Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more

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 ...

s than any other director.

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, 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 ''Hurricane Hutch'' is a 1921 American adventure film serial directed by George B. Seitz. The film is considered to be lost. The story concerns the search for a lost formula for making paper from seaweed that will save a mortgaged papermill. Ca ...

'' (1921). The gig at that time paid $1 per foot he had to fall. He made his directorial debut in 1921's ''Behold the Man'' but made his serial directorial debut in 1925 with ''

Sunken Silver ''Sunken Silver'' is a 1925 American film serial directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and George B. Seitz. The serial is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Plot As described in a film magazine review, Brice, a secret service agent ...

''. He would keep making serials, as well as

B-Western The B movie, whose roots trace to the silent film era, was a significant contributor to Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. As the Hollywood studios made the transition to sound film in the late 1920s, many independent exhibitors began ...

features, until the very end of the genre, directing the last two serials made in the United States, ''

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) and ''

Perils of the Wilderness ''Perils of the Wilderness'' is a 1956 American Western serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Dennis Moore. Plot U.S. Deputy Marshal Dan Lawson teams with RCMP Sergeant Gray to go undercover and capture the nefarious smuggl ...

'' (1956). After the serials ended he directed a handful of features, his final directorial credit being 1965's ''

The Bounty Killer ''The Ugly Ones'' ( es: ''El precio de un hombre'', lit. "The Price of a Man", it: ''The Bounty Killer'', later ''La morte ti segue... ma non ha fretta'', lit. "Death follows you... but not in a hurry") is a 1966 Spanish-Italian Italian(s) ...

'', which was also the final film to feature pioneering cowboy star

Broncho Billy Anderson Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (born Maxwell Henry Aronson; March 21, 1880 – January 20, 1971) was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who was the first star of the Western film genre. He was a founder and star ...

. When he died in 1987,he was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, his tombstone was engraved "His Final Chapter". Over his long career Bennet directed over 100 serials, including the Superman serials '' Superman'' and ''

Atom Man vs. Superman ''Atom Man vs. Superman'' is a 1950 American film serial and the second Superman movie serial featuring Kirk Alyn, credited (as with the previous serial) only by his character name, Superman. When Lex Luthor blackmails the city of Metropolis by ...

'' both starring

Kirk Alyn Kirk Alyn (born John Feggo Jr.; October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial ''Superman'' and its 1950 sequel '' A ...

; ''

The Masked Marvel ''The Masked Marvel'' (1943) is a 12-chapter film serial created by Republic Pictures, who produced many other well known serials. It was Republic's thirty-first serial, of the sixty-six they produced. Plot In ''The Masked Marvel'', a hero dress ...

''; ''

G-Men vs. the Black Dragon ''G-Men vs. The Black Dragon'' (1943) is a Republic Pictures movie serial. It is noteworthy among adventure serials as containing an unusually high number of fistfights, all staged by director William Witney and a team of stuntmen. This was Witne ...

'' and ''

Secret Service in Darkest Africa ''Secret Service in Darkest Africa'' is a 1943 Republic serial. It was Republic's thirtieth serial, of the sixty-six produced by the studio. It was a sequel to ''G-Men vs. the Black Dragon'' released earlier in 1943, again starring Rod Camero ...

'' both starring Rod Cameron as agent Rex Bennett; the second Batman serial '' Batman and Robin''; ''

The Purple Monster Strikes ''The Purple Monster Strikes'' is a 1945 Republic Pictures, Republic Movie serial. It was also released as a Century 66 television film under the title ''D-Day on Mars'' (1966). The original production title for the serial was ''The Purple Shad ...

''; the ''

Adventures of Sir Galahad ''Adventures of Sir Galahad'' is the 41st serial released in 1949 by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, it stars George Reeves, Nelson Leigh, William Fawcett, Hugh Prosser, and Lois Hall. It was based on Arthurian legend, one o ...

''; '' The Tiger Woman''; '' Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere''; ''

Zorro's Black Whip ''Zorro's Black Whip'' is a 1944 12-chapter film serial by Republic Pictures starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of '' The Mark of Zorro'' in order to capitalize on it. Republic was not able to u ...

'', and numerous western serials. Among his "B" features were four for the ''

Jungle Jim Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began on January 7, 1934, as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle J ...

