as Fraser * Bobby Stone as Gray * Jack Buchanon as Deputy Sheriff

Production

''Hop Harrigan'' was based on Jon l. Blummer's ''

All-American Comics ''All-American Comics'' was a comics anthology and the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from 1939 to 1948. Characters created for the title, including Green ...

'' and associated radio series. The serial featured location shooting at an airport, but relied heavily on studio sets. The aircraft in ''Hop Harrigan'' included a Boeing-Stearman Kaydet,

Bellanca Cruisair The Bellanca 14-7 Cruisair and its successors were a family of single-engined light aircraft manufactured in the United States from the mid-1930s onwards.Palmer 2001, p. 51. Design and development Bellanca established itself in the market for ...

and a Stinson Junior."Hop Harrigan Chapter 01: A Mad Mission -- ComicWeb Serial Cliffhanger Theater."
''dailymotion.com'', 2019. Retrieved: July 7, 2019.

Reception

Author and film critic, Andrew C. Cline wrote in ''In the Nick of Time'' (1984) that ''Hop Harrigan'' is "... a fairly action-filled cliffhanger... nd theaction was well paced, making this chapterplay as convincing and successful as it was meant to be."

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. "Chapter 3. The Six Faces of Adventure", ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984, . * Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . * Rainey, Buck. ''Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912–1956''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2010. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. ''To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hop Harrigan (Serial) 1946 films American aviation films 1940s English-language films 1940s superhero films American black-and-white films 1946 adventure films Columbia Pictures film serials Live-action films based on DC Comics American adventure films Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton Films directed by Derwin Abrahams 1940s American films Films based on DC Comics