Brick Bradford (serial)
Encyclopedia
Brick Bradford was the 35th serial
released by Columbia Pictures
. It was based on the comic strip
Brick Bradford
, which was created by Clarence Gray
and William Ritt.
, bringing it to the attention of foreign spy agent Laydron. Tymak uses his door into the fifth dimension to escape criminals and it takes him to the far side of the Moon
(which luckily has air and is a rocky terrain without craters). There he is captured and sentenced to die by freezing to absolute zero by the Queen Khana, despot of the Moon, because they do not believe he has come from the Earth.
The action moves to the Moon as the ray requires a special element called Lunarium (with an atomic mass
of 200
) previously only found in a meteorite. Working with exiles in the lunar wasteland, the heroes overthrow Queen Khana and return with the Lunarium.
However, the device still requires a formula hidden on an uncharted island 200 years in the past, so Brick and sidekick Sandy Sanderson travel in Tymak's time machine
, the Time Top, to retrieve it. The final third of the serial is spent on modern day Earth with more trouble from the spy Laydron.
The serial was broken into three sections, each of which was written by a different screenwriter. The first section, chapters one to five, was written by George Plympton. The middle section, chapters six to ten, was written by Hoerl. The end of the serial, chapters eleven to fifteen, was written by Clay.
Cline considers Brick Bradford to be a "mediocre serial that enjoyed a wide audience.".
Source:
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
released by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. It was based on the comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Brick Bradford
Brick Bradford
Brick Bradford was a science fiction comic strip created by writer William Ritt, a journalist based in Cleveland, and artist Clarence Gray. It was first distributed in 1933 by Central Press Association, a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate....
, which was created by Clarence Gray
Clarence Gray
Clarence Gray was an American comic strip artist, best known for his long run drawing Brick Bradford for more than two decades...
and William Ritt.
Plot
Brick Bradford is assigned by the government to aid Doctor Gregor Tymak, scientist and inventor who is working on an "Interceptor Ray" that can destroy incoming rockets. Unfortunately, it can also be used as a death rayDeath ray
The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon of the 1920s through the 1930s that was claimed to have been invented independently by Nikola Tesla, Edwin R. Scott, Harry Grindell Matthews, and Graichen, as well as others...
, bringing it to the attention of foreign spy agent Laydron. Tymak uses his door into the fifth dimension to escape criminals and it takes him to the far side of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
(which luckily has air and is a rocky terrain without craters). There he is captured and sentenced to die by freezing to absolute zero by the Queen Khana, despot of the Moon, because they do not believe he has come from the Earth.
The action moves to the Moon as the ray requires a special element called Lunarium (with an atomic mass
Atomic mass
The atomic mass is the mass of a specific isotope, most often expressed in unified atomic mass units. The atomic mass is the total mass of protons, neutrons and electrons in a single atom....
of 200
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
) previously only found in a meteorite. Working with exiles in the lunar wasteland, the heroes overthrow Queen Khana and return with the Lunarium.
However, the device still requires a formula hidden on an uncharted island 200 years in the past, so Brick and sidekick Sandy Sanderson travel in Tymak's time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
, the Time Top, to retrieve it. The final third of the serial is spent on modern day Earth with more trouble from the spy Laydron.
Cast
| Kane Richmond Kane Richmond Kane Richmond was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials... |
Brick Bradford |
| Rick Vallin Rick Vallin Rick Vallin was an actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1938 and 1966.Born Eric Efron in Russia, Vallin came to America while still young. He started his Hollywood career with an uncredited part in the film Freshman Year... |
Sandy Sanderson |
| Linda Leighton | June Salisbury |
| Pierre Watkin Pierre Watkin Pierre Watkin was an American actor. He was a character actor in many films, serials and TV series from the 1930s through the 1950s, especially westerns... |
Professor Salisbury |
| Charles Quigley Charles Quigley Charles Quigley , was an American actor.- Career :Born in New Britain, Connecticut, USA, Quigley He starred in many serial and movies: "Speed to Spare" - "The Shadow" - "Convicted" and "Special Inspector" with Rita Hayworth - Secret Evidence - A Woman's Face - "The Crimson Ghost" you best film.... |
Laydron, villainous spy |
| Jack Ingram Jack Ingram (actor) Jack Ingram was an American film actor. He appeared in over 300 films between 1935 and 1966, according to the Internet Movie Data Base.He was born in Illinois, and died in Canoga Park, California of a heart attack... |
Albers, henchmen |
| Fred Graham Fred Graham (actor) Fred Graham was an American actor and stuntman, who performed in scores of films from the 1930s. A semi-professional baseball player, Graham appeared mainly in Westerns, doing stunts and playing opposite John Wayne among others. He also featured alongside Wayne in several films with director... |
Black, henchmen |
| John Merton | Dr. Tymak |
| Leonard Penn Leonard Penn Leonard Penn was an American film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.-Career:... |
Eric Byrus, Tymak's assistant |
| Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman was an American film actor.Usually appearing as a henchman in films, rarely a leading role, he appeared in over 280 films between 1912 and 1948.... |
Louis Walthar, Tymak's assistant |
| Carol Foreman Carol Foreman Carol Foreman was an American actress best known for playing exotic villains in action serials, particularly Spider Lady in the 1948 Superman Serial.-External links:... |
Queen Khana |
| Charles King | Creed |
| John Hart John Hart (actor) John Hart was an American motion picture and television actor, born in Los Angeles, California. In his early career, he appeared mostly in Westerns... |
Dent |
| Helene Stanley | Carol Preston, daughter of the leader of the lunar Exiles |
Production
Brick Bradford was the first of only three science fiction serials released by Columbia.The serial was broken into three sections, each of which was written by a different screenwriter. The first section, chapters one to five, was written by George Plympton. The middle section, chapters six to ten, was written by Hoerl. The end of the serial, chapters eleven to fifteen, was written by Clay.
Critical reception
Harmon and Glut describes the serial as a "rather shoddy, low budget space cliffhanger." Hoerl's middle segment is full of in-jokes at the serial's expense while the final section by Clay is boring with a constant repetition of capture and escape sequences.Cline considers Brick Bradford to be a "mediocre serial that enjoyed a wide audience.".
Chapter titles
- Atomic Defense
- Flight to the Moon
- Prisoners to the Moon
- Into the Volcano
- Bradford at Bay
- Back to Earth
- Into Another Century
- Buried Treasure
- Trapped in the Time Top
- The Unseen Hand
- Poison Gas
- Door to Disaster
- Sinister Rendezvous
- River of Revenge
- For the Peace of the World
Source:
Alternative titles
- Brick Bradford (Latin America)
- Adventures of Brick Bradford, Les (France)
- Zÿn Avonturen Brick Bradford, En (Belgium)