The Adventures of Captain Marvel
| Adventures of Captain Marvel | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
for Chapter 10: "Doom Ship" |
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| Directed by |
William Witney John English |
| Produced by | Hiram S. Brown, Jr. |
| Screenplay by |
Ronald Davidson Norman S. Hall Arch B. Heath Joseph Poland Sol Shor |
| Based on | Characters by Bill Parker C. C. Beck |
| Starring |
Tom Tyler Frank Coghlan, Jr. William Benedict Louise Currie Robert Strange Harry Worth Bryant Washburn John Davidson |
| Music by | Cy Feuer |
| Cinematography | William Nobles |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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12 chapters / 216 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $135,553 (negative cost: $119,343) |
Adventures of Captain Marvel is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white Republic Pictures film serial, produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English and William Witney, that stars Tom Tyler in the title role of Captain Marvel and Frank Coghlan, Jr. as his alter ego, Billy Batson. This serial was adapted from the popular Captain Marvel comic book character then appearing in Fawcett Comics publications Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures.
Adventures of Captain Marvel was the 21st of 66 film serials produced by Republic and their first comic book character adaptation (not counting comic strips). The serial featured the Fawcett Comics superhero, placed within an original screen story. Captain Marvel fights a masked criminal mastermind called the Scorpion, who is determined to gain control of an ancient weapon. It is made in the form of a large metallic scorpion with adjustable legs, tail, and removable lenses that must be properly aligned in order to activate its powerful ray.
During an archaeological expedition to Siam's volcanic Valley of the Tombs to find the lost secret of the Scorpion Kingdom, a device of great power, the Golden Scorpion, is discovered hidden inside a sealed crypt. While examining it, the device's quartz lenses are aligned and powerful energy beam erupts, causing an explosion, resealing the crypt. This allows young radio broadcaster and expedition member Billy Batson, who obeyed the warning on the crypt's seal not to enter, to be chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam. The wizard grants Billy the powers of Captain Marvel whenever he repeats the wizard's name. Captain Marvel's powers can only be used to protect those in danger from the curse of the Golden Scorpion. The crypt's entrance is quickly cleared, then Captain Marvel utters "Shazam"! and quickly resumes his Billy Batson alter ego.
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Wikipedia