I'd call this the "Where Are They Now?" section, except that, given that the serial was made 75 years ago, I think the answer for everyone involved in Undersea Kingdom is "dead." So let's just call these career capsules.
Lois Wilde (Diana) reportedly won the Miss America pageant in 1923, but lost the title when the judges found out she was a professional model and stage actress. She also worked as a screenwriter before becoming a movie actress in 1936. Her career ended abruptly the next year when she broke her neck in a car accident. Although she eventually recovered, she would only appear on the screen in occasional small, uncredited roles, ending with "Casino Patron" in 1984's Oh, God! You Devil. She died in 1995.
Monte Blue (Unga Khan) began his film career as a day laborer for director D.W. Griffith at Biograph Studios. His first role was a bit part in Griffith's classic The Birth of a Nation (1915). He appeared in dozens of silent films, becoming a leading man. He continued to work steadily after the advent of sound, although his roles became smaller through the 1930's. From the mid-'50s, he worked exclusively on television. He died in 1963. Also, I can't see his name without wanting to sing, "Ooo-hoo, Monte Blue/Lives his life from inside of a room."
Lee Van Atta (Billy), like many child actors, had only a brief career, from 1936 to 1939. Billy was his first credited role, but perhaps his highest-profile role was in another serial, Dick Tracy (1937), as Junior. He died in 2002.
Boothe Howard (Ditmar) also had a fairly brief career, from 1932 until his premature death later the same year as Undersea Kingdom, 1936.
William Farnum (Sharad) had frequent work in films from 1914 until he was seriously injured making a film in 1924. He was sidelined for four years, and only began to work regularly again in 1930. His last appearance was in 1952, and he died the next year.
Of course, the best-known alumnus of Undersea Kingdom was Lon Chaney, Jr. (Hakur). Appearing under his birth name, "Creighton Chaney," for the first few years of his career, he renamed himself after his famous father not long before Undersea Kingdom. He had mostly bit parts, often uncredited, until 1938, but broke through as Lennie in Of Mice and Men the next year, and become a star in his own right with The Wolf Man in 1941. His alcoholism sometimes interfered with his work, most notably in his role as Frankenstein's Monster on the anthology series Tales of Tomorrow. Confusing the live broadcast for a camera rehearsal, he hefted furniture, only to set it back down for the "real" performance. Although he suffered from throat cancer and heart disease in his later years, he continued to appear in films until 1969, and was cut from the final version of Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask (1972). He died in 1973.
Sources: IMDb, Wikipedia
2:11 Is this the first time Unga Khan has called our hero just "Crash"? I think up to now (or rather, last episode, where this line first appeared), he's just called him "Corrigan," or sometimes "Crash Corrigan."
3:28 That belly-flop to the ground just kills me every time. You wouldn't think Crash would recover from it quite as quickly as he does.
5:46 You know, they take the death of everyone in Atlantis awfully casually, don't they? Surely there were some people left, even after that last battle.
6:49 I give up as to whether it's "the reflector plate" or "the reflecto-plate." Here, Crash clearly says it as the former.
7:15 A boom mike shadow makes a guest appearance.
7:39 What, does Unga Khan have a setting for the naval base, or is the Professor just a whiz at tuning the thing his first time out?
9:55 Say, this reminds me... what was the point of the whole earthquake thing, anyway? I mean, as I recall, when this serial began, Unga Khan had no expectation of being able to leave Atlantis. Was he just screwing with the Upperworld for kicks?
13:55 Yow! Judging from the high-angle shots, that pit has got to be at least twenty feet deep from the mouth. I'll allow Crash jumping into it, because he's our all-powerful hero and everything, but imagine being the Professor, landing flat on your back from that height.
14:46 I think Khan gets his replacement Volplanes from the same place the Starship Voyager got its endless supply of shuttles.
16:42 Hey, Billy's joined the Hitler Youth.
Showing posts with label Classic Serials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Classic Serials. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Twelve
Well... in spirit... I guess. Which is just as well, because it looks like that's the plane on which they now need to be defended. Seems like a certain caption card writer hasn't been keeping up with the plot.
Welcome to the rousing... and oddly nihilistic... conclusion of Republic's classic 1936 serial, Undersea Kingdom!
Someone who knows more physics than I do will have to tell you how much thrust those rocket motors would have to have to break through the roof of Atlantis—which, as we know, can resist the pressure of more than 10,000 feet of water. And, of course, how tough the tower must be to punch through totally intact. Seems to me like the Navy would have a lot more trouble than we see here, force field or no force field.
This episode was about 16:30 after removing the caption cards, and the editing was mostly removing shots from sequences to move them along faster.
You might think there was originally a scene in which Crash shows at least some feeling about his faithful buddy Moloch getting turned into a self-heating MRE in a can, but no, there wasn't one. He's just that callous.
You'd also think there was a scene, here or in Chapter Eleven, in which our heroes rescued Briny and Salty. No luck there, either. They're just magically in the sub. I don't think they were even in the chariot that brought Billy and Diana to the sub last week.
Incidentally, that means they served absolutely no purpose in the plot. I thought they did, from my dim memories from seeing this serial a couple of years ago. Had I watched this chapter again before I started, I would have removed them from the serial entirely. I briefly considered cutting them out of this chapter, but I didn't have the heart to. Having gotten them captured by Unga Khan's forces, I just had to get them out, even though I have no idea how they managed it.
Thanks to all of you who stuck this out, and I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly had fun editing it. Early on, I thought that when I was done, I might buy a higher-quality copy from a public domain video dealer, and make a new feature version (with the title I mentioned last week, Mad Tyrant of Atlantis) to release on DVD. However, since I have about six viewers a week at this point, I can't imagine it being economically viable. Oh, well.
Oh, and one last thing... Crash and Moloch emptied out the two Volkites from the sub. Moloch got crispy-fried in his, and Crash ditched his. So where did Prof. Norton get the one he's working on in the last scene?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Eleven
Undersea Kingdom made a name for "Crash" Corrigan. As it happens, the name it made for him was "Crash" Corrigan. Before this serial, he was credited—when he was credited at all—as Ray Benard. (And even that wasn't his real name. It was Raymond Benitz according to IMDb, and the closer Raymond Bernard according to Wikipedia.) But it was under his character's name from this serial, with his own "Ray" appended up front, that he was known for the rest of his career.
And while it wasn't one of Hollywood's great careers, it was, at least, a career, stretching from an uncredited role as an ape in 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man to the title character of 1958's It! The Terror from Beyond Space.
There are several different stories as to how Benitz/Benard came to be called "Crash." IMDb claims it "derived from his powerful physique and willingness to undertake dangerous stunts." Wikipedia notes that when he appeared on Groucho Marx's game show You Bet Your Life, he ascribed it to "the way he tackled other players in football and the way he fought." But they also point out a far more likely, though prosaic, possibility: since Undersea Kingdom came out in the wake (no pun intended) of Universal's hit Flash Gordon, "Crash" may well have been invented at Republic for its similarity, and the actor simply adopted the character's name as his own. (It happens now and again. Doctor Who's Sylvester McCoy—né Patrick Kent Smith—also adapted the name of an early character he played for his stage name.)
After getting his first lead role in Undersea Kingdom, Corrigan co-starred as Tucson Smith in 24 features in the "Three Mesquiteers" series before leaving Republic in a pay dispute. He then starred in a long western B-picture series of his own. Really his own: again, "Crash" Corrigan was his character name as well as his stage name.
But at beginning and end of his career, what made ends meet was costume work. He owned his own gorilla suits, and got a lot of work out of them. He appeared as apes in two of Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan films, in Murder in the Private Car (1934), and in Darkest Africa (1936). And he even appeared as an "Orangopoid" in the original Flash Gordon serial. After his westerns petered out, he played the title roles of The White Gorilla and White Pongo (1945), and other apes in numerous other movies. Even while in the height of his career, he played the occasional gorilla—including a second role in one of his Three Mesquiteers pictures. As Bugs Bunny would have it, "Eh, it's a livin'."
