Pirate Treasure is a Universal

Universal Pictures

-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...

 film serial

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...

. It was the twenty-first sound serial released by Universal, of the sixty-nine they released in total (it was the eighty-ninth serial if Universal's silent serials are considered as well, of a total of 137 serials). It was a rare example of the swashbuckling genre

Swashbuckler films

Swashbuckler films are an action-adventure subgenre often characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, often set in Renaissance Western Europe with appropriately lavish costumes. Morality is often clear-cut, heroic characters are clearly heroic and even villains tend to have a...

 in the film serial medium.

Ray Taylor

Ray Taylor (director)

Ray Taylor was a prolific American film director. He directed 159 films between 1926 and 1949. His debut was the 1926 film serial Fighting with Buffalo Bill.-Selected filmography:...

 directed Richard Talmadge

Richard Talmadge

Richard Talmadge was a Swiss-born American actor, stuntman and film director....

, Lucille Lund

Lucille Lund

Lucille Lund was an American film actress of the 1930s.-Background:Lucille Lund was born in Buckley, Washington to Oluf and Laura Lund, and was of Norwegian descent. She began her theatrical career as a child doing play extracts and readings...

 and Walter Miller

Walter Miller (actor)

Walter Miller was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 248 films between 1911 and 1940.He was born in Dayton, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack, aged 48...

 (as the hero, love interest and villain respectively). The serial is especially praised for the stunt work of Talmadge.

Plot

Aviator Dick Moreland uses his winnings from a recent flight to fund an expedition to recover treasure buried his pirate ancestor. However, Stanley Brasset, another member of Moreland's club, steals his map and sets out to find the treasure for himself. Dorothy Craig becomes involved when Dick needs her car to chase Brasset's henchmen and recover the map, which results in Dorothy being kidnapped and requiring rescue by Dick. When told of the treasure, Dorothy offers her father's yacht to take them to the island. Unable to retain the map, Brasset joins the expedition (his identity as the villain unknown to the protagonists) with henchmen hidden aboard. The henchmen are discovered and attempt to take over the ship en route to the Caribbean but this fails. Brasset releases them again after arrival to stop Dick from recovering the treasure. The treasure chest itself is empty and the search by the two parties continues on the island. Island natives eventually capture Brasset and his henchmen and plan to sacrifice them. Dick intervenes and they are brought back to America as prisoners.

Cast

• Richard Talmadge
  Richard Talmadge
  Richard Talmadge was a Swiss-born American actor, stuntman and film director....
  
   as Dick Moreland, aviator and adventuer
• Lucille Lund
  Lucille Lund
  Lucille Lund was an American film actress of the 1930s.-Background:Lucille Lund was born in Buckley, Washington to Oluf and Laura Lund, and was of Norwegian descent. She began her theatrical career as a child doing play extracts and readings...
  
   as Dorothy Craig
• Walter Miller
  Walter Miller (actor)
  Walter Miller was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 248 films between 1911 and 1940.He was born in Dayton, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack, aged 48...
  
   as Stanley Brasset, villain
• Patrick H. O'Malley, Jr. as John Craig, Dorothy's father
• Ethan Laidlaw
  Ethan Laidlaw
  Ethan Laidlaw was an American film actor. He appeared in over 350 films between 1923 and 1962.He was born in Butte, Montana, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Sea Spoilers...
  
   as Curt, One of Brasset's henchmen
• William Desmond
  William Desmond (actor)
  William Desmond was an Irish-born American actor. He appeared in 205 films between 1915 and 1948. He was nicknamed "The King of the Silent Serials."...
  
   as Captain Jim Carson
• William L. Thorne as Drake
• Del Lawrence as Robert Moreland

Critical reception

Due to its eerie background and the stunt work of Richard Talmadge, Cline considers Pirate Treasure the most memorable of the costume serials. Hans J. Wollstein at Allmovie does not consider the acting or writing to be of a high standard but praises the stunts: "Talmadge's acrobatics are as exciting today as they must have been in 1934." Wollstein especially highlights the stunt in chapter three (Wheels of Fate) in which Talmadge falls between awnings from the top of a building.

Chapter titles

1. Stolen Treasure
2. The Death Plunge
3. The Wheels of Fate
4. The Sea Chase
5. Into the Depths
6. The Death Crash
7. Crashing Doom
8. Mutiny
9. Hidden Gold
10. The Fight for the Treasure
11. The Fatal Plunge
12. Captured

_Source:

Cliffhangers

1. Stolen Treasure: The speeding car carrying Dick goes over a cliff into the sea.
2. Death Plunge: Dick is thrown from the roof of a tall building by Brasset's henchmen.
3. Wheels of Fate: Dick, on a motorbike, heads towards a narrow bridge blocked by the henchmen's truck.
4. Sea Chase: The motorboat carrying Dick & Dorothy collides with one piltoed by Brasset's henchment.
5. Into the Depths: Dick falls from the ship's rigging into the sea.
6. The Death Crash: Dick and henchmen go over a cliff in a speeding car.
7. Crashing Doom: Dick falls to the deck of the ship during a loading accident.
8. Mutiny: Dick enters the burning cargo hold.
9. Hidden Gold: Dick is attacked by the henchmen and falls over a cliff.
10. Fight for the Treasure: Dick and Dorothy are caught in an explosion rigged by Brasset.
11. Fatal Plunge: Dick is attacked by crocodiles while fighting in a swamp.

Resolutions

1. Death Plunge: Dick swims back to land.
2. Wheels of Fate: Dicks fall is broken by a series of awnings.
3. Sea Chase: Dick drives over the side of the bridge, landing on a train below.
4. Into the Depths: Dick & Dorothy rescued by Dorothy's father.
5. The Death Crash: Dick survives the fall.
6. Crashing Doom: Dick survives the fall.
7. Mutiny: Dick's fall is broken by sacks of flour.
8. Hidden Gold: The crew extinguish the fire.
9. Fight for the Treasure: Dick survives the fall.
10. Fatal Plunge: Dick and Dorothy survive but are trapped in the cave.
11. Captured: Dick survives the crocodiles.

External links

(by individual chapter)