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Bronson Caves
Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles that has become known as a filming location for many films and television series, especially Westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present. Location and history Bronson Canyon is located in the southwest section of Griffith Park near the north end of Canyon Drive, which is an extension of Bronson Avenue. In 1903, the Union Rock Company founded a quarry, originally named Brush Canyon, for excavation of crushed rock used in the construction of city streets–carried out of the quarry by electric train on the Brush Canyon Line. The quarry ceased operation in the late 1920s, leaving the caves behind. The caves became known as the Bronson Caves after the nearby avenue and a hill of that name, giving the area its more popular name of Bronson Canyon. The same street may have indirectly provided the stage name for actor Charles Bronson, as the former Charles Buchinsky is be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lightning Bryce
''Lightning Bryce'' is a 1919-1920 American Western film serial directed by Paul Hurst and starring Ann Little and Jack Hoxie (his first starring role). In all, 15 episodes were produced; all episodes survive today and are in the public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds .... Cast * Ann Little as Kate Arnold * Jack Hoxie as Sky "Lightning" Bryce * Paul Hurst as Powder Solvang * Jill Woodward as the Mystery Woman * Steve Clemente as Zambleau * Scout as Lightning's horse Uncredited * Yakima Canutt as the Deputy (episode 15) * George Champion as a henchman * Ben Corbett as a henchman * Edna Holland as Daisy Bliss * George Hunter as a henchman * Noble Johnson as Dopey Sam's henchman / Arnold's butler * Slim Lucas as a henchman * Augustina López as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zorro Rides Again
''Zorro Rides Again'' (1937) is a 12-chapter Republic Pictures film serial. It was the eighth of the sixty-six Republic serials, the third with a Western theme (a third of Republic's serials were westerns) and the last produced in 1937. The serial was directed by William Witney & John English in their first collaboration. The serial starred John Carroll who also sang the title song as a modern descendant of the original Zorro with Carroll stunt doubled by Yakima Canutt. The plot is a fairly standard western storyline about a villain attempting to illicitly take valuable land (in this case a new railroad). The setting is a hybrid of modern (1930s) and western elements that was used occasionally in B-Westerns (such as the western feature films also produced by Republic). It was also the first in a series of five Zorro serials, followed by '' Zorro's Fighting Legion'' (1939), ''Zorro's Black Whip'' (1944), '' Son of Zorro'' (1947) and '' Ghost of Zorro'' (1949). Plot In contempo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robinson Crusoe Of Clipper Island
''Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island'' (1936) is a Republic movie serial starring Ray Mala. It was the fourth of the 66 serials produced by Republic and the last (of four) to be released in 1936. ''Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island'' is notable for being the first Republic serial to contain another common aspect of serials—a Re-Cap Chapter, similar to a clipshow in modern television, whereby the events of the previous chapters are repeated via clips (in order to save money). Contrary to popular belief, this was not the invention of the concept, which had been routinely used in serial production before the release of this serial. The serial was edited into the film ''Robinson Crusoe of Mystery Island'', which was released in 1966. Plot Agent Mala, an intelligence operative, investigates sabotage on the remote ''Clipper Island''. A gang of spies causes the eruption of a volcano, for which Mala is blamed. He convinces the native Princess Melani of his innocence and helps her ward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flash Gordon (serial)
''Flash Gordon'' is a 1936 superhero serial film. Presented in 13 chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the film's central characters. In 1996, ''Flash Gordon'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Cast * Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon * Charles B. Middleton as Ming the Merciless * Jean Rogers as Dale Arden * Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura * Frank Shannon as Dr. Alexis Zarkov * Richard Alexander as Prince Barin * Jack Lipson as King Vultan * Theodore Lorch as Second High Priest * James Pierce as Prince Thun * Duke York as King Kala * Earl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Phantom Empire
''The Phantom Empire'' is a 1935 American Western (genre), Western serial film directed by Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, and Betsy King Ross.Magers 2007, p. 21. This 12-chapter Mascot Pictures serial combined the Western (genre), Western, Musical theatre, musical and science-fiction genres. The duration of the first episode is 30 minutes, while that of the rest is about 20 minutes. The serial film is about a singing cowboy who stumbles upon an ancient subterranean civilization living beneath his own ranch that becomes corrupted by unscrupulous greedy speculators from the surface. In 1940, a 70-minute feature film edited from the serial was released under the titles ''Radio Ranch'' or ''Men with Steel Faces''. This was Gene Autry's first starring role, playing himself as a singing cowboy.Magers 2007, p. 22. It is considered to be the first science-fiction Western. Plot Gene Autry (Gene Autry) is a singing cowboy who runs Radio Ranch, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery Mountain (serial)
