Captain Midnight (serial)

Captain Midnight
Theatrical release insert poster
Directed byJames W. Horne
Screenplay byBasil Dickey
George Plympton
Wyndham Gittens
Jack Stanley
Based onbased on the radio serial
Captain Midnight
Produced byLarry Darmour
StarringDave O'Brien
Dorothy Short
James Craven
Bryant Washburn
Narrated byKnox Manning
CinematographyJames S. Brown Jr.
Edited byDwight Caldwell
Earl Turner
Music byLee Zahler
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Columbia Pictures
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 15, 1942 (1942-02-15)
Running time
270 minutes
(15 episodes)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Captain Midnight is a 1942 American serial film. It was Columbia Pictures 17th released serial and was based upon the radio adventure serial of the same name, broadcast from 1938 to 1949. Captain Midnight was only one of the many aviation serials released during World War II, whose leading characters were derived from early pulp magazines and radio show favorites.

Plot

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Captain Albright is an extremely skilled aviator, better known by his alter ego as Captain Midnight. He is assigned to neutralize the sinister Ivan Shark, an evil enemy scientist who is aerial bombing major American cities with his unmarked aircraft. Captain Midnight leads the Secret Squadron, whose staff includes Chuck Ramsay, Midnight's ward, and Ichabod 'Icky' Mudd, the Squadron's chief mechanic. Shark has developed a highly efficient mercenary organization. He is aided by his daughter, Fury, his highly intelligent second in command, and Gardo the henchman, and Fang, an Asian ally. Shark is after a new aviation range finder invented by the altruistic scientist, John Edwards, whose beautiful daughter, Joyce, they attempt to capture in order to blackmail the patriotic inventor. Captain Midnight and the Secret Squadron continually battle the henchmen, thwarting Shark's evil plans, while avoiding destruction at every turn by making daring escapes during the serial's 15 weekly chapters.

Cast

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Chapter titles

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  1. Mysterious Pilot
  2. The Stolen Range Finder
  3. The Captured Plane
  4. Mistaken Identity
  5. Ambushed Ambulance
  6. Weird Waters
  7. Menacing Fates
  8. Shells of Evil
  9. The Drop to Doom
  10. The Hidden Bomb
  11. Sky Terror
  12. Burning Bomber
  13. Death in the Cockpit
  14. Scourge of Revenge
  15. The Fatal Hour

Source:[1]

Release

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The serial was released in Latin America in November 1942, under the title El Capitán Medianoche, and was shown in English with Spanish subtitles.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 232. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
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