Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20773 in VHS
• Released on: 1994-02-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Black & White, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 2

Customer Reviews

CAPTAIN AMERICA ONLY IN NAME....
Captain America was one of the most popular comics during WWII as he battled his arch-foe the Red Skull and other stereotypical Nazi villians. He got his powers by drinking a super soldier formula.

Unfortunately this Republic serial bares little resemblance to the comics. Captain America is no longer Steve Rogers, the goldbrick soldier...he is Grant Gardner, a Discrict Attorney. He's no longer battling Nazi villians bent on world domination, but common, every day crooks....What's more is that Caps Shield is gone and in it's place is a pistol!!!

Dick Purcell does a decent job as Grant Gardner / Captain America, although he wasn't the best physical match for the part. In fact, he really looks quite flabby in the form-fitting tights. Lorna Grey makes a surprisingly sexy sidekick as they battle a villian called the Scarab, who's name is much more sinister as the villian himself.

While the action sequences are pretty good, and there are fights aplenty, it's obvious that a more trim stuntman was filling in for Purcell. The fights all become pretty repetitive after a few episodes.

The one saving grace to the Serial is the presence of Horror Heavy Lionel Atwill playing yet another mad doctor role, this time as museum curator Doctor Maldor.

As serial go...you could do much worse than Captain America but you could do much better as well.

Republic's Most Expensive Serial
"Captain America" (1944) bears virtually no resemblance to the original comic-book hero. However, this 15-chapter serial delivers plenty of action in the classic Republic tradition. Cap does not have his mighty shield, but his fists make a powerful impression as he takes on the evil Scarab - played to the hilt by Lionel Atwill. Though not among Republic's all-time best chapterplays, a solid cast (look for Edward Van Sloan and John Hamilton in small roles) and vigorous stuntwork remain major assets. Due to budget overruns, "Captain America" emerged as Republic's most expensive serial with a final production cost of $223,000. Long suppressed by Marvel Comics, an excellent 35mm print has yet to surface on DVD. Therefore, the Video Treasures edition is a must-have for cliffhanger enthusiasts.

An Oldie but a Goodie!!!
Because of some legal snafu at the time this was made, certain things about the good captain have been changed: he's not called Steve Rogers, he doesn't carry a shield, he doesn't have wings on his head, he's not a soldier but a lawyer. the good stuff is that the video transfer looks good and it has LOTS of action. Cap is quite the brawler in this serial. One other thing: one of the episode title cards comes up as "Return of Captain America". I assume it's because they couldn't find a good quality copy of that specific episode and settled for a reissue version of it instead. Quality declines for that one episode otherwise, it's a fun three hours!!