Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island
Encyclopedia
Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936) is a Republic
Movie serial starring Ray Mala
. It was the fourth of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic and the last (of four) to be released in 1936. Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island is notable for being the first Republic serial to contain another common aspect of serials - a Re-Cap Chapter, similar to a clipshow in modern television where the events of the previous chapters are repeated via clips (in order to save money). This, contrary to popular belief was not the invention of the concept, which had been routinely used in serial production before the release of this serial. The serial was edited into the film Robinson Crusoe of Mystery Island, which was released in 1966.
was $111,848 (a $5,069, or 4.7%, overspend). It was filmed between 31 August and 25 September 1936 under the working title
Robinson Crusoe. The serial's production number was 419. This serial has very little to do with Robinson Crusoe
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Source:
Note: Many of the solutions to these cliffhangers are "cheats" - they change or obviously do not match the events shown in the preceding cliffhanger
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Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
Movie serial starring Ray Mala
Ray Mala
Ray Mala was the first Native American movie star and is the most prolific film star that the state of Alaska has thus far produced. Ray Mala was recently named a "Top Ten Alaskan" by TIME Magazine...
. It was the fourth of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic and the last (of four) to be released in 1936. Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island is notable for being the first Republic serial to contain another common aspect of serials - a Re-Cap Chapter, similar to a clipshow in modern television where the events of the previous chapters are repeated via clips (in order to save money). This, contrary to popular belief was not the invention of the concept, which had been routinely used in serial production before the release of this serial. The serial was edited into the film Robinson Crusoe of Mystery Island, which was released in 1966.
Cast
- Ray MalaRay MalaRay Mala was the first Native American movie star and is the most prolific film star that the state of Alaska has thus far produced. Ray Mala was recently named a "Top Ten Alaskan" by TIME Magazine...
as Mala, operative of the United States Intelligence Department undercover as a Pacific Dirigible Airlines radio operator. Mala was a rare non-caucasian hero in serials. - Rex the Wonder HorseRex (horse)Rex, also known as Rex the Wonder Horse and King of the Wild Horses, was a 16 hands Morgan stallion who starred in films and film serials in the 1920s and 30s....
- Buck the Dog
- Mamo ClarkMamo ClarkMamo Clark, sometimes billed only as Mamo, was a Hawaiian born American actress, Author and descendant of the Royal Hawaiian Families beginning with Kiha and Waiolea, Liloa and Pinea, and so on.-Early life:...
as Princess Melani, PrincessPrincessPrincess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
and ruler of the Komatoans - Herbert RawlinsonHerbert RawlinsonHerbert Rawlinson was an English stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound films. Rawlinson died of lung cancer in 1953...
as Grant Jackson - William NewellWilliam NewellWilliam Newell is the name of:* William A. Newell , American physician and politician, Governor of New Jersey and Washington Territory* William E. Newell , electronics engineer and author...
as Hank McGlaurie, Agent Mala's partner - John WardJohn Ward (actor)John Ward was an English actor and theatre manager. The founder of the Warwickshire Company of Comedians – a Birmingham-based theatre company who toured throughout the West Midlands and into Wales during the mid to late eighteenth century – he was the first of the Kemble family theatrical dynasty,...
as Anthony Tupper, EnglishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Novelist accompanying Agent Mala - John Dilson as E. G. Ellsworth, joint owner of Pacific Dirigible Airlines with Canfield
- Selmer Jackson as Canfield, joint owner of Pacific Dirigible Airlines with E. G. Ellsworth
Production
Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island was budgeted at $106,779 although the final negative costNegative cost
Negative cost is the cost of actually producing and shooting a film. It does not include such costs as distribution and promotion.Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.The term comes from the costs up to the...
was $111,848 (a $5,069, or 4.7%, overspend). It was filmed between 31 August and 25 September 1936 under the working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
Robinson Crusoe. The serial's production number was 419. This serial has very little to do with Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
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Special effects
The special effects were created by John T. Coyle and the Lydecker brothersLydecker brothers
-Partial filmography:*Darkest Africa *Women in War - Oscar nominated*Adventures of Captain Marvel *Flying Tigers - Oscar nominated*Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe...
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Chapter titles
Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island is the only 14-chapter sound serial.- The Mysterious Island (31 min 21s)
- Flaming Danger (20 min 46s)
- Fathoms Below (18 min 03s)
- Into the Enemy's Camp (17 min 27s)
- Danger in the Air (17 min 41s)
- The God of the Volcano (17 min 19s)
- Trail's End (15 min 41s)
- The Jaws of the Beast (16 min 17s)
- The Cave of the Winds (17 min 22s)
- Wings of Fury (16 min 29s)
- Agents of Disaster (16 min 22s) -- Re-Cap Chapter
- The Sea Trap (16 min 41s)
- Mutiny (18 min 35s)
- Thunder Mountain (16 min 21s)
Source:
Cliffhangers
- The burning mainmast of the Tuloa falls on Mala.
- Mala is captured by natives and forced to fall into a volcanoVolcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
. - While divingDivingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, and with the ship above being shelled by a submarineSubmarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, Mala begins to sufocate. - Mala and Lamar are caught in the explosion of an overheated boiler.
- The plane carrying Mala crashes into the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. - Mala and Melani are caught in a landslideLandslideA landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
caused by an earthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
. - While escaping from aggressive natives, Mala and Melani slip off a cliffCliffIn geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
. - With his vine cut, Mala falls into AlligatorAlligatorAn alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
infested water. - While scaling a cliffCliffIn geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
, Mala is shot at and falls. - Struggling with the pilot of a biplaneBiplaneA biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
causes it to crash into the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. - Mala's car is forced off the road and over an embankment.
- Mala and Melani, escaping in a motorboatMotorboatA motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
, are shot at by a cannonCannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
. - Mala is caught by gasGasGas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
aboard an AirshipAirshipAn airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
, which begins to crash.
Note: Many of the solutions to these cliffhangers are "cheats" - they change or obviously do not match the events shown in the preceding cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
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See also
- List of film serials
- List of film serials by studio
- List of films in the public domain