The Fighting Devil Dogs
Encyclopedia
The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938
) is a 12-chapter Republic
movie serial
starring Lee Powell
and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett
. It was directed by William Witney
and John English
. While not often considered one of the best serials ever made, as it contains a lot of stock footage
and two recap chapters, it is famous for its main villain, The Lightning—the very first costumed supervillain
. There is some speculation that George Lucas
used The Lightning as a template for Darth Vader
.
, The Lightning, seeks to conquer the world with his arsenal of advanced electrical weaponry. Opposing him are two Marines
, Lt Tom Grayson and Lt Frank Corby. Lt Grayson has a special reason to defeat The Lightning as he killed his father, but first they must discover The Lightning's true identity.
was $92,569 (a $2,087, or 2.2%, under spend) making it one of only three pre-war Republic serials to be produced under budget. It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1938 and the second cheapest of all Republic serials. It has two recap chapters rather than the usual one (or sometimes none), in which the entire plot of the serial so far is repeated, and makes extensive use of stock footage
. The cheapest Republic serial was The Vigilantes Are Coming
(1936) at $87,655, while the next cheapest after The Fighting Devil Dogs is Undersea Kingdom
(also 1936) at $99,222.
It was filmed between 10 March and 29 March 1938. The serial's production number was 793.
One of the directors, William Witney
, believed this to be one of the worst of the serials he ever made.
The Lightning's Flying wing
was taken from the earlier Dick Tracy
serial. Aviation was one of the most popular serial genres of the early 1930s, along with Westerns and Jungle serials. Aviation films were even expected to displace Westerns
as the most popular genre but science fiction took over instead. Writer Raymond William Stedman claims that the science fiction Flying Wing in this serial was the beginning of the process that killed interest in ordinary aviation.
A 69-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on 29 January 1943. It was one of fourteen feature films Republic made from their serials.
Source:
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) is a 12-chapter Republic
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
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...
starring Lee Powell
Lee Powell (actor)
Lee Powell was a film actor famed for the leading roles in several serials. During World War II he enlisted in the U.S...
and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
. It was directed by William Witney
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.He directed many Westerns during his career,...
and John English
John English (director)
John English was an American film editor and film director...
. While not often considered one of the best serials ever made, as it contains a lot of stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
and two recap chapters, it is famous for its main villain, The Lightning—the very first costumed supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
. There is some speculation that George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
used The Lightning as a template for Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
.
Plot
The Masked Mystery VillainMasked Mystery Villain
A Masked Mystery Villain is a stock character in genre fiction. The Masked Mystery Villain was frequently used in the adventure stories of Pulp magazines and Movie Serials in the early twentieth century. They can also appear in Crime fiction to add to the atmosphere of suspense and suspicion...
, The Lightning, seeks to conquer the world with his arsenal of advanced electrical weaponry. Opposing him are two Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, Lt Tom Grayson and Lt Frank Corby. Lt Grayson has a special reason to defeat The Lightning as he killed his father, but first they must discover The Lightning's true identity.
Cast
- Lee PowellLee Powell (actor)Lee Powell was a film actor famed for the leading roles in several serials. During World War II he enlisted in the U.S...
as Lt Tom Grayson - Herman BrixBruce BennettBruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
as Lt Frank Corby - Eleanor StewartEleanor StewartEleanor Stewart , was an American film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, appearing mostly in western films.Stewart attended Northwestern University, and after winning a talent contest, moved to Hollywood in the mid-1930s...
as Janet Warfield - Montagu LoveMontagu LoveMontagu Love , also known as Montague Love, was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor.Born Harry Montague Love in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and educated in Great Britain, Love began his career as an artist and military correspondent. His first important job was as a London newspaper...
as General White - Hugh Sothern as Ben Warfield
- Sam Flint as Col Grayson
- Perry Ivins as Crenshaw
- Forrest Taylor as Benson
- John Picorri as Prof Gould
Production
The Fighting Devil Dogs was budgeted at $94,656 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 $92,569 (a $2,087, or 2.2%, under spend) making it one of only three pre-war Republic serials to be produced under budget. It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1938 and the second cheapest of all Republic serials. It has two recap chapters rather than the usual one (or sometimes none), in which the entire plot of the serial so far is repeated, and makes extensive use of stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
. The cheapest Republic serial was The Vigilantes Are Coming
The Vigilantes Are Coming
The Vigilantes Are Coming is a 1936 American Republic film serial. It was the third of the sixty six serials made by Republic Pictures ....
(1936) at $87,655, while the next cheapest after The Fighting Devil Dogs is Undersea Kingdom
Undersea Kingdom
Undersea Kingdom is a Republic Pictures film serial released in response to Universal's Flash Gordon. It was the second of the sixty-six serials made by Republic...
(also 1936) at $99,222.
It was filmed between 10 March and 29 March 1938. The serial's production number was 793.
One of the directors, William Witney
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.He directed many Westerns during his career,...
, believed this to be one of the worst of the serials he ever made.
The Lightning's Flying wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
was taken from the earlier Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy (serial)
Dick Tracy is a 15-Chapter Republic movie serial starring Ralph Byrd based on the Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by Alan James and Ray Taylor.-Synopsis:...
serial. Aviation was one of the most popular serial genres of the early 1930s, along with Westerns and Jungle serials. Aviation films were even expected to displace Westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
as the most popular genre but science fiction took over instead. Writer Raymond William Stedman claims that the science fiction Flying Wing in this serial was the beginning of the process that killed interest in ordinary aviation.
Theatrical
The Fighting Devil Dogs official release date is 28 May 1938, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.A 69-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on 29 January 1943. It was one of fourteen feature films Republic made from their serials.
Television
In the early 1950s, The Fighting Devil Dogs was one of fourteen Republic serials edited to six 26½-minute episodes for TV syndication. Subsequently, it became one of twenty-six Republic serials edited into a TV-movie in 1966, each of which features ran 100 minutes. The title of this version was Torpedo of Doom.Critical reception
The Fighting Devil Dogs is, in Cline's opinion, one of the best mystery serials ever released, with a "colourful" mystery villain, "stirring" musical score and "magnificent" editing. He also notes that it is "apparently one of the least costly" serials ever released, with two recap chapters and stock footage taken from newsreels and earlier serial releases. He states that is should be included in "any list of the ten best sound serials of all."Chapter titles
- The Lightning Strikes (29 min 28s)
- The Mill of Disaster (15 min 56s)
- The Silenced Witness (15 min 50s)
- Cargo of Mystery (15 min 47s)
- Undersea Bandits (16 min 17s)
- The Torpedo of Doom (16 min 24s)
- The Phantom Killer (14 min 47s) -- Re-Cap ChapterClip showA clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
- Tides of Trickery (14 min 34s)
- Attack from the Skies (15 min 07s)
- In the Camp of the Enemy (14 min 29s)
- The Baited Trap (17 min 24s) -- Re-Cap ChapterClip showA clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
- Killer at Bay (17 min 39s)
Source: