Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951)

Director:

Fred C. Brannon

Writer:

Ronald Davidson (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Western

Tagline:

12 action-packed...excitement-crammed episodes of thrilling serial entertainment! (original poster)

Plot:

The 57th of Republic's 66 serials is filled with stock footage from some of that company's previous "Zorro" serials...

Plot Keywords:

Serial | Shack | Rancher | Forgery | Grandfather

Cast

Ken Curtis	...	Lee Hadley / Don Daredevil
Aline Towne	...	Patricia Doyle
Roy Barcroft	...	Stratton
Lane Bradford	...	Henchman Weber
Robert Einer	...	Gary Taylor
John L. Cason	...	Henchman Hagen (as John Cason)
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Sheriff [Chs. 1, 4, 10]
Hank Patterson	...	Buck
Lee Phelps	...	Michael Doyle [Ch.5]
Sandy Sanders	...	Dirk, Ambush Leader [Chs. 8-9]
Guy Teague	...	Deputy [Ch. 4]
Tom Steele	...	Henchman [Ch. 12]
Holly Bane	...	A miner [Ch. 8] (as Michael Ragan)
Cactus Mack	...	Henchman [Chs. 2-3]

Runtime:

167 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 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: 1. Return of the Don 2. Double Death 3. Hidden Danger 4. Retreat to Destruction 5. Cold Steel 6. Flaming Juggernaut 7. Claim Jumper 8. Perilous Combat 9. Hostage of Destiny 10.Marked For Murder 11.Captive Witness 12.Flames of Vengeance

Imitation Zorro Rides Again

An old Spanish land grant has been proved a forgery and all of the homesteaders on the land are now forced to move. The real grant is in the possession of Stratton, a lawyer, who plans to use this land grab scheme to accumulate wealth and power. Lee Hadley, another lawyer, plans to challenge the forgery, but where words fail, he wears the disguise of his ancestor, and fights the crooks as the masked hero, Don Daredevil, and goes against Stratton, henchmen Webber and Hagen, and whatever treachery they can throw against Hadley and the rest of the ranchers. Obviously originality wasn't stressed in this serial, as this probably was a good example of how Republic was losing its touch as the 50's and TV era rolled in. The story and script could have been tweaked somewhat to allow some interesting escapades and plot devices while still maintaining the ability to delve into the Republic stock footage vault (which they did a lot in this serial). Curtis is very boring as the lead, and the usually reliable Towne and Barcroft really come off seeming like this was another routine production under contract. There is the regular amount of Republic action, but it could have been improved. Rating, based on serials, 3.5