'' series starring

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

and two for the ''

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

'' series, featuring

Wild Bill Elliott Wild Bill Elliott (born Gordon Nance, October 16, 1904 – November 26, 1965) was an American film actor. He specialized in playing the rugged heroes of B Westerns, particularly the Red Ryder series of films. Early life Elliott was born Gor ...

and

Allan "Rocky" Lane Allan "Rocky" Lane (born Harry Leonard Albershardt; September 22, 1909 – October 27, 1973) was an American studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows ...

. He also directed eight episodes of the ''

Ramar of the Jungle ''Ramar of the Jungle'' is an American television series that starred Jon Hall as Dr. Tom ReynoldsMcNeil, Alex (1996). ''Total Television''. Penguin Books USA, Inc. . P. 683. (the titular "ramar" being an African title for a white medicine man). ...

'' TV series.

Preservation

The Academy Film Archive preserved two of Spencer Gordon Bennet's films, "Hawk of the Hills" and "Snowed In."

Selected filmography

* '' Marked Money'' (1928) * ''

Rogue of the Rio Grande ''Rogue of the Rio Grande'' is a 1930 American musical comedy Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring José Bohr, Myrna Loy and Walter Miller.Pitts p.344 Main cast * José Bohr as El Malo * Myrna Loy as Carmita * Walte ...

'' (1930) * ''

Badge of Honor The Badge of Honor novel series is a series of novels written by W.E.B. Griffin about the Philadelphia Police Department. Although the books were originally set in the 1970s and early 1980s, and the characters have only aged a few years (Matt Payn ...

'' (1934) * ''

Rescue Squad A rescue squad is an emergency service that provides technical rescue services, and may also provide emergency medical services and firefighting services. Rescue squads may be standalone organizations or an integrated part of fire department ...

'' (1935) * ''

Western Courage ''Western Courage'' is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by Ben Wilson, starring Richard Hatton, Elsa Benham, and Robert Walker. Cast * Richard Hatton * Elsa Benham * Robert Walker * Art Mix * Ed La Niece * Al Ferguson Al Fe ...

'' (1935) * ''

Ranger Courage ''Ranger Courage'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, the film stars Robert Allen, Martha Tibbetts, and Walter Miller. Cast list * Robert Allen as himself * Martha Tibbetts as Alice * Walter Miller as Bull * ...

'' (1936) * '' Rio Grande Ranger'' (1936) * ''

The Fugitive Sheriff ''The Fugitive Sheriff'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Ken Maynard, Beth Marion and Walter Miller.Pitts p.119 Cast * Ken Maynard as Ken Marshall * Beth Marion as June Roberts * Walter Mille ...

'' (1936) * ''

The Unknown Ranger ''The Unknown Ranger'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Bob Allen, Martha Tibbetts, and Walter Miller. It was released on October 30, 1936. Cast list * Bob Allen as himself * Martha Tibbetts as ...

'' (1936) * ''

Oklahoma Terror ''Oklahoma Terror'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. Cast *Addison Randall as Jack Ridgely *Al St. John as "Fuzzy" Glass *Virginia Carroll as Helen Martin * Don Rowan as Slade *Davison Clark as Cartwright *Gl ...

'' (1939) * '' Canyon City'' (1943) * ''

Manhunt on Mystery Island ''Manhunt of Mystery Island'' (1945) is a Republic Movie serial. It was the thirty-sixth serial produced by Republic (of a total of sixty-six) and the first released in 1945. It is the penultimate 15-chapter serial to be released by the studio. ...

'' (1945) * ''

Brick Bradford ''Brick Bradford'' is a science fiction comic strip created by writer William Ritt, a journalist based in Cleveland, and artist Clarence Gray. It was first distributed on August 21, 1933 by Central Press Association, a subsidiary of King Features ...

'' (1947) * ''

Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies ''Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies'' (1949) is a 15-episode Columbia Pictures movie serial based on the Bruce Gentry comic strip created by Ray Bailey. It features the first cinematic appearance of a flying saucer, as the secret weapon o ...

'' (1948) * '' Superman'' (1948) * '' Batman and Robin'' (1949) * '' Voodoo Tiger'' (1952)

References

External links

* * 1893 births 1987 deaths Film producers from New York (state) Film serial crew People from Brooklyn Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Film directors from New York City {{US-film-director-1890s-stub