Comics 1930s-50s: Film serials.
by gig-panas | created - 28 Nov 2017 | updated - 28 May 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Flash Gordon (1936)
Passed | 245 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.
Directors: Frederick Stephani, Ray Taylor | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson
Votes: 2,658
2. Dick Tracy (1937)
Approved | 70 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A master criminal called The Spider puts the famous detective's brother under a hypnotic spell and turns him against Dick.
Directors: Alan James, Ray Taylor | Stars: Ralph Byrd, Kay Hughes, Smiley Burnette, Lee Van Atta
Votes: 652
3. Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938)
Approved | 299 min | Action, Adventure, Family
When a deadly Nitron ray strikes Earth, Flash Gordon and his friends travel to Mars to battle Ming the Merciless and his new ally Queen Azura.
Directors: Ford Beebe, Robert F. Hill, Frederick Stephani | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon
Votes: 1,052
4. Dick Tracy Returns (1938)
Approved | 260 min | Drama
Dick Tracy battles spies and saboteurs in his efforts to bring to justice the Stark gang, a criminal family led by the vicious Pa Stark.
Directors: John English, William Witney | Stars: Ralph Byrd, Lynne Roberts, Charles Middleton, Jerry Tucker
Votes: 440
5. Buck Rogers (1939)
Approved | 237 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
A 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.
Directors: Ford Beebe, Saul A. Goodkind | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Constance Moore, Jackie Moran, Jack Mulhall
Votes: 997
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939)
Passed | 302 min | Mystery
A mad doctor named Zanoff uses a drug to bring himself back from the dead after his execution in prison. Dick Tracy sets out to capture Zanoff before he can put his criminal gang back together again.
Directors: John English, William Witney | Stars: Ralph Byrd, Irving Pichel, Ted Pearson, Jennifer Jones
Votes: 363
7. The Shadow (1940)
Passed | 285 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
The Shadow battles a villain known as The Black Tiger, who has the power to make himself invisible and is trying to take over the world with his death ray.
Director: James W. Horne | Stars: Victor Jory, Veda Ann Borg, Roger Moore, Robert Fiske
Votes: 376
The earliest Superhero feature film.
8. The Green Hornet (1940)
Approved | 258 min | Adventure, Crime, Family
A newspaper publisher and his Korean servant fight crime as vigilantes who pose as a notorious masked gangster and his aide.
Directors: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor | Stars: Gordon Jones, Wade Boteler, Keye Luke, Anne Nagel
Votes: 714
9. The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1940)
Approved | 293 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A wealthy publisher uses a disguise and calls himself the Green Hornet to fight crime in his city.
Directors: Ford Beebe, John Rawlins | Stars: Warren Hull, Wade Boteler, Anne Nagel, Keye Luke
Votes: 426
10. Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
Approved | 195 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov return to the planet Mongo for an antidote to the Purple Death, which wreaking destruction on Earth. However, Ming the Merciless has other plans for them.
Directors: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Carol Hughes, Charles Middleton, Anne Gwynne
Votes: 1,499
11. Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
Passed | 216 min | Action, Adventure, Family
To protect a magic talisman from being used for evil, a teenage boy named Billy Batson is given the power to become an adult superhero, Captain Marvel, with a single magic word: "Shazam!"
Directors: John English, William Witney | Stars: Tom Tyler, Frank Coghlan Jr., William 'Billy' Benedict, Louise Currie
Votes: 1,524
12. Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941)
Passed | 263 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Dick Tracy goes up against a villain known as The Ghost, who can turn himself invisible.
Directors: John English, William Witney | Stars: Ralph Byrd, Michael Owen, Jan Wiley, John Davidson
Votes: 324
13. Batman (1943)
Approved | 260 min | Action, Crime, Family
The very first serial to adapt the comic book character of the Batman. In it, the Batman is a secret U.S. government agent, attempting to defeat the schemes of Japanese agent Dr. Daka operating in Los Angeles at the height of World War II.
Director: Lambert Hillyer | Stars: Lewis Wilson, Douglas Croft, J. Carrol Naish, Shirley Patterson
Votes: 2,472
14. The Phantom (1943)
Passed | 299 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The Phantom's clan has ruled the jungle tribes for centuries. He battles Dr. Bremmer who plans to build an airfield and gets greedy when Professor Davidson and his niece Diana arrive to search for the treasure of the lost city of Zoloz.
Director: B. Reeves Eason | Stars: Tom Tyler, Jeanne Bates, Ernie Adams, John Bagni
Votes: 473
15. Captain America (1944)
Passed | 244 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Superhero Captain America battles the evil forces of the archvillain called The Scarab, who poisons his enemies and steals a secret device capable of destroying buildings by sound vibrations.
Directors: Elmer Clifton, John English | Stars: Dick Purcell, Lorna Gray, Lionel Atwill, Charles Trowbridge
Votes: 1,105
16. Superman (1948)
Approved | 244 min | Sci-Fi
Superman comes to Earth as a child and grows up to be his home's first superhero with his first major challenge being to oppose The Spider Lady.
Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr | Stars: Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Tommy Bond, Carol Forman
Votes: 1,218
17. King of the Rocket Men (1949)
Passed | 167 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Jeff King in his experimental rocket suit battles the evil Dr. Vulcan.
Director: Fred C. Brannon | Stars: Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters Jr.
Votes: 965
18. Batman and Robin (1949)
Approved | 263 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Second serial featuring the comic book character Batman. In it, Batman, together with his sidekick Robin, face off against the Wizard, a hooded villain with an electronic device that remotely controls vehicles.
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet | Stars: Robert Lowery, Johnny Duncan, Jane Adams, Lyle Talbot
Votes: 2,108
19. Atom Man vs. Superman (1950)
Approved | 252 min | Family, Sci-Fi
Superman battles Lex Luthor who is using a teleportation device and a new identity as Atom Man in his criminal plans.
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet | Stars: Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Lyle Talbot, Tommy Bond
Votes: 832
20. Blackhawk: Fearless Champion of Freedom (1952)
Approved | 242 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Based on a successful comic book that began in 1941, the Blackhawks were seven flyers who banded together during WW II to fight the Nazis. After the war, they continued to fight evil where ... See full summary »
Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet, Fred F. Sears | Stars: Kirk Alyn, Carol Forman, John Crawford, Michael Fox
Votes: 214
21. Superman Flies Again (1954)
77 min | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Compilation of 3 episodes of the "Adventures of Superman" TV show: episodes #30 ("Jet Ace"), #35 ("The Dog Who Knew Superman"), and #42 ("The Clown Who Cried").
Directors: George Blair, Thomas Carr | Stars: George Reeves, Noel Neill, Jack Larson, John Hamilton
Votes: 78
22. The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the West (1947)
Approved | 285 min | Drama, Mystery
The Vigilante, a masked government agent, is assigned to investigate the case of the "100 Tears of Blood", a cursed string of rare blood red pearls sought by a gang led by the unknown X-1 that may have been smuggled into the country.
Director: Wallace Fox | Stars: Ralph Byrd, Ramsay Ames, Lyle Talbot, George Offerman Jr.
Votes: 129
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