In 1948, Wikipedia says, he sold his gorilla suits to another actor, Steve Calvert. I guess, at 46, he was getting too old for these monkeyshines. Which would mean IMDb was wrong in assigning Corrigan the role of the gorilla in the infamous would-be comedy Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. Which is too bad, in a way; it would be kind of neat if two former serial stars were abasing themselves in that disaster.
Besides gorilla suits, Corrigan made another film-related investment, buying his own ranch, Corriganville, which he converted into a combination full-service film location and Western-themed tourist attraction. He sold it to Bob Hope in 1966, at which point it became Hopetown. It's a shame he didn't sell it to Zazu Pitts. She could have named it Pittsburgh.
7:14 "Gah! The submarine again?! Are you sure there isn't anything else you're going to need from there? Heart attack pills? Your iPod? Change of underwear? I swear to you, we're not going back one more time."
8:11 It kind of ruins the illusion that the submarine is fairly wide below the waterline when it's so close to shore.
12:15 Hey, they're got a big locker full of dander in the sub! I wonder why they'd... oh. It says "Danger." My mistake.
13:41 "Oh, boy, oh, boy! Field trip!"
14:00 That's an unusually short Volkite. Did Republic run out of tall extras?
17:57 "Control disc"? Sounds like there was a miscommunication between the script and prop departments.
And while it wasn't one of Hollywood's great careers, it was, at least, a career, stretching from an uncredited role as an ape in 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man to the title character of 1958's It! The Terror from Beyond Space.
There are several different stories as to how Benitz/Benard came to be called "Crash." IMDb claims it "derived from his powerful physique and willingness to undertake dangerous stunts." Wikipedia notes that when he appeared on Groucho Marx's game show You Bet Your Life, he ascribed it to "the way he tackled other players in football and the way he fought." But they also point out a far more likely, though prosaic, possibility: since Undersea Kingdom came out in the wake (no pun intended) of Universal's hit Flash Gordon, "Crash" may well have been invented at Republic for its similarity, and the actor simply adopted the character's name as his own. (It happens now and again. Doctor Who's Sylvester McCoy—né Patrick Kent Smith—also adapted the name of an early character he played for his stage name.)
After getting his first lead role in Undersea Kingdom, Corrigan co-starred as Tucson Smith in 24 features in the "Three Mesquiteers" series before leaving Republic in a pay dispute. He then starred in a long western B-picture series of his own. Really his own: again, "Crash" Corrigan was his character name as well as his stage name.
But at beginning and end of his career, what made ends meet was costume work. He owned his own gorilla suits, and got a lot of work out of them. He appeared as apes in two of Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan films, in Murder in the Private Car (1934), and in Darkest Africa (1936). And he even appeared as an "Orangopoid" in the original Flash Gordon serial. After his westerns petered out, he played the title roles of The White Gorilla and White Pongo (1945), and other apes in numerous other movies. Even while in the height of his career, he played the occasional gorilla—including a second role in one of his Three Mesquiteers pictures. As Bugs Bunny would have it, "Eh, it's a livin'."
In 1948, Wikipedia says, he sold his gorilla suits to another actor, Steve Calvert. I guess, at 46, he was getting too old for these monkeyshines. Which would mean IMDb was wrong in assigning Corrigan the role of the gorilla in the infamous would-be comedy Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. Which is too bad, in a way; it would be kind of neat if two former serial stars were abasing themselves in that disaster.
Besides gorilla suits, Corrigan made another film-related investment, buying his own ranch, Corriganville, which he converted into a combination full-service film location and Western-themed tourist attraction. He sold it to Bob Hope in 1966, at which point it became Hopetown. It's a shame he didn't sell it to Zazu Pitts. She could have named it Pittsburgh.
7:14 "Gah! The submarine again?! Are you sure there isn't anything else you're going to need from there? Heart attack pills? Your iPod? Change of underwear? I swear to you, we're not going back one more time."
8:11 It kind of ruins the illusion that the submarine is fairly wide below the waterline when it's so close to shore.
12:15 Hey, they're got a big locker full of dander in the sub! I wonder why they'd... oh. It says "Danger." My mistake.
13:41 "Oh, boy, oh, boy! Field trip!"
14:00 That's an unusually short Volkite. Did Republic run out of tall extras?
17:57 "Control disc"? Sounds like there was a miscommunication between the script and prop departments.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Eleven
(originally posted January 24, 2009)
After two weeks off for finishing up Thrilling Wonder Stories, Volume 2 (that's the requisite Google spider-bait out of the way), we're back with the penultimate chapter of Republic's classic 1936 serial Undersea Kingdom, edited for YouTube's ten-minute video limit and the limited patience of the modern viewer. (I include myself in that category, by the way. I watch something like this, and I'm firing up Final Cut Pro in my head.)
Incidentally, "penultimate" means "second to last." That's one of those things I'd like to electronically insert into the brains of everyone on the Internet, along with the difference between "its" and "it's."
For some unfathomable (no pun intended) reason, the feature version of this serial was titled Sharad of Atlantis. Viewers were no doubt perplexed at how little the title character appears. And after the events of this episode, they might well have thrown up their hands and quit.
The compilers of the feature could have found a much better title in the text introducing the characters every week. (That would be the text you haven't seen, because I edit it out every week to save a whole minute.) Mad Tyrant of Atlantis! Grabs you, doesn't it? And when you read it aloud, you don't have to guess how to pronounce it.
And how about Diana's radiant compassion, huh? The Sacred City has just been destroyed around her, Lord knows how many casualties there are, and her first thought? The recapture of Professor Norton jeopardizes her escape! Fortunately for her, she doesn't make this observation in front of any natives of the Sacred City.
We're really racing to the end, here. This chapter started out at 19 minutes, 25 seconds, and is now 9 minutes, 53 seconds. I could have just cut out a couple of minutes, and split it into two parts, but you know me, I'm not a quitter. (People reading this who actually know me laugh heartily.)
Yet another cheat cliffhanger hit the virtual cutting room floor this week. Since we've now reached the final cliffhanger of this serial, maybe I'll produce a compilation of all the cheats. Later.
Oh, and there never was a scene to explain that Moloch is in the other empty Volkite. As you probably did, I wondered for a while how Billy became the same height as Crash.
After two weeks off for finishing up Thrilling Wonder Stories, Volume 2 (that's the requisite Google spider-bait out of the way), we're back with the penultimate chapter of Republic's classic 1936 serial Undersea Kingdom, edited for YouTube's ten-minute video limit and the limited patience of the modern viewer. (I include myself in that category, by the way. I watch something like this, and I'm firing up Final Cut Pro in my head.)
Incidentally, "penultimate" means "second to last." That's one of those things I'd like to electronically insert into the brains of everyone on the Internet, along with the difference between "its" and "it's."
For some unfathomable (no pun intended) reason, the feature version of this serial was titled Sharad of Atlantis. Viewers were no doubt perplexed at how little the title character appears. And after the events of this episode, they might well have thrown up their hands and quit.
The compilers of the feature could have found a much better title in the text introducing the characters every week. (That would be the text you haven't seen, because I edit it out every week to save a whole minute.) Mad Tyrant of Atlantis! Grabs you, doesn't it? And when you read it aloud, you don't have to guess how to pronounce it.
And how about Diana's radiant compassion, huh? The Sacred City has just been destroyed around her, Lord knows how many casualties there are, and her first thought? The recapture of Professor Norton jeopardizes her escape! Fortunately for her, she doesn't make this observation in front of any natives of the Sacred City.
We're really racing to the end, here. This chapter started out at 19 minutes, 25 seconds, and is now 9 minutes, 53 seconds. I could have just cut out a couple of minutes, and split it into two parts, but you know me, I'm not a quitter. (People reading this who actually know me laugh heartily.)
Yet another cheat cliffhanger hit the virtual cutting room floor this week. Since we've now reached the final cliffhanger of this serial, maybe I'll produce a compilation of all the cheats. Later.
Oh, and there never was a scene to explain that Moloch is in the other empty Volkite. As you probably did, I wondered for a while how Billy became the same height as Crash.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Ten
No kidding, I really am getting to enjoy "Crash" Corrigan in this serial. Perhaps it's the Stockholm Syndrome from going through this serial in exhaustive detail twice in the last three years. But for all of Corrigan's... modest talents as an actor, there's a sort of unassuming matter-of-factness about him that I find appealing in an action hero, especially in such outlandish surroundings.
