I love movie serials. I can’t watch too many of them in a row, but once a year or so I’ll pick one (either one I haven’t seen before or an old favorite) and watch it one chapter a day for as long as it takes. Most recently I worked my way through all three Flash Gordon serials in conjunction with a Flash Gordon reading project. I now find myself in the midst of a comprehensive reading of Milton Caniff’s classic Terry and the Pirates. I have long been aware that there was a T&P movie serial, but I’ve never been in the mood to watch it until now. Actually, there was some confusion on my part as to whether it was a movie serial or a television show. Turns out it was both. I will be watching the TV show for the first time presently. What follows are my thoughts on the movie serial.
The comic strip itself began as an adventure strip with a juvenile angle, but quickly progressed into adult-oriented themes and situations. The Saturday matinee serial is definitely juvenile, as all of them were, and loosely (very loosely) adapts the first storyline from the daily strip continuity. It is set in “the wilds,” but the wilds of what is not revealed, nor is China (the setting of the strip) even mentioned, although the villainous Fang (played by an American) is vaguely Asian. (Think “Dr. Daka” in the war-era Batman serial.) It’s a good thing the setting is left vague, because it appears, by turn, to be China, India, Africa, sometimes even Mexico, all by way of Southern California.
Here are my thoughts on some of the characters:
DRAGON LADY: Far too soft.
NORMANDIE DRAKE: She’s called Normandie, but she looks and acts more like Dale Scott, the heroine of the first comic strip adventure. Furthermore, she has father rather than an uncle (Chauncey Drake). Then again, Terry has a father, too.
CONNIE: I am thankful that Columbia opted not to use Caniff’s “Hotsy Dandy! Shoo Mike!” combination of pidgin English and American slang for this character. (While reading the strip, I skip Connie’s dialogue entirely; he is used almost solely for comic effect and almost never has anything important to say.) In any case, he doesn’t have much dialogue in the serial, anyway.
BIG STOOP: Unlike the mute giant of the strip, this one speaks. He is made a magician by way of characterization, but doen’t have many lines, either.
TERRY LEE: I’ve saved the best/worst for last. John Baer was 23 years old when he played the role of Terry, and he looks every day of it. This wouldn’t be so much of a problem if he hadn’t been given the lines of a 12 year old. This dichotomy leads to an unintentional yet definite undertone of homosexuality, sometimes humorous, sometimes frankly disturbing.
I’ll be back with my thoughts on the TV show.
Replies
I finished reading Terry & the Pirates some time ago and am now well into reading Steve Canyon. I am also well into watching the Terry & the Pirates TV show, but it’s pretty slow going. It’s from 1952 and (understandably) more accurately reflects the George Wunder strip of the era than it does Milton Caniff. It’s interesting that John Baer made the transition from movie serial to television show, but there’s not much else to recommend this show other than the occasional appearances of actors such as Michael Ansara, Phyllis Coates and Keye Luke.
I've seen one episode of the TV show, which was run ages ago as part of a "Golden Age Of Television" marathon event. I've seen it twice, and found it enjoyable.