Daredevils of the Red Circle
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| Daredevils of the Red Circle | |
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| Directed by | William Witney John English |
| Produced by | Robert M. Beche |
| Written by | Barry Shipman Franklin Adreon Rex Taylor Ronald Davidson Sol Shor |
| Starring | Charles Quigley Herman Brix David Sharpe Carole Landis Miles Mander Charles Middleton |
| Music by | William Lava |
| Cinematography | William Nobles |
| Editing by | Edward Todd William Thompson |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  10 June 1939 (Serial) 1950s (TV series) March 1953 26 January 2002 |
| Running time | 12 chapters (211 min) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $126,855 (negative cost: 126,118)[1] |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) is a 12-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Charles Quigley, David Sharpe, Herman Brix (better known under his subsequent stage name, Bruce Bennett) and Charles Middleton. It was directed by William Witney and John English and is often considered one of the better serials produced by Republic. The serial was the fourteenth of the sixty-six serials produced by the studio.
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[edit] Plot
An escaped criminal, known as Harry Crowl, but preferring to be called by his prison number 39013 (Thirty Nine - O - Thirteen), seeks revenge on the man who sent him to prison, millionaire philanthropist Horace Granville. He kidnaps Granville, imprisoning him within his own house, and disguises himself to take Granville's place, as the frail old man in a clean room, necessary for his health. The only other person allowed past the glass barrier being his doctor. He then sets about methodically destroying everything Granville owns. When we enter the film, he has already destroyed a number of Granville properties, and has set his sights on the Granville Amusement Centre, at which a trio of acrobats is performing. The daredevils, Gene, Bert, and Tiny escape but Gene's kid brother is badly wounded in the blaze, and later dies of his injuries. Seeking revenge they take jobs as private investigators for the man they believe to be Horace Granville. Through a series of deadly traps, and with the help of a mysterious cloaked figure, known only as "The Red Circle", the daredevils begin to unravel the truth.
In the first chapter, we are introduced to all the above facts, and even shown the secret room within the Granville estates where 39013 is keeping the real Granville. He is kept in a cell, the exact duplicate of the one in which 39013 resided for his abruptly ended sentence. This room is trapped, so that in the event that 39013 does not return, a dripping reservoir will run dry. The loss of weight will tip the scale, causing deadly gas capsules to break upon the floor, killing Granville in a very short time. This causes him to spout the characteristic line, "You best hope I continue to live, Granville."
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main Cast
- Charles Quigley as Gene Townley, High diver, one of the Daredevils of the Red Circle
- Herman Brix as Tiny Dawson, Strongman, one of the Daredevils of the Red Circle
- David Sharpe as Bert Knowles, Escape artist, one of the Daredevils of the Red Circle
- Carole Landis as Blanche Granville, Granddaughter of Horace Granville
- Miles Mander as Horace Granville, millionaire philanthropist victim, and ex-partner, of 39013
- Charles Middleton as '39013' (Harry Crowel), escaped criminal with a vendetta against Horace Granville
[edit] Supporting Cast
- C. Montague Shaw as Malcolm, Horace Granville's doctor
- Ben Taggart as Dixon, Horace Granville's manager
- William Pagan as Landon, police chief
- Corbet Morris as Klein, one of 39013's henchmen
- Raymond Bailey as Stanley, Horace Granville's secretary and one of 39013's henchmen
- Snowflake as Snowflake, black, comic-relief servant of Horace Granville
- George Chesebro as Sheffield, one of 39013's henchmen
- Ray Miller as Jeff, Horace Granville's nurse
- Robert Winkler as Sammy Townley, Gene's younger brother
- "Tuffie", the dog
[edit] Chapter titles
- The Monstrous Plot (27 min 48s)
- The Mysterious Friend (16 min 41s)
- The Executioner (16 min 45s)
- Sabotage (16 min 38s)
- The Ray of Death (16 min 39s)
- Thirty Seconds to Live (16 min 39s)
- The Flooded Mine (16 min 42s)
- S.O.S. (16 min 40s)
- Ladder of Peril (16 min 39s)
- The Infernal Machine (16 min 36s)
- The Red Circle Speaks (16 min 39s) -- Re-Cap Chapter
- Flight to Doom (16 min 40s)
Note: This was one of two 12-chapter serials released by Republic in 1939. The other was Zorro's Fighting Legion. Republic also released two 15-chapter serials in this year.
[edit] Production
Daredevils of the Red Circle was budgeted at $126,855 but the actual (negative cost came in at only $126,118.[1] This was the cheapest serial Republic released in 1939 and only the second ever made by the studio to be produced under-budget (after the The Fighting Devil Dogs in 1938). The only other pre-war Republic serial to be produced under budget was Mysterious Doctor Satan in 1940.
It was filmed between 28 March and 28 April 1939[1] and the sixth chapter was released to film exchanges on 10 June 1939 (this is counted as the official release date for the serial). In the early 1950s, material from this serial was re-edited into a television series of six 26½-minute episodes.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement; Mathis, Jack, 1995, ISBN 0-9632878-1-8
[edit] External links
- Daredevils of the Red Circle at the Internet Movie Database
- Dardevils of the Red Circle at Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience
| Preceded by The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) |
Republic Serial Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) |
Succeeded by Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939) |
| Preceded by The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) |
Witney-English Serial Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) |
Succeeded by Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939) |