He doesn't quite succeed in getting the audience's identification the way Buster Crabbe did as Flash Gordon. As I've mentioned before, Crabbe's Flash frequently projected a sense that even he wasn't sure his luck would hold out much longer. His courage was the sort that's defined as being frightened to death, but proceeding anyway.
By contrast, Crash is more of an old-school pulp hero who's courageous and possessed of many physical skills almost as a matter of course, who doesn't seem really to consider the possibility of failure. He approaches his adventure in Atlantis with the same straight-ahead determination we saw him apply to football and wrestling in Chapter One. He'd be insufferable if he weren't so darn nice, so utterly lacking in self-congratulation. But maybe you get that way when, by the looks of him, you've been a cadet at Annapolis for about fifteen years.
I find it kind of funny how Diana is the sort of character who's thrown in as a romantic interest for the hero, and yet there's no sense that adversity is heightening any sexual tension between them. Crash seems to have noticed she's a woman, and he may be attracted to her (maybe most noticeable in his smiling reaction to her brashness in inviting herself onto the expedition in Chapter One), but I guess he just figures this isn't the time or place to be making moves on her. When this is all over, maybe he'll invite her to a dance, and they can get properly acquainted.
And no, I won't stand for any jokes that he's more interested in Billy.
2:00 I suppose "himself" in "in spite of himself" must refer to Professor Norton, although it's amusing to read it as referring to Crash. "Damn! I was hoping not to rescue the Professor, but..."
3:26 That's funny, I could have sworn the Volplane was blown to pieces last week. But Republic wouldn't lie to us, would they?
4:03 I love how abashed Ditmar is.
9:10 Watch the one Black Robe almost lose his balance as he swings around.
14:02 You know, I keep seeing those guys roll that rock, but I never see them use it. Maybe, as MST3K suggested, they're dung beetles. Or maybe they're Sisyphus' cousins who didn't piss the gods off as much.
15:20 I don't think I've mentioned this before, but damn, these are the woodenest-sounding swords in all creation. What's especially silly is that Republic almost had to have Foleyed them in that way. Surely they didn't pick up the actual sound at that distance?
16:41 Say, what happened to not being able to bomb the Sacred City for fear of rupturing the dome?
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Ten
(originally posted January 3, 2009)
Let me just interrupt my usual spiel about how this is a quicker-paced edit of the classic 1936 Republic serial to say, Gaaaahh! The Great Projector?!?
Let me just interrupt my usual spiel about how this is a quicker-paced edit of the classic 1936 Republic serial to say, Gaaaahh! The Great Projector?!?
Everyone after me: Why didn't Unga Khan use it against the Sacred City until now?!!?!
Incidentally, is it me, or does it sound like that line (at 8:12) was dubbed by someone else?
Frankly, this chapter has the least plot of any so far. So really, it was less a matter of what to cut out than what to keep in. Apart from the usual cutting of the mini-bios of the characters, and trimming the recap so that we're into new stuff before the two-minute mark, this week I made exactly four cuts:
1) Hakur* goes down to the stables and repeats Unga Khan's orders.
2) Khan's men (again) fruitlessly pursue Crash as he hightails it for the Sacred City. They report their failure to Hakur. Khan and Ditmar walk across the damn room (again) to answer Hakur's call on the Reflecto** Plate.
3) Khan's men (again) assemble their forces and set out for the Sacred City.
(Then there's the scene I left in where Crash tries (again) to reason with Prof. Norton, and Sharad says the effects of the transforming machine will wear off. I put it before Hakur's call because the story flows around the edits better that way. The beats become: Crash et al go off in the chariot, Crash et al think they're safe in the Sacred City, Unga Khan calls for an all-out attack on the Sacred City, and the attack commences.)
4) The Black Robes arrive. Crash and the White Robes marshall their forces. Hakur decides (again) to wait for nightfall, just as he did at what I called "the Battle of Helm's Really Deep" six weeks ago (and which I also cut out on that occasion).
All in all, this chapter makes me wish, for your sake, that I'd watched the whole serial before starting to edit it. I realized that Prof. Norton's escape from the Sacred City pretty much defeated the point of everything that had happened since about the 2:30 point of Chapter Eight. I could have saved two whole chapters, like so:
(I could have put back three and a half minutes of marshaling forces, etc., to bring it closer to ten minutes, but I think I've made my point.)
*- According to IMDb, this is how it's spelled. I'd think "Hakur" would have the stress on the second syllable, or at least be "HAH-ker" but hey, I didn't make this thing. As to how I've managed to call him "Hacker" all this time when I've actually consulted IMDb about other names, check out my all-purpose explanation from last week.
**- It sure sounded like "Reflector Plate" earlier, but this week, Unga Khan clearly calls it "the Reflecto." See explanation cited above.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Nine
One of the great things about the old studios is that they never threw anything away. Old costumes, props, sets, music, decoration... all of it was apt to reappear in some future production. It gets so that, plopped down in the middle of a movie you've never seen, you can identify which studio it comes from just from what it re-uses from other films you have seen. If you watch Mystery Science Theater 3000, for instance, you quickly come to see how much mileage Universal-International got out of its score from This Island Earth, its office set, and a bizarre painting that (as Tom Servo observed) looks like a burger.
Considering that Republic, producer of Undersea Kingdom, was one of the "poverty row" studios, you can bet they took as much advantage of their inventory as they possibly could. Sound effects introduced here recur all through their serials (for instance, the sound of the Juggernaut in motion was used for the atomic gun sixteen years later in Radar Men from the Moon). The Juggernaut itself was refurbished slightly in that same serial to become the Moon men's vehicle.
But the rampant re-use of Undersea Kingdom's Volkites so dramatically identified Republic serials that they came to be known as the "Republic Robots." They appeared in Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) and Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), to name two. Here's a still from the latter, lifted from chud.com's review:
Considering that Republic, producer of Undersea Kingdom, was one of the "poverty row" studios, you can bet they took as much advantage of their inventory as they possibly could. Sound effects introduced here recur all through their serials (for instance, the sound of the Juggernaut in motion was used for the atomic gun sixteen years later in Radar Men from the Moon). The Juggernaut itself was refurbished slightly in that same serial to become the Moon men's vehicle.
But the rampant re-use of Undersea Kingdom's Volkites so dramatically identified Republic serials that they came to be known as the "Republic Robots." They appeared in Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) and Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), to name two. Here's a still from the latter, lifted from chud.com's review:
 |
| Cash machines: You're doing it wrong |
Much, much later, the Republic Robot also had an affectionate and closely-observed parody in Tom Paris's serial-based holodeck fantasy in Star Trek: Voyager. I wish I knew enough to give you a complete (or even just longer) list. Actually, what I really wish I knew is why, in Undersea Kingdom, they appear to have torsos decorated with handlebar mustaches.
Notes:
1:57 Sentenced? I don't think the threat to kill him would work too well if he were already as good as dead. Granted, it didn't work anyway, but...
2:53 I wonder if the kids in the audience stood up and booed these cheat cliffhangers. I might have.
4:08 Uh, Hakur? Not to tell you your job or anything, but this is a situation that normally calls for "drop your weapons, then get on the ground and put your hands behind your head" or something.
4:37 Advice for filmmakers: if you want to have your hero look heroic, don't have him squinting into the sun. Well, unless he's Clint Eastwood.
5:35 "[M]y undersea kingdom of Atlantis." It's funny, that's exactly how Unga Khan described it back in Chapter Two. The recurrence gives me reason to ponder what, exactly, distinguishes Holy Sharad as a good guy. I mean, yes, he doesn't want to conquer or destroy the upper world, and maybe that's the important thing to Crash et al, but his rule seems as arbitrary as Khan's.
7:43 You know, when you think of it, this plan depends for its success on Unga Khan's not having followed the battle with his magic television.
9:12 How does he know what priming powder is supposed to smell like?
10:05 "And why the hell are you dressed like that?"
15:23 Love the Volplane. This serial has great production design. I'd love to see more science fiction that shows what modern technology would look like if it had been invented in the '30s, with that great art deco/Frank R. Paul look. Radiumpunk, anyone?
