The Green Archer (1940)

Director:

James W. Horne

Writers:

Morgan Cox (screenplay) &
John Cutting (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 October 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama

Plot:

Columbia's 12th serial of 57 total (following 1940's "Deadwood Dick" and ahead of 1941's "White Eagle")...

Plot Keywords:

Serial | Based On Novel

Cast

Victor Jory	...	Spike Holland
Iris Meredith	...	Valerie Howett
James Craven	...	Abel Bellamy
Robert Fiske	...	Savini
Dorothy Fay	...	Elaine Bellamy
Forrest Taylor	...	Parker Howett
Jack Ingram	...	Henchman Brad
Joseph W. Girard	...	Inspector Ross
Fred Kelsey	...	Capt. Thompson
Kit Guard	...	Dinky Stone, Henchman-Radio Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Lloyd	...	Henchman (scenes deleted)
Jack Cheatham	...	Policeman [Ch. 1] / Detective Charlie [Ch. 7] (uncredited)
Edmund Cobb	...	Stevens, Agent 4-X, thug pilot [Chs. 9-10] (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps	...	Frank, Train Ticket Taker [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Charles Dorety	...	Thug [Ch.13] (uncredited)
Kenne Duncan	...	Michael Bellamy (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Henderson, the butler (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Pete, lab guard [Chs. 11, 13-14] (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Henchman Butch (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston	...	Henchman Turk Martin [Chs. 2-3] (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Henchman Kardak (uncredited)
Harry Harvey	...	Martin, thug posing as Blinky [Ch. 2] (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Policeman [Ch. 15] (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Worthington, the attorney [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Warren Jackson	...	Charlie, the Theater Attendant [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
J. Paul Jones	...	Henchman Tinder [Chs. 1-6] (uncredited)
Johnny Kascier	...	Henchman Jake [Chs. 1-8] (uncredited)
Charles King	...	Henchman Tardoni [Chs. 1-6] (uncredited)
Tom London	...	Detective with Shiner [Ch. 7] (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	...	Thug [Ch. 4] (uncredited)
Mary MacLaren	...	Mrs. Patton (uncredited)
Knox Manning	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Bruce Mitchell	...	Policeman [Ch. 15] (uncredited)
Bud Osborne	...	Lanton, garage henchman [Chs. 3, 5] (uncredited)
Constantine Romanoff	...	Henchman West (uncredited)
Dick Rush	...	Policeman [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Cy Schindell	...	Henchman Darcy [Chs. 2-3] (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Henchman Vrooner [Chs. 1-8] (uncredited)
Anthony Warde	...	Henchman Lefty Brent [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Duke York	...	Martel aka Harry Madison (uncredited)
Bert Young	...	Henchman Biff [Chs. 5-15] (uncredited)

Directed by
James W. Horne

Writing credits
Morgan Cox		(screenplay) (as Morgan B. Cox) &
John Cutting		(screenplay) &
Jesse Duffy		(screenplay) (as Jesse A. Duffy) &
James W. Horne		(screenplay)
Edgar Wallace		novel

Produced by
Larry Darmour	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Lee Zahler

Cinematography by
James S. Brown Jr.

Film Editing by
Dwight Caldwell
Earl Turner

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carl Hiecke	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tom Lambert	....	sound engineer (uncredited)

Stunts
Eddie Parker	....	stunt double: Victor Jory (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Runtime:

USA:21 min (chapter 2) | USA:32 min (chapter 1) | USA:19 min (chapter 3-) | 285 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #6606) (Chapter 3) | USA:Approved (PCA #6616) (Chapter 5) | USA:Approved (PCA #6578) (Chapter 1) | USA:Approved (PCA #6666) (Chapter 11) | USA:Approved (PCA #6651) (Chapter 9) | USA:Approved (PCA #6669) (Chapter 12) | USA:Approved (PCA #6016) (Chapter 5) | USA:Approved (PCA #6646) (Chapter 8) | USA:Approved (PCA #6645) (Chapter 7) | USA:Approved (PCA #6664) (Chapter 10) | USA:Approved (PCA #6685) (Chapter 13) | USA:Approved (PCA #6615) (Chapter 4) | USA:Approved (PCA #6605) (Chapter 2) | USA:Approved (PCA #6700) (Chapter 14) | USA:Approved (PCA #6625) (Chapter 6) | USA:Approved (PCA #6710) (Chapter 15)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Version of Grüne Bogenschütze, Der (1961)

Soundtrack:

If I Were King

Watch it for the wackiness!

This is a pretty unusual serial. It took me two tries to get into it, but then I was hooked. The plot is no more than perfunctory and seems like it was stitched together out of random clichés as the writers went along, but a few episodes in things take a truly delightful turn into the bizarre. It feels as if the writer, director, and/or cast began to feel bored by the tripe they were enacting and decided to have some fun with it. The supposedly diabolical mastermind suddenly seems like the headmaster at a school for painfully inept crooks, constantly bemused but tolerant of his incompetent charges, and the cliffhangers and action sequences begin to feel like big jokes. My favorite shot: the hero is trapped in one of those rooms that slowly fill with water and the villain, after setting the trap in motion, turns to his cohort with a shrug and a wry grin that seems to say "The old flooded room trick again --- well, what're ya gonna do?" Unfortunately the serial runs out of steam towards the end and falls back on the usual tired hi-jinks, but for a while it's a delight.