Product Description

Of all the early radio shows adopted from the classic newspaper comic pages in the '30s and '40s, none was more intriguing or exciting than the action-packed tales of Terry and the Pirates. Columbia Pictures brought Terry and the Pirates to the screen in fifteen thrill-packed episodes in 1940 featuring an excellent cast of screen favorites. Directed in a style that combined action and considerable comedy, director James W. Horne led the cast in an adventure that centered around the discovery of a vast hidden treasure. Along the treacherous 15-episode route we have contacts with mysterious "Tiger Men," a savage gorilla, exploding ammunition sheds and countless other thrills that totally captivated Saturday matinee audiences week after week. Bonus Features: Chapter Selection Menu| VCI Serial Promo| Actor Bios|Bonus Episode # 1 from the 1952 TV Series TERRY AND THE PIRATES, starring John Baer and guest star Keye Luke. Specs: DVD9 + DVD5; 270 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1940; SRP - $19.99.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29153 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-06-29
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 270 minutes

Customer Reviews

Directed by James Horne, so serial fans know what to expect!
This adaptation of Milton Caniff's comic strip is a jungle serial produced by Columbia in 1940. William Tracy plays teenage Terry like radio's hapless Henry Aldrich, complete with brash confidence and adolescent voice. Granville Owen is one of the better serial heroes, playing Terry's adult protector with firm jaw and resolute manner.

Director James Horne, best known for his Laurel & Hardy comedies, throws in some noteworthy touches, most of them on the silly side. Horne instructs Sheila Darcy, playing a tribal queen, to over-emphasize her lines like a third-grader in a class play (thankfully she drops the stilted delivery later on). John Ince also chews some scenery as the queen's high priest. Most of the cast members are invited by Horne to slice a little ham here and there, and they respond with enthusiasm: listen for Tracy's ludicrously high-pitched shriek of terror, and for cowboy-villain Dick Curtis (of all people) and his incredible dialect as an Oriental warlord named Fang! Horne even adds comic business to some of the fight scenes (Tracy subdues a combatant by robbing him of his pants; Owen slugs someone and hurts his fist). And it's fun to watch a serial hero actually being ANNOYED by his sidekick for once. When Tracy says something dumb, the disgusted Owen repeats the remark in true Oliver Hardy style!

To Horne's credit, he stages the cliffhanging perils nicely and employs some very effective silent-serial technique (like a memorable shot of a hand reaching up from the floor, desperately groping for the switch that will stop a death trap). Also, some serials have the characters walking away from calamity wihout batting an eye, but Horne allows the heroes to be visibly shaken and unsteady after surviving the more serious perils. This may not be one of the best adventure serials of all time, but between the thrill scenes and the dopey scenes there's plenty to hold the attention.

VCI transferred this film to video just in the nick of time; there are scattered instances of blemishes and slight decomposition. The decay totally ruined the soundtrack of one episode, so VCI recreated the Chapter 5 track with appropriate music and re-enacted dialogue (the actors imitating William Tracy and William Irving are right on the money!). Overall, the picture and sound are very good, especially considering the rarity of the subject.

As a bonus, the DVD contains episode #1 of the "Terry and the Pirates" TV series from 1952. The emphasis on adventure and international intrigue reminded this viewer of a first-season "Superman" show (some of the music here was actually used in the "Superman" series). William Tracy appears in this, too -- now he's Terry's co-pilot and sidekick.

Like 'em or leave 'em, it's good to see these Columbia serials on DVD.

"Milton Caniff's creation comes to the serial world ~ Terry & the Pirates"
VCI Entertainment and Columbia Pictures present "Terry and the Pirates" (1940), featuring a 15 thrilling chapter serial based upon the famous Milton Caniff cartoon strip...15 Chapters of the favorite newspaper feature satisfying several million fans comes to the DVD world...jungle action mixed with hair breadth escapes ending each episode.

