Directing
A mortal, Billy Batson, is given the power to become Captain Marvel. The Captain fights the arch villain, the Scorpion, for 12 exciting chapters, to keep him from getting the lens. The plot concerns a group of scientists and an ancient artifact with lenses that can turn any matter to gold, thus the owner could rule the world. Captain Marvel is played by former cowboy star, Tom Tyler in fine fashion. David Sharpe does the leaps and landings in realistic style. Flying scenes still look great today, with excellent special effects by the Lydecker brothers. The Scorpion is voiced by another actor, and should keep the viewer guessing until the final reel. Music by Cy Feurer, William Lava and others add more excitement to a fine serial. Whitney and English directed.
On a scientific expedition to Siam young Billy Batson is given the ability to change himself into the super-powered Captain Marvel by the wizard Shazam, who tells him his powers will last only as long as the Golden Scorpion idol is threatened. Finding the idol, the scientists realize it could be the most powerful weapon in the world and remove the lenses that energize it, distributing them among themselves so that no one would be able to use the idol by himself. Back in the US, Billy Batson, as Captain Marvel, wages a battle against an evil, hooded figure, the Scorpion, who hopes to accumulate all five lenses, thereby gaining control of the super-powerful weapon
Cardelanche, the son of an Indian chief, returns from the East to find himself rejected by his own people. He is made captain of the U.S. army when he saves a detachment of cavalry from a group of renegade Indians, and further removes himself from his race when he develops a relationship with Miriam, the daughter of the Fort Remmington commandant. Lieutenant Parkman (Walker) gets into a fight with Cardelanche when Parkman is demoted, while General Custer's troops are slaughtered by Cardelanche's people. Cardelanche decides that his true allegiance is to his own race, and gives up Miriam to return to them.
Papa, Mama, Daughter and Son Gimplewort move into their new house. Two movers are talking to each other about the murder of a saxophone player that took place in the house. They say his ghost still roams the house. Night comes and every noise and creak in the house scares the papa, mama and son (the daughter is out on a date). The Mover gives the daughter a parrot saying "It's a religious parrot – I bought it from a sailor". At any rate, the parrot gets into the act by yelling scaring Papa and Son who have come down looking for the source of the noise. Later Daughter and Remover return from a costume party and sneak into the house. The young man is dressed in a skeleton outfit and the fun continues. There has been film reconstruction in a number of places, particularly the last third of the film. In many cases there is a photograph depicting the scene being described.
An amateur theatrical society rehearses in a deserted house which is believed to be haunted by two travelers who have lost their way in the rain.
Jerry Willard, a clerk in a publishing house who is possessed of a massive inferiority complex, is fired from his job and, on the way out of the office, is mistaken for the boss, Watson, by Anne Rogers, the daughter of an author.
The mill of an old woman and her ward, Faith Newton, is being terrorized by the masked menace of the title known as "Still Face". The women are helped by a man named Keats Dodd. The masked villain's identity is revealed in the final chapter.
Film serial.
Alabam is lovesick. He tells Mickey how he can't get close to the girl of his dreams; he's overheard by Dave, a smooth operator, who insists that Alabam leave everything to him. He contrives to have Alabam and Mickey wreck Alabam's car in the girl's front yard, then he arrives, posing as a doctor, asking the residents of the house if they'll let the injured boy come inside while the doctor examines him. Meanwhile, Mickey gets a look at the girl's cousin and feigns injury so that now both lads are in beds upstairs while Dave, the doctor, conjures foul-tasting treatments. The fly in the ointment is the girl's crusty uncle, who may stand between the lads and their true loves.
Serials usually spawned feature film versions, but with this film, it was the other way around. A 1932 Buck Jones Western, White Eagle was made into a serial nine years later, again starring Jones in the title role, a (supposedly) Native American Pony Express Rider defending his people against a gang of evil Whites.
Historically significant as Universal's first 100% all-talkie, the production suffered from having a tight shooting schedule. Carl Laemmle was only able to rent the Fox Movietone sound-on-film recording system for one week, having to be filmed at night while the Fox Studio was closed down for the evenings.
In order to keep her job, a young dress designer must keep her recent marriage a secret from her boss. An important client arrives from Paris and her boss decides to hold a dinner party for the man at the girl's house. When her husband finds out that the client wants to take her back to Paris so she can "study," he comes up with a plan to stop it, and it begins with his being the "server" at the dinner party.
