The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) was the 52nd 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...

  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 is based in the historical figure of Captain William Kidd.

Plot

In 1697, agents Richard Dale and Alan Duncan are sent on an undercover mission by the British Fleet to find and gather information on the notorious pirate, Captain William Kidd. Dale and Duncan soon join Kidd's crew and discover, to their surprise, that the Captain is far different than they had expected.

Cast

Richard Crane Richard Crane Richard Crane was a veteran character actor whose career spanned three decades in films and television. His early career included many uncredited performances in feature films made in the 1940's. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the title role in the TV science fiction series Rocky...	Richard Dale
David Bruce David Bruce (actor) David Bruce was an American film actor, known for his chilling performance as Ted Allison in The Mad Ghoul....	Alan Duncan
John Crawford John Crawford (actor) John Crawford was an American actor.Crawford was born Cleve Allen Richardson in Colfax, Washington. In films from the 1940s, Crawford appeared in bit parts for many years before playing leads in several films in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s...	Capt. Kidd	Crawford was equally proficient at playing both good and bad characters. His casting added to ambiguity over Captain Kidd's guilt or innocence.
George Wallace George D. Wallace George Dewey Wallace was an American stage and screen actor.Wallace co-starred with Mary Martin in the Broadway musical Jennie and was nominated for a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for playing the male lead in New Girl in Town opposite Gwen Verdon...	Buller
Lee Roberts Lee Roberts Lee Roberts was a film actor during the Hollywood Golden Age. Sometimes he is credited as Robert Allen or Lee J. Roberts.-Career:Little is known about this man who appeared in over 100 films between 1943 and 1959, according to the Internet Movie Data Base...	Devry
Paul Newlan Paul Newlan Paul Emory Newlan was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsburgh, New York. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series M Squad and for his roles in films including The Americanization of Emily and The Slender Thread.-Career:Newlan appeared in dozens of...	Long Ben Avery
Nick Stuart	Dr. Brandt
Terry Frost Terry Frost (actor) Terry Frost was an American actor who appeared in dozens of Western films during the 1940s and 1950s.-Biography:...	Moore
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...	Jenkins
Marshall Reed Marshall Reed ----Marshall Reed was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1943 and 1978. He was born in Englewood, Colorado.-Career:...	Capt. Culliford
Eduardo Cansino Jr. Eduardo Cansino, Jr Eduardo Cansino, Jr. was an actor, the son of Volga Haworth, a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl, and Spanish-Andalusian dance master Eduardo Cansino, Sr....	Native
Willetta Smith	Princess
Lou Merrill	Lord Bellmore

Production

This was the last costume serial and possibly the most faithful of the rare serial entries in the swashbuckling genre since Pirate Treasure.

The plot was based on the possibility that the real Captain Kidd was misjudged in an unfair trial.

Stock footage from feature films allowed the inclusion of seafaring scenes, which would have been too expensive to film on a serial budget. This resulted in, according to Cline, "a unique flavour for which it is fondly remembered."

Chapter titles

1. Pirate vs. Man-of-War
2. The Fatal Shot
3. Attacked by Captain Kidd
4. Captured by Captain Kidd
5. Mutiny on the Adventure's Galley
6. Murder on the Main Deck
7. Prisoners of War
8. Mutiny Unmasked
9. Pirate Against Pirate
10. Shot from the Parapet
11. The Flaming Fortress
12. Before the Firing Squad
13. In the Hands of the Mohawks
14. Pirate Gold
15. Captain Kidd's Last Chance

_Source:

External links