Under director James W. Horne with a fine cast which include William Tracy as Terry Lee, Granville Owen (aka Jeff York) as Pat Ryan, Joyce Bryant as Normandie Drake, Allen Jung as Connie, Victor DeCamp as Big Stoop, Sheila Darcy as The Dragon Lady, Dick Curtis (great Columbia Picture stock player of 100 films) as Master Fang, J. Paul Jones as Dr. Herbert Lee, Forrest Taylor as Mr. Drake and Jack Ingram (a favorite in the bad guys department) as Stanton the thug leader...writing credits include Milton Caniff and Mark Layton.

Tracy who plays a young Terry along with Ryan go up river in a infested jungle with plenty of dangers...searching for a treasure that has been hidden from the civilized world...plenty of adventure turns up with Dick Curtis as Fang as the mysterious and evil Oriental villain...less we forget Dragon Lady, the Tiger Men and a mad gorilla at large...the Saturday Matinee crowd would most certainly be sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for the next chapter...Charlie King (we called him "Blackie" in the B-Western) appears with other Columbia Picture extras that you've seen in many serials and B-Westerns...this is sort of an early "Indiana Jones", complete with campy humor that will keep you in stitches along with dangerous and thrilling Milton Caniff characters that you enjoyed decades from the comic strip.

Chapter Titles:
1. Into the Great Unknown
2. The Fang Strikes
3. The Mountain of Death
4. The Dragon Queen Threatens
5. At the Mercy of a Mob
6. The Scroll of Wealth
7. Angry Waters
8. The Tomb of Peril
9. Jungle Hurricane
10.Too Many Enemies
11.Walls of Doom
12.No Escape
13.The Fatal Mistake
14.Pyre of Death
15.The Secret of the Temple

Special Features:

Bios
WILLIAM TRACY
GRANVILLE OWEN (Jeff York)
JOYCE BRYANT
JAMES W. HORNE

Trailers:
GREEN ARCHER
KING OF THE CONGO

VCI Cliffhanger Promos
SECRET AGENT X-9
ADVENTURES OF THE FLYING CADETS
FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE (Buster Crabbe)
BUCK ROGERS (Buster Crabbe)
JUNGLE GIRL (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
ZORRO RIDES AGAIN
JUNGLE JIM (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
THE PHANTOM (Tom Tyler)
DICK TRACY & G Men (Ralph Byrd)
ZANE GREYS 'KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED" (Allan Rocky Lane)
THE MIRACLE RIDER (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
ZORRO'S FIGHTING LEGION (Reed Hadley)

Plus a television episode from the 1952 "Terry and the Pirates" featuring John Baer as Terry Lee, William Tracy as Hotshot Charlies, Jack Reitzen as Chopstick Joe, Gloria Saunders as Dragon Lady, Sandra Spence as Burma, Keye Luke as Okura & Lt. Leong, Ted Hecht as Yat Chang Hoy and Weaver Levy as the leader...from director Richard Irving and Lew Landers with writers Milton Caniff and Irvin Ashkenazy...loaded with Saturday Morning drama, action and adventure...try a sample, you just might like it.

Outstanding job by VCI Entertainment on this digitally remastered release with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, climb aboard and be ready to explore the jungle and adventure with a top notch serial from VCI...gotta love it!

Total Time: 2-DVD-Set ~ VCI Entertainment 8322 ~ (6/29/2004)

WELL I THINK YOU'RE WRONG, R.B. MERHAR
IN THIS 15-CHAPTER SERIAL, TERRY AND HIS FRIENDS ARRIVE IN THE FAR EAST ON A MISSION FOR SOME HIDDEN GOLD. ALONG THE WAY, THEY MUST FACE THE DRAGON LADY AND THE FANG. ALL 15 CHAPTERS OF THIS SERIAL WERE ENTERTAINING AND ACTION-PACKED. I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS SERIAL. GET THIS ONE NOW. DON'T LISTEN TO THE OTHER REVIEW.