Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

John English
William Witney

Writers:

Ronald Davidson (original screenplay) &
Norman S. Hall (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 March 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN CARTOONLAND BECOMES THE STRONGEST MAN ON THE SCREEN! All others pale in the light of this human fortress who finds no barrier too great in his amazing fight for justice.

Plot:

To protect a magic talisman from being used for evil, a boy is given the power to become an adult superhero with a single magic word.

Plot Keywords:

Idol | Scorpion | Shazam | Superhero | Based On Comic

Cast

Tom Tyler	...	Captain Marvel
Frank Coghlan Jr.	...	Billy Batson (as Frank Coghlan, Jr.)
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	Whitey Murphy (as William Benedict)
Louise Currie	...	Betty Wallace
Robert Strange	...	John Malcolm
Harry Worth	...	Prof. Luther Bentley
Bryant Washburn	...	Harry Carlyle [Ch. 1-3]
John Davidson	...	Tal Chotali
George Pembroke	...	Dr. Stephen Lang [Ch. 1-9]
George Lynn	...	Prof. Dwight Fisher [Ch. 1-6] (as Peter George Lynn)
Reed Hadley	...	Rahman Bar [Ch. 1,11-12]
Jack Mulhall	...	Howell [Ch. 1]
Kenne Duncan	...	Barnett (chief henchman) [Ch. 2-10] (as Kenneth Duncan)
Nigel De Brulier	...	Shazam [Ch. 1]
John Bagni	...	Henchman Cowan [Ch. 2-10]

Also Known As:

Captain Marvel
Return of Captain Marvel (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

216 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #6920) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

The Golden Scorpion weapon featured in this serial would be reintroduced in Captain Marvel's 1990 series, "The Power of Shazam!"

Goofs:

Plot holes: While a prisoner of the Scorpion, Betty manages to grab a gun and fire a shot that creases the villain's hand. Informed of this, Billy manipulates the expedition's members into showing their hands, and only one man's hand shows an injury. However, subsequent events prove he is not the Scorpion. How the real villain had no injury is never hinted at, and there's precious little said about the wound that was found: After Billy escapes a death trap at the latter man's home, the two have a conversation that is joined in progress, with Batson admitting that he could believe the scientist's story (told completely off-screen) about the cause of his injury if he could explain other things that had happened. Perhaps that trap was originally intended to be a chapter-ending cliffhanger and the explanations were lost in re-editing to eliminate a chapter here.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[sound of a huge gong omninously echoes down the valley]
Billy Batson: What's that, Mr. Howell?
Howell [Ch. 1]: I don't know, Billy - let's find out. What do you make of that cymbal, Malcolm?
John Malcolm: I don't know, Howell. Does it mean anything to you, Tal Chotali?
Tal Chotali: The men of the hills are gathering. The cymbal says that the white men are to be driven from the Valley of Tombs.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Best Comic Book Movie Ever Made.

A criminal known only as the Scorpion, who one of 5 archeologists, is trying to acquire all of the lenses of a golden Scorpion idol, which can turn ordinary rocks into gold, and can unleash a powerful death ray. Billy Batson, during the dig, is given the powers of Captain Marvel by the enigmatic wizard Shazam to prevent the scorpion idol from being used for evil purposes. So when Billy Batson says the word Shazam, he is transformed into Captain Marvel. In my opinion it is not the greatest serial ever made, but it is without a doubt the greatest comic book adaptation in the media ( TV included. ). Tom Tyler looks just like the character and coupled with David Sharpe during the stunt scenes ( which look better than anything ever tried today in this type genre ) elevates it from a kiddie serial into serious watching. Rating, based on serials 10 out of 10.