Friday, September 30, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Nine
(originally posted December 27, 2008)
You know, I'm running out of ways to say, here's Undersea Kingdom, the chapters are edited to ten minutes, etc., etc. But maybe that's all I need to.
I know I've asked this question about other equipment of the Black Robes, but why haven't they tried ramming the gates of the Holy Sacred* City with a Juggernaut and mowed everyone down with an atom gun until now? Do the Black Robes and White Robes usually have a SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) in effect that restricts the Black Robes to swords and arrows?
*- On re-watching an earlier chapter today, I realized I'd been using the wrong descriptor all along... this despite the fact that I must watch each of the damn things five times as I'm editing them. There's a simple explanation for this, however: I suck. You'll may find it useful to explain other things around here. Anyway, it's Holy Sharad, Sacred City (which sounds like a novelization of Undersea Kingdom by Jay McInerney).
Man, a tough one this week. Practically every scene had a plot beat of some kind, so if you're musical enough to notice the soundtrack jumping around a lot, that's why. I had to do most of the trimming within scenes, dropping out extraneous shots, shortening others, and so on. I talk a lot about this version having a brisk pace, but by golly, it could hardly get much more brisk this week, given the source material.
Fortunately, Undersea Kingdom doesn't go in for elaborate sound design. For instance, the scene in which Billy sneaks out of and around the Ho Sacred City (damn!), comes back in the gates, goes into the Juggernaut, and frees Crash was backed only with music, which made it a snap to edit. I simply removed the music from before Crash's leap, edited at will, dragged the music in point to the new beginning of the sequence, and put in a sound fade to cover the join with what came before. I did similar things in a couple other places.
A semi-cheat removed this week. The shot of the plane being hit showed it tumbling out of control. So I replaced it with the shot from next week, where it doesn't. I also added a shot of Crash et al unique to next week's recap, and generally moved around in and out points, to fit the timing of the soundtrack, especially the explosion. (Another thing that had me monkeying with timing was that, where possible, I replaced shots in the cliffhanger, which had very noticeable film damage, with their counterparts from next week's recap. But they tended to be a few frames shorter in the recap, for some reason, so...)
You know, I'm running out of ways to say, here's Undersea Kingdom, the chapters are edited to ten minutes, etc., etc. But maybe that's all I need to.
I know I've asked this question about other equipment of the Black Robes, but why haven't they tried ramming the gates of the Holy Sacred* City with a Juggernaut and mowed everyone down with an atom gun until now? Do the Black Robes and White Robes usually have a SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) in effect that restricts the Black Robes to swords and arrows?
*- On re-watching an earlier chapter today, I realized I'd been using the wrong descriptor all along... this despite the fact that I must watch each of the damn things five times as I'm editing them. There's a simple explanation for this, however: I suck. You'll may find it useful to explain other things around here. Anyway, it's Holy Sharad, Sacred City (which sounds like a novelization of Undersea Kingdom by Jay McInerney).
Man, a tough one this week. Practically every scene had a plot beat of some kind, so if you're musical enough to notice the soundtrack jumping around a lot, that's why. I had to do most of the trimming within scenes, dropping out extraneous shots, shortening others, and so on. I talk a lot about this version having a brisk pace, but by golly, it could hardly get much more brisk this week, given the source material.
Fortunately, Undersea Kingdom doesn't go in for elaborate sound design. For instance, the scene in which Billy sneaks out of and around the Ho Sacred City (damn!), comes back in the gates, goes into the Juggernaut, and frees Crash was backed only with music, which made it a snap to edit. I simply removed the music from before Crash's leap, edited at will, dragged the music in point to the new beginning of the sequence, and put in a sound fade to cover the join with what came before. I did similar things in a couple other places.
A semi-cheat removed this week. The shot of the plane being hit showed it tumbling out of control. So I replaced it with the shot from next week, where it doesn't. I also added a shot of Crash et al unique to next week's recap, and generally moved around in and out points, to fit the timing of the soundtrack, especially the explosion. (Another thing that had me monkeying with timing was that, where possible, I replaced shots in the cliffhanger, which had very noticeable film damage, with their counterparts from next week's recap. But they tended to be a few frames shorter in the recap, for some reason, so...)
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Eight
This chapter has my favorite cliffhanger of the serial. Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut liked it, too... enough that they took more than a page in their The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury to describe it (although they mistakenly assigned it to Chapter Six). The actual conclusion, you will not be surprised to hear, is a cheat, and will not have happened next week. But the exchange between Crash and Hakur is great:
Hakur: All right, Corrigan, this is your last chance! Tell your friends to hand over that priming powder, or I'm going to ram through those gates!
Crash: (Steely resolve) Go ahead and ram!
I think the best part is Hakur's reaction. He's taken aback, as though startled to have his bluff called, as though even he wasn't relishing the notion of having to splatter Corrigan all over the city gates. But that's just how tough our boy Crash is.
I look forward to using it if I'm ever in a similar situation. Then, of course, as soon as the vehicle starts, I'll screech like an infant and wet myself. But at least for a moment, I'll have been as cool as Crash Corrigan.
(I didn't say I look forward to being in the situation, any more than I would actually welcome having the opportunity of singing a bar of "Alice's Restaurant" and walking out of my local draft board. But it's something to keep in mind, just in case.)
Incidentally, what do you think it would take to start an internet meme of "cool as Crash Corrigan"?
Notes:
1:25 Wow. In addition to being a really, really bad music edit, it's also pretty surprising, what with getting to hear a different piece of music under these cards for a change.
4:04 It occurs to me that Khan has the lousy luck never to be watching his magic closed-circuit television when something really useful is happening, like Crash uncovering the control box.
4:39 I really have to wonder what kind of vehicle the Volplane is. Is it a dirigible of some sort? Are those warp nacelles? Seriously, though, this serial has to be one of the great pieces of art deco science fiction, along with Things to Come. I especially like the random bits of art deco detailing on the chariots, the Juggernaut, the Volkites... anything that'll hold it, really.
6:56 You know, say what you will about Crash's outfit, but considering how hot Sharad's underarms showed it to be on location, Crash had to be one of the most comfortable people out there. Well, when he had the helmet off, anyway. Certainly beat being dressed in black.
8:00 This is where Mike and the 'Bots would be saying, "Nuh-uh. I call 'no way.'"
8:57 I am just obsessed with that Reflectoplate this week. Does Khan spend his spare time eavesdropping on the Rockettes' dressing room?
11:22 So why keep the helmet? It's not as though it makes him less conspicuous.
13:56 "I got an idea! You see this pitchfork handle? I tell you what you do." Whoa, call the cops! Undersea Kingdom's goin' late-night on us! It... Oh, that's not where they were headed with this, is it? Never mind.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Eight
(originally posted December 20, 2008)
Nine installments down, four to go in our bracingly brisk edit of Undersea Kingdom, Republic's answer to Universal's smash hit chapterplay Flash Gordon.
In the original version, Unga Khan sends his forces to catch Billy before he can make it to the Holy City, with his usual zero in the way of results. Still, it was almost a shame to lose this sequence, since it features Volkites flying that weird bomber thing from Chapter One.
I say "almost" because, having reached the Holy City, it promptly disappears from the plot, raising a bunch of questions. Most notably, why the heck doesn't it attack? I know, I know... according to a scene (which I also cut) in an earlier chapter, bombing would threaten the integrity of the dome that keeps Atlantis (very, very) dry. So why did Unga Khan bomb the city back in Chapter One? You really don't want to ask these questions; it's not exactly rewarding.
You get the feeling the writers didn't put a whole lot of effort into the plot logic of this puppy. But if it moves fast enough, and it doesn't self-defeatingly beg questions so much, you notice less. I mean, until I tell you all about it below the YouTube viewer every week.
Another "funny" incident involving Salty and Briny's captivity bites the dust, as does perhaps the serial's most notorious "cheat" cliffhanger. The original goes on from where I end it to show the Juggernaut crashing through the gates. Next week, it, well, doesn't.
Nine installments down, four to go in our bracingly brisk edit of Undersea Kingdom, Republic's answer to Universal's smash hit chapterplay Flash Gordon.
