Universal Serials

[Film Buff]

Are you an expert on Universal Serials?
What I was wondering is why they changed their serial format so much?
In the early 30s they gave the chapter titles and synopsis most often thru comic strips
if it was a comic strip Serial (Ace Drummond)
In the late 30's they gave a chapter 1 title but Forwards on the rest of the serial chapters (eg Flash Gordon)
In the 40s sometimes there was no chapter 1 title, and no titles for the rest of the serial
but a synopsis (Mystery of Riverboat)
then from about 46 to the end, there was no chapter 1 title, and the rest of chapters there were no chapter titles and
people conversed about what happened the previous chapter (Lost City of the Jungle)
Only Mascot, Republic and Columbia maintained their serial chapters throughout
Why did Universal change their serials so much?
They did not stop making serials till 1946 with "The Mysterious Mr. M" when they became Universal-International

[Bill Black]

I don't claim to be an expert on Universal or any other serial producer, but
I'd say the answer to your question is strictly money. While Republic, a
great deal of whose revenue came from serial production and to a lesser
extent Columbia (thanks to producer Sam Katzman, who could stretch a buck
further than anyone in the business) stayed in production until the
mid-Fifties, by the end of the Thirties, after the successes of the Flash
Gordons and Buck Rogers tapered out, Universal gradually lost interest in
serial making - what don't turn a dollar don't last, and their serial units
received less and less in the way of budgets because the front office didn't
really care anymore, presuming, I believe, that the day of the serial was
past - besides, Republic was doing it so much better, with Columbia at least
still churning out material in competition, so why bother?
This more than anything probably accounts for the changes you outline.
As you say, when you look at the quality of Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars
and compare it to The Mystery of the Riverboat, made
only six years later or Lost City of the Jungle, in which I've never been
able to find a city or the jungle although I'm sure they must be there
somewhere, it's relatively easy to make a fairly accurate guess that
Universal's powers that be had lost interest. Mascot of course became
Republic, and hung on until King of the Carnival, which is mostly stock
footage, and Columbia finally gave up the ghost with Blazing the Overland
Trail, which again is mostly stock from 1941's White Eagle with Buck Jones.
Having said all that, I've never come across a serial I didn't find at least
something worth while in, in both silents and sound, they were an unique
part of film history and all deserve to be remembered fondly, the not so
good and the good equally.

All the folks I've ever talked with over the years who worked the serial
units always said they had fun doing the serials, whichever they were. I
figure if they had fun making them, we should have fun watching them and
not worry about the details. Enjoy.

Bob Wayne
"Righting wrongs badly in need of righting"

"Film Buff" <Fre...@Dobbs.MTN> wrote in message
news:04gjc45dsodf2b87e...@4ax.com...

[Ed Hulse]

Money (or the lack of it) is usually the answer to questions about the
process of making serials, but it has nothing to do with the stylistic
changes in Universal's chapter openings.

The "comic strip" recaps were instituted partially in recognition that
by 1936 children for the most part comprised the serial audience, and
partially as a reflection of the fact that so many Universal serials
were adapted from comic strips. (This was confirmed by Ford Beebe,
who directed many of the comic-adapted serials.) It's significant
that this particular innovation started with ACE DRUMMOND, a serial
that was not produced under the aegis of Henry MacRae, who had been
involved with Universal serial production in some capacity or another
since the early silent days.

Scrapping the printed recaps in favor of conversational recaps was
done as part of an effort to upgrade the traditional format and make
Universal serials more appealing to exhibitors who didn't normally run
serials in their theaters. (A strategy that ultimately failed, by the
way.) It wasn't cheaper; quite the contrary. It meant that
additional scenes to be filmed, therefore adding more time to the
shooting schedule. By the time this change was instituted, veteran
serial scripters such as Morgan Cox were actually producing
Universal's chapter plays, and their attempts at improving the genre
relied heavily on downplaying fast action and increasing the number of
dialogue scenes.

[Bill Black]

Thanks, Ed. I knew someone might pop up who actually knew - I just figured
money (usually the ultimate villain of the piece) would be the probable
culprit, but not knowing a lot about Universal I just made a best guess.
Thanks. Your answer was most interesting and informative. I tip my cap to an
expert.
cheers,
Bill

[Film Buff]

THanks guys
Sorry for responding so late
Have been hurricane bound and just got to the library to see this
will not have power for 2 more months