''Mystery Mountain'' is a 1934 American Western serial film directed by Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason and starring Ken Maynard, Verna Hillie, Syd Saylor, Edward Earle, and Hooper Atchley.Magers 2007, p. 19. Distributed by Mascot Pictures, ''Mystery Mountain'' features the second ever film appearance by Gene Autry. Plot Ken Williams ( Ken Maynard) is determined to discover the identity of a mysterious killer who preys upon railroads and transportation companies like the ones owned by Jane Corwin ( Verna Hillie). Her railroad worker father ( Lafe McKee) was the first victim of the murderous fiend known as the Rattler, who is especially difficult to catch because he makes himself appear as other people with a collection of masks, or he effects a strange disguise with eyeglasses, a fake nose, and a crepe-hair mustache. The Rattler — also known as "the Menace of the Mountain" — attempts to control the mountain and its hidden gold from his secret cave filled with stra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vampire Bat
''The Vampire Bat'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, and Dwight Frye. Plot When the villagers of Kleinschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism, but police inspector Karl Brettschneider remains skeptical. Scientist Dr. Otto von Niemann, who cares for the victims, visits a patient who was attacked by a bat, Martha Mueller. Out of appreciation for her kindness, Martha is visited by a highly eccentric man named Hermann Gleib, who claims he likes bats because they are "soft like cat" and "nice". On the doctor's journey home, he meets Kringen, one of the townsfolk, who claims to have been attacked by the vampire in the form of a bat, but withheld his story from the town in order to not spread fear. Dr. von Niemann encourages Kringen to tell the townsfolk of his story. Kringen becomes suspicious that Gleib may be the vampire due to his obsession with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Three Musketeers (1933 Serial)
''The Three Musketeers'' is a 1933 American pre-Code film serial directed by Armand Schaeffer and Colbert Clark, and produced by Nat Levine for Mascot Pictures. The film serial was very loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers'', with the musketeers changed into three soldiers in the French Foreign Legion, and d'Artagnan being reconfigured as Lt. Tom Wayne (played by John Wayne), a pilot in the United States military.Harmon and Glut 1973, p. 325. Wayne only received fourth billing behind Raymond Hatton, Francis X. Bushman Jr. and Jack Mulhall who play the three legionnaires. Lon Chaney Jr. had a co-starring role in the serial, mainly appearing in chapters one and ten. Plot In the harsh deserts of North Africa, the French Foreign Legion provides a military presence. Lt. Tom Wayne is framed for the murder of Armand Corday, the brother of his fiancé. He vows to capture the real killer, a mysterious Arab terrorist known only as El Shaitan. He encount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagebrush Trail
''Sagebrush Trail'' (UK title ''An Innocent Man'') is a 1933 American Pre-Code Western film with locations filmed at Bronson Canyon starring John Wayne and featuring Lane Chandler and Yakima Canutt (Canutt plays the leader of the gang as well as doubling for Wayne in several stunts). It was the second Lone Star Productions film released by Monogram Pictures. It was shown as ''An Innocent Man'' in the UK, and this version was later released in a colorized version on home video. Plot Sentenced for a murder he did not commit, John Brant escapes from prison determined to find the real killer. By chance Brant's narrow escape from lawmen is witnessed by Joseph Conlon who goes by the name of "Jones". Giving Brant the name of "Smith" Conlon, Jones gets him into his outlaw gang hiding out in an abandoned mine. Brant attempts to disrupt the outlaw gang's robberies and comes closer to finding his man. The gang leader suspects John Brant/Smith but Joseph/Jones Conlon consoles him and ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Zombie (film)
''White Zombie'' is a 1932 Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code horror film independent film, independently produced by Edward Halperin and directed by Victor Halperin. The screenplay by Garnett Weston, based on ''The Magic Island'' by William Seabrook, is about a young woman's transformation into a zombie at the hands of an evil Haitian vodou, voodoo master. Bela Lugosi stars as the zombie master "Murder" Legendre, with Madge Bellamy appearing as his victim. Other cast members include Joseph Cawthorn, Robert W. Frazer, John Harron, Brandon Hurst, and George Burr MacAnnan. Large portions of ''White Zombie'' were shot on the Universal Studios Lot, Universal Studios lot, borrowing many props and scenery from other horror films of the era. The film opened in New York to negative reception, with reviewers criticizing the film's over-the-top story and weak acting. While the film made a substantial financial profit as an independent feature, it proved less popular than other horror films of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
''I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime tragedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Paul Muni as a convicted man on a chain gang who escapes to Chicago. It was released on November 10, 1932. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Muni. The film was written by Howard J. Green and Brown Holmes from Robert Elliott Burns's 1932 autobiography of a similar name '' I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!'' originally serialized in the ''True Detective'' magazine. The true life story was later the basis for the television movie '' The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains'' (1987) starring Val Kilmer. In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot White American sergeant James Allen returns to civilian life after World War I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