In the original version, Unga Khan sends his forces to catch Billy before he can make it to the Holy City, with his usual zero in the way of results. Still, it was almost a shame to lose this sequence, since it features Volkites flying that weird bomber thing from Chapter One.
I say "almost" because, having reached the Holy City, it promptly disappears from the plot, raising a bunch of questions. Most notably, why the heck doesn't it attack? I know, I know... according to a scene (which I also cut) in an earlier chapter, bombing would threaten the integrity of the dome that keeps Atlantis (very, very) dry. So why did Unga Khan bomb the city back in Chapter One? You really don't want to ask these questions; it's not exactly rewarding.
You get the feeling the writers didn't put a whole lot of effort into the plot logic of this puppy. But if it moves fast enough, and it doesn't self-defeatingly beg questions so much, you notice less. I mean, until I tell you all about it below the YouTube viewer every week.
Another "funny" incident involving Salty and Briny's captivity bites the dust, as does perhaps the serial's most notorious "cheat" cliffhanger. The original goes on from where I end it to show the Juggernaut crashing through the gates. Next week, it, well, doesn't.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Seven
Another week, another title of questionable relevance. "The Submarine Trap"? Okay, the submarine appears in it, and the Black Robes catch up with Crash, but...
I bought another book to quote from, but unfortunately, it turns out not to be useful. It's "The Republic Chapterplays," by R.M. Hayes. Oddly, none of the six Amazon reviews really describe the book: it's a 14-page introduction, followed by credits of the various Republic serials. No descriptions, no reviews, only occasionally a shred of extra information, such as the titles of sequels. It was originally published in 1991, but it's now superfluous in a world that has IMDb.
In the entry for Undersea Kingdom, we find this in the cast list (with their brackets): "Hakur Creighton [Lon] Chaney [Jr.]," meaning "the actor better known as Lon Chaney, Jr., was credited as Creighton Chaney here." Only he wasn't; as you can see below, he was credited as Lon Chaney, Jr. I don't know much about other Republic serials, but if I can catch an error that easily in the one I know about, I have to wonder about the general accuracy of the information.
Notes:
1:15 Last week, the character cards seemed pretty specific. This week, they're just vague ones, and repeated from earlier chapters, at that. Was the title card sequence to this episode lost at some point, and filled in with title cards from a previous episode? Or did they just get lazy this week back in 1936?
5:02 Considering how upset the people of the Sacred City were about Crash accidentally breaking the little statue on the balcony, they sure let their big Poseidon go easily.
6:19 Acting!
12:12 This isn't footage of the submarine sinking, played backwards. Honest. Just ignore the bubbles going down and back in through the exhaust.
17:03 Since their whole mission was to bring the priming powder back, this doesn't seem like an especially well thought-out plan.
I bought another book to quote from, but unfortunately, it turns out not to be useful. It's "The Republic Chapterplays," by R.M. Hayes. Oddly, none of the six Amazon reviews really describe the book: it's a 14-page introduction, followed by credits of the various Republic serials. No descriptions, no reviews, only occasionally a shred of extra information, such as the titles of sequels. It was originally published in 1991, but it's now superfluous in a world that has IMDb.
In the entry for Undersea Kingdom, we find this in the cast list (with their brackets): "Hakur Creighton [Lon] Chaney [Jr.]," meaning "the actor better known as Lon Chaney, Jr., was credited as Creighton Chaney here." Only he wasn't; as you can see below, he was credited as Lon Chaney, Jr. I don't know much about other Republic serials, but if I can catch an error that easily in the one I know about, I have to wonder about the general accuracy of the information.
Notes:
1:15 Last week, the character cards seemed pretty specific. This week, they're just vague ones, and repeated from earlier chapters, at that. Was the title card sequence to this episode lost at some point, and filled in with title cards from a previous episode? Or did they just get lazy this week back in 1936?
5:02 Considering how upset the people of the Sacred City were about Crash accidentally breaking the little statue on the balcony, they sure let their big Poseidon go easily.
6:19 Acting!
12:12 This isn't footage of the submarine sinking, played backwards. Honest. Just ignore the bubbles going down and back in through the exhaust.
17:03 Since their whole mission was to bring the priming powder back, this doesn't seem like an especially well thought-out plan.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Seven
(originally posted December 13, 2008)
It's Chapter Seven of our presentation of Undersea Kingdom, where we take advantage of YouTube's ten-minute video limit to give you only the meat of the 1936 Republic chapterplay, without all the serial fillers (*groan*).
I've got to admit... at least once a week, during the editing process, I have to repeat to myself a gag from Mystery Science Theater 3000:
Unga Khan, lemme rock you Unga Khan,
Lemme rock you, that's all I wanna do...
Maybe I'm dating myself.
Editing was a pretty quick process this week. The bulk of the excised footage was a sequence in which the Black Robes fruitlessly and tediously pursue Crash, Billy, and Moloch on their way back to the Holy City.
Speaking of tedious sequences, I cut out a lot of Crash running back and forth between the submarine and the chariot, and a couple of shots inside the sub, using the wipes they're so fond of in this serial.
And speaking of wipes, I finally figured out how to make the edges soft, like the ones the original editors used.
It's Chapter Seven of our presentation of Undersea Kingdom, where we take advantage of YouTube's ten-minute video limit to give you only the meat of the 1936 Republic chapterplay, without all the serial fillers (*groan*).
I've got to admit... at least once a week, during the editing process, I have to repeat to myself a gag from Mystery Science Theater 3000:
Unga Khan, lemme rock you Unga Khan,
Lemme rock you, that's all I wanna do...
Maybe I'm dating myself.
Editing was a pretty quick process this week. The bulk of the excised footage was a sequence in which the Black Robes fruitlessly and tediously pursue Crash, Billy, and Moloch on their way back to the Holy City.
Speaking of tedious sequences, I cut out a lot of Crash running back and forth between the submarine and the chariot, and a couple of shots inside the sub, using the wipes they're so fond of in this serial.
And speaking of wipes, I finally figured out how to make the edges soft, like the ones the original editors used.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Six
One of the benefits of a serial under the old studio system was that they provided a place where cast and crew on contract to the studios could hone their skills. And not just in the farm-league sense of working their way up: some of them worked both in features and in serials, but they could occupy higher positions in serials than they could on big A-pictures.
Director B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason, for example, was second-unit director on such major features as Ben Hur (1926, directing the chariot race), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936-- the same year as Undersea Kingdom --directing the titular charge), and Gone with the Wind (1939, directing the burning of Atlanta).
I imagine "Breezy's" nickname was a play on "B. Reeves," but it almost had to have described his directorial style as well... or else he wouldn't have gotten to direct some 155 serials, features, and shorts, and briefly move into directing television at the tail end of his career. In fact, considering that serials were hardly the most lavish sort of filmmaking, in budget or schedule, and that Republic was a poverty-row studio, I have to wonder how many times the words "Take Two" were ever spoken on the set of Undersea Kingdom.
Notes:
2:02 "Crash Corrigan-- turns the tables on Khan and saves Diana from the transforming machine." Wait, was the title-card writer watching the same cliffhanger as we did last week?
4:24 See? Next week, they should have a card saying, "Billy Norton-- turns the tables on Khan and saves Diana from the transforming machine." That'll come somewhere before "Crash Corrigan-- spent most of the last episode unconscious after whizzing his attempted rescue of Diana down his leg."
8:21 Oh, God, grit your teeth: it's the comic relief. I noticed while editing the short version that you could snip Briny and Salty out of the movie completely, and not affect the plot at all. I wonder if there's a reason behind that. Were these scenes written and/or shot after the rest to add a few laughs? (In which case, boy did they miscalculate.) Or were the producers looking toward deleting these scenes in a feature version? (Although, as it happened, there was no feature version of this serial for 30 years.) Still, it's almost a relief to hear some different music for a couple of minutes.
15:15 So tell me, what is the cable there for? I mean, besides as a convenience for Crash?
Director B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason, for example, was second-unit director on such major features as Ben Hur (1926, directing the chariot race), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936-- the same year as Undersea Kingdom --directing the titular charge), and Gone with the Wind (1939, directing the burning of Atlanta).
