thrilling visits since July 27, 1996.
Welcome to The Maverick's Silent and Sound Cliffhanger Serial Page. Reading about motion picture serials is not as fun as watching them (although critics of the genre might argue to the contrary), but I hope you enjoy exploring the lost era of the cliffhanger serials here and learn something more about them as well.
What's a serial: Motion picture serials were short adventure films that played before the feature attraction. The story in a serial continued over several chapters or episodes in order to entice the audience back to the theater the next week. The serials came to be known as "cliffhangers" because the hero or heroine would face inescable peril at the end of each episode only to be miraculously rescued at the beginning of the next one. When most people think of serials they remember the classic serials of the 30's and 40's (and the abysmal efforts of the 50's.) Nevertheless, the serial was invented long before the "classics" and entertained audiences in the silent era as well.
What's here: Information regarding all American motion picture serials and some foreign titles as well. More specficially, you'll find reference lists generated from the cliffhanger serial database I've compiled by viewing and researching serials. Since browsing lists tends to grow tiresome, I've also added some notes, trivia, and commentary regarding serials.
VISIT the cliffhanger serial newsgroup: alt.movies.serials
Contributions welcome: If you have any corrections or comments about serials or the format of this presentation, please send e-mail. Thanks!
thrilling visits since July 27, 1996.