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. 11-14Chapter 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 UnmaskedProduction
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.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