I imagine "Breezy's" nickname was a play on "B. Reeves," but it almost had to have described his directorial style as well... or else he wouldn't have gotten to direct some 155 serials, features, and shorts, and briefly move into directing television at the tail end of his career. In fact, considering that serials were hardly the most lavish sort of filmmaking, in budget or schedule, and that Republic was a poverty-row studio, I have to wonder how many times the words "Take Two" were ever spoken on the set of Undersea Kingdom.
Notes:
2:02 "Crash Corrigan-- turns the tables on Khan and saves Diana from the transforming machine." Wait, was the title-card writer watching the same cliffhanger as we did last week?
4:24 See? Next week, they should have a card saying, "Billy Norton-- turns the tables on Khan and saves Diana from the transforming machine." That'll come somewhere before "Crash Corrigan-- spent most of the last episode unconscious after whizzing his attempted rescue of Diana down his leg."
8:21 Oh, God, grit your teeth: it's the comic relief. I noticed while editing the short version that you could snip Briny and Salty out of the movie completely, and not affect the plot at all. I wonder if there's a reason behind that. Were these scenes written and/or shot after the rest to add a few laughs? (In which case, boy did they miscalculate.) Or were the producers looking toward deleting these scenes in a feature version? (Although, as it happened, there was no feature version of this serial for 30 years.) Still, it's almost a relief to hear some different music for a couple of minutes.
15:15 So tell me, what is the cable there for? I mean, besides as a convenience for Crash?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Six
Considering she seems to be the only woman in the Undersea Kingdom, I'm really not surprised she's finding plenty of action.
(That was from the tedious introductory character cards I delete every week, by the way.)
Today, we go over the hump with the seventh of what I'm certainly hoping are only thirteen installments of our re-edited, faster-paced presentation of Undersea Kingdom, the classic serial that begs questions like, "How does Crash know that atom guns only hurt humans?" and "Why in hell hasn't Khan used atom guns against the Holy City until now?!"
Back in the early days of Doctor Who, they recorded a complete 25-minute episode a week, and recorded for up to 53 consecutive weeks. Each regular actor would have a two-week vacation (sorry, holiday) during the season. To pull that off, they'd be written out of two episodes in the middle of a serial. Yes, that means there were episodes of Doctor Who without the Doctor.
This chapter kind of reminds me of those stories, inasmuch as Crash pretty much takes a powder from his own starring vehicle until more than halfway through. Since they no doubt shot Undersea Kingdom set by set, like most movies, I can only attribute that to a plotting hiccup.
I find the cliffhanger resolution interesting this week. It's almost the opposite of the cheat cliffhangers. Rather than making it so that the cliffhanger never happened, they add footage to explain how things can be just as bad as we saw last week, and yet our heroes can escape.
Speaking of the cliffhanger, I made this week's a little earlier than the original's. I checked the beginning of Chapter Seven to see how they got out of it, and although it isn't a cheat per se, it's kind of undramatic. So I had a little fun with it, and made it a little closer to a cheat. It's not really, of course—I don't think I'm spoiling much by telling you that next week, there is a bang, but no, Crash and Billy aren't on the receiving end.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Five
This week, the full-length version of Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Five: Prisoners of Atlantis. As with last week, it's a bit of a puzzlement what connects the title with its chapter. Granted, Diana and Professor Norton are prisoners of Unga Khan, but heck, they've been stuck in that tower since Chapter Two.
In their The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury, Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut point out while talking about this serial that (their emphasis), "Miracle inventions, such as space vehicles, deathrays, and mechanical men, were often used when the characters were not otherwise engaged in sword battles on horseback or modeling the latest fashions of ancient Rome or Greece. We wonder what these advanced 'people' wore when their technology was on a par with ours."
To be fair to the Sharad and the Sacred City, though, their technology doesn't seem to be on a much higher plane than their dress sense. Or is it not being fair to them to point out how retrograde their civilization seems to be? It makes one wonder what happened to Atlantis, that they could save themselves with a dome of orichalcum, but now, two thousand-plus years later, the best they seem to have is a primitive sort of flamethrower. Apart from Unga Khan, of course. How did he get so far ahead of the Sacred City technologically? And where did he come from? His name suggests a Mongol. Have there been Mongols in Atlantis all this time? Are there other sunken cities? Are there any farmers and such in Atlantis at all, or just the populations of the Sacred City and Khan's tower? File these under questions which it's probably just as well Undersea Kingdom didn't waste time answering, but which bug me anyway.
One more question: Is it my imagination, or does Molock look a little like Bob Hope? He and Bing Crosby should have remade this serial as The Road to Atlantis. It would have been a gas.
Next week: The Juggernaut Strikes! And Ronald Reagan fires it! Thank you! If you liked my joke, try the veal; it's thirty years old, too.
Nitpicky Notes:
8:01 Why can't Unga Khan see Molock when he's standing right in front of the screen? Isn't Khan the least bit suspicious that he can't see Hakur? If the video is shut off, it's a lucky break for our heroes. Obviously Crash was expecting it to be on, or else he wouldn't have ducked to the side.
9:05 So what was supposed to be in that basket, anyway? Their laundry? And how did those two guys not see Billy when they approached it by walking right toward the opening?
Oh, and while I'm asking every question under the sun, why is a mouse when it spins? And who wrote the Book of Love?
In their The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury, Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut point out while talking about this serial that (their emphasis), "Miracle inventions, such as space vehicles, deathrays, and mechanical men, were often used when the characters were not otherwise engaged in sword battles on horseback or modeling the latest fashions of ancient Rome or Greece. We wonder what these advanced 'people' wore when their technology was on a par with ours."
To be fair to the Sharad and the Sacred City, though, their technology doesn't seem to be on a much higher plane than their dress sense. Or is it not being fair to them to point out how retrograde their civilization seems to be? It makes one wonder what happened to Atlantis, that they could save themselves with a dome of orichalcum, but now, two thousand-plus years later, the best they seem to have is a primitive sort of flamethrower. Apart from Unga Khan, of course. How did he get so far ahead of the Sacred City technologically? And where did he come from? His name suggests a Mongol. Have there been Mongols in Atlantis all this time? Are there other sunken cities? Are there any farmers and such in Atlantis at all, or just the populations of the Sacred City and Khan's tower? File these under questions which it's probably just as well Undersea Kingdom didn't waste time answering, but which bug me anyway.
One more question: Is it my imagination, or does Molock look a little like Bob Hope? He and Bing Crosby should have remade this serial as The Road to Atlantis. It would have been a gas.
Next week: The Juggernaut Strikes! And Ronald Reagan fires it! Thank you! If you liked my joke, try the veal; it's thirty years old, too.
Nitpicky Notes:
8:01 Why can't Unga Khan see Molock when he's standing right in front of the screen? Isn't Khan the least bit suspicious that he can't see Hakur? If the video is shut off, it's a lucky break for our heroes. Obviously Crash was expecting it to be on, or else he wouldn't have ducked to the side.
9:05 So what was supposed to be in that basket, anyway? Their laundry? And how did those two guys not see Billy when they approached it by walking right toward the opening?
Oh, and while I'm asking every question under the sun, why is a mouse when it spins? And who wrote the Book of Love?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Five
I mentioned before that these edited versions I made in 2008-9 used lower-quality originals than the full-length versions I'm currently posting. And that YouTube presented the first four installments (covering Chapters One through Three) in a maximum resolution of 360p. So I figured that at least I could do something about those. I re-encoded them to MPEG-4 from my DV originals, and re-uploaded them to YouTube. (I re-encoded them because I'd had to use less than the maximum quality in 2008 in order to meet YouTube's then-limit of 1GB per video.) Now the posts for those chapters show the new 480p versions. You're welcome.
(originally posted November 29, 2008)
Yes, edited for the length limit of YouTube and improved pace, it's the latest episode of the 1936 Republic serial Undersea Kingdom... the serial that makes you ask, "If Crash dressed up Hacker in his White Robe Commander outfit, complete with spangled briefs, and Hacker returns to the tower in his own black underpants, does that mean that, under his stolen Black Robe tunic, Crash is operating al fresco?"
Oh, and, "Why does the Black Robe Commander's room have a huge-ass bolt on the outside? Do they have to restrain him after the occasional bender?"
