''Tim Tyler's Luck'' (1937) is a Universal movie serial based on the

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

Premise

Tim Tyler stows away on a ship bound for Africa to find his father, Professor James Tyler. He meets, and is joined by, Lora Lacey, who is chasing the criminal "Spider" Webb, the man responsible for framing her brother.

Cast

* Frankie Thomas as Tim Tyler * Frances Robinson as Lora Lacey, posing as Lora Graham * Norman Willis as "Spider" Webb * Jack Mulhall as Sargeant Gates * Al Shean as Professor James Tyler, Tim's father * Anthony Warde as Garry Drake * Earl Douglas as Jules Lazarre * William 'Billy' Benedict as Spud *

Frank Mayo Frank Mayo may refer to: * Frank M. Mayo (1839–1896), American actor and comedian * Frank Mayo (actor) Frank Lorimer Mayo (June 28, 1889 – July 9, 1963) was an American actor. He appeared in 310 films between 1911 and 1949. Biograp ...

as Jim Conway * Alan Gregg as Brent, one of Spider's henchman *

Stanley Blystone William Stanley Blystone (August 1, 1894 – July 16, 1956) was an American film actor who made more than 500 films appearances between 1924 and 1956. He was sometimes billed as William Blystone or William Stanley. Early years Blystone was ...

as Captain Clark * Everett Brown as Mogu, Spider's native henchman * Skippy as Ju Ju, the Chimp

Critical reception

Author Raymond William Stedman considers ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' to be perhaps the best of Universal's "Jungle Thrillers." ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' has good direction and convincing performances. The serial has quiet moments balancing the action, which was rare for a serial. The characterization is more nuanced than "might have been expected in an action serial".

Chapter titles

# Jungle Pirates # Dead Man's Pass # Into the Lions' Den # The Ivory Trail # Trapped in the Quicksands # The Jaws of the Jungle # The King of the Gorillas # The Spider Caught # The Gates of Doom # A Race for a Fortune # No Man's Land # The Kimberley Diamonds _Source:

DVD release

All 12 chapters were released on a single DVD on February 28, 2006 with special features including a 2005 interview with Frankie Thomas, bios, the original theatrical trailer, and bonus classic cliffhanger trailers.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tim Tyler's Luck 1937 films 1937 adventure films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on comic strips Films directed by Ford Beebe Films set in Africa Universal Pictures film serials American adventure films 1930s American films