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''Blackhawk'' is a 1952 American 15-chapter
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
movie serial from
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
, based on the
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
'' Blackhawk'', first published by
Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...
, but later owned by competitor
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
. It was Columbia's forty-ninth serial. The one-sheet poster referred to the serial as ''The Miraculous Blackhawk: Freedom's Champion''. The home video release added the tagline: "Fearless Champion of Freedom". The actual on-screen title is ''Blackhawk: Fearless Champion of Freedom''. ''Blackhawk'' stars Kirk Alyn as Blackhawk and Carol Forman as the foreign spy that must be stopped from stealing the experimental super-fuel "Element-X"; Alyn and Forman were also the hero and villain of Columbia's earlier ''
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
''. ''Blackhawk'' was produced by the famously cheap Sam Katzman and directed by the team of Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred F. Sears. It is considered cheap and lackluster, made in the waning years of studio movie serial production.


Premise

A flying squadron of World War II veterans, The International Brotherhood, is a private flying investigative force led by Blackhawk. They uncover a gang of underworld henchmen, led by the notorious foreign spy Laska, who reports to The Leader, a mystery man. During the serial, Blackhawk and his flying squadron set about bringing these criminals to justice, following a series of cliff-hanger adventures.


Cast

* Kirk Alyn as Blackhawk * Michael Fox as Mr. Case * Don C. Harvey as Olaf (as Don Harvey) * Rick Vallin as Stan/Boris * John Crawford as Chuck * Frank Ellis as Hendrickson hs. 1-2,4,8-9* Larry Stewart as Andre * Weaver Levy as Chop-Chop * Carol Forman as Laska * Zon Murray as Bork * Nick Stuart as Cress * Marshall Reed as Aller * Pierce Lyden as Dyke * William Fawcett as Dr. Rolph hs.4-7* Rory Mallinson as Hodge hs. 11-14


Chapter titles

# Distress Call from Space # Blackhawk Traps a Traitor # In the Enemy's Hideout # The Iron Monster # Human Targets # Blackhawk's Leap for Life # Mystery Fuel # Blasted from the Sky # Blackhawk Tempts Fate # Chase for Element X # Forced Down # Drums of Doom # Blackhawk's Daring Plan # Blackhawk's Wild Ride # The Leader Unmasked


Production

Writer George Plympton described a production staff meeting where they listened to a recording of the short-lived Blackhawk radio series. Everyone at the meeting was terrified at the confusing babble of accents. For Columbia's serial, all recruits of the Blackhawk squadron speak with standard American accents.


Stunts

In chapter 3 Kirk Alyn performs a potentially dangerous stunt without the use of a stunt double. In order to save the life of squadron member Stan, who's tied to a stake in the path of a taxiing plane, Blackhawk (Alyn) runs up to the vehicle and turns it aside by grabbing the wing. A hidden pilot inside the plane steered it to simulate the movement. When writing this scene, the screenwriters were thinking of a small lighter wood-and-canvas plane, not the heavy metal aircraft used in the final scene; it could have easily killed Alyn if the stunt's timing had gone wrong.


Home media

The serial was released on VHS in 1997 by Columbia TriStar Home Video. In 2016, it was released on DVD by Mill Creek Entertainment under license from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.


Critical reception

William C. Cline describes the serial as a "pretty good airplane adventure" in his book ''In the Nick of Time''. Despite this, ''Blackhawk'' was the last aviation serial; aviation had rapidly become less impressive in American popular culture, and science fiction was taking its place. Made during the 1950s, ''Blackhawk'' was produced after the movie serial's heyday; many from this period were generally inferior to those made in the previous decade.Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture
- The Decline of the Serial


References


External links

* {{Sam Katzman 1952 films 1950s English-language films 1952 crime films 1950s science fiction adventure films 1950s spy films American aviation films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures film serials Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet Films directed by Fred F. Sears Live-action films based on DC Comics Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton 1950s American films Films with screenplays by Sherman Lowe Films about veterans English-language science fiction adventure films English-language crime films Films produced by Sam Katzman Superhero film serials