And by the way, let's hear it for Supreme Atlantean Military Commander Crash, who abandons his command, unannounced, to go rescue his friends.
As you may have figured from how much I blather on about it, editing Undersea Kingdom is my favorite part of running the Thrilling Wonder Stories blog. This week, I felt a sense of accomplishment, inasmuch as this chapter was the most difficult yet to pare down to ten minutes. I think there was only one whole scene I could cut out, so mostly, it was a matter of whittling sequences wherever I could.
My favorite edit, for some reason, was a very simple one. In the original version, Ditmar, outside the lab door, yells, "Norton! Open the door!" Cut to inside, where Diana and Billy react as Ditmar yells again, "Open the door!" I saved a few seconds by cutting from the outside shot at "Open the—" to the inside shot at "—door!"
Luckily for the editor's sanity, Undersea Kingdom's score consists of just a few pieces, repeated endlessly. I'm guessing they were specially designed for easy transitions from one to another as the on-screen action dictated. I imagine the musically-inclined, were they to listen closely to my version, would be appalled, but to me, anyway, usually a two- to four-frame fade is enough for a music edit not to call attention to itself.
Other times, though, that's not good enough. And this chapter required more moving around of sound edit in and out points, and wholesale moving around of music and/or sound effects than any yet. For instance, the bit where Billy leaves the city and sneaks aboard a wagon was originally after a much longer retreat sequence—the result being the background was much more quiet. So I moved the soundtrack from part of the excised material so that, aurally, the retreat is ongoing as Billy makes his exit. And the music cue that begins as Billy climbs the spiral staircase actually belongs to the sequence after the cut, which helps sell the idea that the top of the staircase is somewhere back in the crevice we next see him in. (It originally wasn't, of course—that's just where he hid when a Volkite happened by.)
Again, one of my favorites is very simple. The beep when Moloch activates the reflector plate originally continued into the next shot, where it's a call signal that Khan and Ditmar cross the room to answer. I cut that shot, but continued and faded out the beep over the next shot, so now it's the sound of turning on the reflector plate, with Khan and Ditmar already there on the other end.
* * *
(originally posted November 29, 2008)
Yes, edited for the length limit of YouTube and improved pace, it's the latest episode of the 1936 Republic serial Undersea Kingdom... the serial that makes you ask, "If Crash dressed up Hacker in his White Robe Commander outfit, complete with spangled briefs, and Hacker returns to the tower in his own black underpants, does that mean that, under his stolen Black Robe tunic, Crash is operating al fresco?"
Oh, and, "Why does the Black Robe Commander's room have a huge-ass bolt on the outside? Do they have to restrain him after the occasional bender?"
And by the way, let's hear it for Supreme Atlantean Military Commander Crash, who abandons his command, unannounced, to go rescue his friends.
As you may have figured from how much I blather on about it, editing Undersea Kingdom is my favorite part of running the Thrilling Wonder Stories blog. This week, I felt a sense of accomplishment, inasmuch as this chapter was the most difficult yet to pare down to ten minutes. I think there was only one whole scene I could cut out, so mostly, it was a matter of whittling sequences wherever I could.
My favorite edit, for some reason, was a very simple one. In the original version, Ditmar, outside the lab door, yells, "Norton! Open the door!" Cut to inside, where Diana and Billy react as Ditmar yells again, "Open the door!" I saved a few seconds by cutting from the outside shot at "Open the—" to the inside shot at "—door!"
Luckily for the editor's sanity, Undersea Kingdom's score consists of just a few pieces, repeated endlessly. I'm guessing they were specially designed for easy transitions from one to another as the on-screen action dictated. I imagine the musically-inclined, were they to listen closely to my version, would be appalled, but to me, anyway, usually a two- to four-frame fade is enough for a music edit not to call attention to itself.
Other times, though, that's not good enough. And this chapter required more moving around of sound edit in and out points, and wholesale moving around of music and/or sound effects than any yet. For instance, the bit where Billy leaves the city and sneaks aboard a wagon was originally after a much longer retreat sequence—the result being the background was much more quiet. So I moved the soundtrack from part of the excised material so that, aurally, the retreat is ongoing as Billy makes his exit. And the music cue that begins as Billy climbs the spiral staircase actually belongs to the sequence after the cut, which helps sell the idea that the top of the staircase is somewhere back in the crevice we next see him in. (It originally wasn't, of course—that's just where he hid when a Volkite happened by.)
Again, one of my favorites is very simple. The beep when Moloch activates the reflector plate originally continued into the next shot, where it's a call signal that Khan and Ditmar cross the room to answer. I cut that shot, but continued and faded out the beep over the next shot, so now it's the sound of turning on the reflector plate, with Khan and Ditmar already there on the other end.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Four
And now, the full-length fourth chapter of Underpants Undersea Kingdom!
Back when I posted the faster-paced version of this episode, I noted, "I love how the hoofbeats continue into the end music, and just keep on going. You get the feeling that if you were able to tune back in an hour or two later, the Black Hats would still be running over Crash and Moloch. Needless to say, next week, none of this will have happened." I then posted a video of the cheat cliffhangers of Chapters Two and Four. But now that I have these unedited versions here, that clip video is pretty redundant, which is why I deleted this quote from that post and moved it here.
Notes:
1:17 I love the art-deco design touches to the character description cards, especially Crash's.
4:00 I know this isn't in the best taste to say about someone who later suffered from throat cancer, but Lon Chaney, Jr., always sounded like it hurt him to talk.
9:08 It's Buddy Poseidon! Or maybe the Undersea Fonz.
10:03 You have to hand it to Crash. He betrays not the slightest sign of self-consciousness about wearing that outfit.
10:21 Okay, who was with me in hoping for Crash to snap it over his knee?
11:27 "What do you mean, there's my answer? You mean you were expecting Crash to be made supreme commander and set you free?"
13:06 When did Crash become so conversant with the Sacred City's defensive arrangements?
15:21 "So why the hell do we even have bombers, boss?" (Yes, I know I complain about this elsewhere.) You gotta love the shocked look on his face, though.
Back when I posted the faster-paced version of this episode, I noted, "I love how the hoofbeats continue into the end music, and just keep on going. You get the feeling that if you were able to tune back in an hour or two later, the Black Hats would still be running over Crash and Moloch. Needless to say, next week, none of this will have happened." I then posted a video of the cheat cliffhangers of Chapters Two and Four. But now that I have these unedited versions here, that clip video is pretty redundant, which is why I deleted this quote from that post and moved it here.
Notes:
1:17 I love the art-deco design touches to the character description cards, especially Crash's.
4:00 I know this isn't in the best taste to say about someone who later suffered from throat cancer, but Lon Chaney, Jr., always sounded like it hurt him to talk.
9:08 It's Buddy Poseidon! Or maybe the Undersea Fonz.
10:03 You have to hand it to Crash. He betrays not the slightest sign of self-consciousness about wearing that outfit.
10:21 Okay, who was with me in hoping for Crash to snap it over his knee?
11:27 "What do you mean, there's my answer? You mean you were expecting Crash to be made supreme commander and set you free?"
13:06 When did Crash become so conversant with the Sacred City's defensive arrangements?
15:21 "So why the hell do we even have bombers, boss?" (Yes, I know I complain about this elsewhere.) You gotta love the shocked look on his face, though.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Four
With this installment, YouTube started saving my videos at 480p resolution as well as 360 and 240. So enjoy the bigger player window!
(originally posted November 22, 2008)
Onward we go to Chapter Four of our faster-paced edit of the 1936 Republic serial Undersea Kingdom. Don't ask me why it's called "Revenge of the Volkites," when they have no part in any of the action. I did cut out a sequence where they appeared in a couple of shots, but even then, they were just down in their work pit, throwing switches.
To paraphrase a Late Late Show segment, What Did We Learn from the Editing This Week, Winston? Make the biggest cuts first, because it may turn out you don't need to make the smaller ones.
The big Black-vs.-White fracas at the end (or, as I like to call it, the Battle of Helm's Really Deep) originally had a whole GNDN daytime section. Since I'd already made the earlier cuts, this brought the chapter down to nine and a half minutes. Still, I decided not to put anything back to bring it back up nearer to ten minutes. (This is probably my limited Final Cut skills talking, but putting things back is much more difficult than cutting them out.)
Incidentally, one of the cut bits featured Unga Khan's assistant Ditmar sending out the bombers, only to have Unga belay the order on the grounds that the explosions might bring down Atlantis' protective dome. So one has to wonder why they used them in Chapter One—or even invented them in the first place. As I mentioned last time, I'm not viewing ahead, so I didn't know about this when I edited Chapter One. Otherwise, I'd probably have cut the bomber sequence from there.
I lost a few more seconds from this chapter by cutting out the two shots at the very end that constitute the latest Cheat Cliffhanger.
(originally posted November 22, 2008)
Onward we go to Chapter Four of our faster-paced edit of the 1936 Republic serial Undersea Kingdom. Don't ask me why it's called "Revenge of the Volkites," when they have no part in any of the action. I did cut out a sequence where they appeared in a couple of shots, but even then, they were just down in their work pit, throwing switches.
To paraphrase a Late Late Show segment, What Did We Learn from the Editing This Week, Winston? Make the biggest cuts first, because it may turn out you don't need to make the smaller ones.
The big Black-vs.-White fracas at the end (or, as I like to call it, the Battle of Helm's Really Deep) originally had a whole GNDN daytime section. Since I'd already made the earlier cuts, this brought the chapter down to nine and a half minutes. Still, I decided not to put anything back to bring it back up nearer to ten minutes. (This is probably my limited Final Cut skills talking, but putting things back is much more difficult than cutting them out.)
Incidentally, one of the cut bits featured Unga Khan's assistant Ditmar sending out the bombers, only to have Unga belay the order on the grounds that the explosions might bring down Atlantis' protective dome. So one has to wonder why they used them in Chapter One—or even invented them in the first place. As I mentioned last time, I'm not viewing ahead, so I didn't know about this when I edited Chapter One. Otherwise, I'd probably have cut the bomber sequence from there.
I lost a few more seconds from this chapter by cutting out the two shots at the very end that constitute the latest Cheat Cliffhanger.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom, Chapter Three
In last week's "Faster-Paced" repost, I mentioned that Chapter Two has one of those notorious "cheat" cliffhangers. To see how they work, compare the end of last week's full-length installment with the opening of this week's. (I re-edited them in the faster-paced versions to play more fair, just because I could.)
Last week, we saw "Crash" Corrigan (or a model thereof) plummet to his death. This week, not only is he not dead, but, in the recap, he grabs the edge and never plummets at all. Like, probably, many of the viewers of this serial over the years, I cry foul. How can we generate much concern for a hero once we learn the only way he can win out over overwhelming odds is by employing do-overs?
You have to wonder about a people who worship a foot-tall plaster idol that breaks upon falling onto sand from the awesome height of about fifteen feet. I could go there with one of those cheap metal horses I used to win at the horse race pinball game at the Lake Forest Day carnival, and rule the place inside of a week. "Behold the electroplated god who goes oopsies, yet does not break!"
We learn something else about their culture at about 15:31. They can hold off the immense pressure of miles of water in Atlantis, but they're still working on antiperspirant.
Speaking of keeping out the water, Crash's sword sure isn't made of the same orichalcum (yes, I had to look the word up) as the dome. It seems to me he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by going ahead and trying to kill his opponent. The sword obviously can't cut butter, and would have snapped before it could do much damage. You'd think Crash would know this, or he wouldn't try to break it over his knee. (I suppose the scene wouldn't have played as effectively with Crash hopping around in agony, having cut holy hell out of his leg and hands, but it's funny to think about.)
Now, it may sound like I'm dissing my blood Crash, but I enjoy this serial. Getting to nitpick it is just a bonus.
Last week, we saw "Crash" Corrigan (or a model thereof) plummet to his death. This week, not only is he not dead, but, in the recap, he grabs the edge and never plummets at all. Like, probably, many of the viewers of this serial over the years, I cry foul. How can we generate much concern for a hero once we learn the only way he can win out over overwhelming odds is by employing do-overs?
You have to wonder about a people who worship a foot-tall plaster idol that breaks upon falling onto sand from the awesome height of about fifteen feet. I could go there with one of those cheap metal horses I used to win at the horse race pinball game at the Lake Forest Day carnival, and rule the place inside of a week. "Behold the electroplated god who goes oopsies, yet does not break!"
We learn something else about their culture at about 15:31. They can hold off the immense pressure of miles of water in Atlantis, but they're still working on antiperspirant.
Speaking of keeping out the water, Crash's sword sure isn't made of the same orichalcum (yes, I had to look the word up) as the dome. It seems to me he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by going ahead and trying to kill his opponent. The sword obviously can't cut butter, and would have snapped before it could do much damage. You'd think Crash would know this, or he wouldn't try to break it over his knee. (I suppose the scene wouldn't have played as effectively with Crash hopping around in agony, having cut holy hell out of his leg and hands, but it's funny to think about.)
Now, it may sound like I'm dissing my blood Crash, but I enjoy this serial. Getting to nitpick it is just a bonus.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Classic Serials: Undersea Kingdom (Faster-Paced Version), Chapter Three
(originally posted November 15, 2008)
Our snappier-paced, YouTube-length-limit-friendly edit of Republic's 1936 serial Undersea Kingdom continues!
And this week, snappier pace really is the name of the game. In each of the three previous installments, there was some GNDN sequence that I could easily clip out, saving several minutes. Last week, as I mentioned, I scarcely needed to do any additional editing, apart from shuffling some shots.
This week, not so much. As usual, I saved a minute by removing the tedious title cards that needlessly describe the characters, and I shortened the recap. Beyond that, I took it from nineteen minutes to ten by abbreviating sequences, sometimes on a shot-by-shot basis. Professor Norton, telling Unga Khan again that he refuses to help him in his mad scheme? Out. Unga Khan, describing—again—what the transforming ray is, and what it does? Out. One of Sharad's men, taking a four-second shot to cross the damn room? Out. Way too many reaction shots of Sharad and Billy during Crash's big fight? Out.
Probably the insane part of how I'm going about this is that, so far, I haven't watched chapters in advance of the one I'm working on. I mean, I saw the whole thing a couple of years ago, so I more or less remember the plot (such as it is), but if there's a chapter that's going to defeat the effort to cut it to less than ten minutes, I'm blissfully ignorant of it at the time of writing.
(Be glad Blogger is still being temperamental about uploading images. I was going to treat you to a screenshot of the Final Cut timeline to show you all the slicing-and-dicing this week.)
***
(and, about three weeks late, this re-post, originally posted November 4, 2008)
And now, about two weeks late, here's a trailer from the 1950 re-release of Undersea Kingdom.
Our snappier-paced, YouTube-length-limit-friendly edit of Republic's 1936 serial Undersea Kingdom continues!
And this week, snappier pace really is the name of the game. In each of the three previous installments, there was some GNDN sequence that I could easily clip out, saving several minutes. Last week, as I mentioned, I scarcely needed to do any additional editing, apart from shuffling some shots.
This week, not so much. As usual, I saved a minute by removing the tedious title cards that needlessly describe the characters, and I shortened the recap. Beyond that, I took it from nineteen minutes to ten by abbreviating sequences, sometimes on a shot-by-shot basis. Professor Norton, telling Unga Khan again that he refuses to help him in his mad scheme? Out. Unga Khan, describing—again—what the transforming ray is, and what it does? Out. One of Sharad's men, taking a four-second shot to cross the damn room? Out. Way too many reaction shots of Sharad and Billy during Crash's big fight? Out.
Probably the insane part of how I'm going about this is that, so far, I haven't watched chapters in advance of the one I'm working on. I mean, I saw the whole thing a couple of years ago, so I more or less remember the plot (such as it is), but if there's a chapter that's going to defeat the effort to cut it to less than ten minutes, I'm blissfully ignorant of it at the time of writing.
(Be glad Blogger is still being temperamental about uploading images. I was going to treat you to a screenshot of the Final Cut timeline to show you all the slicing-and-dicing this week.)
***
(and, about three weeks late, this re-post, originally posted November 4, 2008)
And now, about two weeks late, here's a trailer from the 1950 re-release of Undersea Kingdom.
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