The Fortieth Door(1924)

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack(en)

A movie serial in 12 chapters: The famous comic strip character is on a mission to protect a secret tunnel passage between China and India.

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe(en)

An 18-part silent American adventure film serial now considered to be lost. Chapter Titles: 1. The Sea Raiders 2. Shipwrecked 3. The Cannibals' Captives 4. Hidden Gold 5. The Ship of Despair 6. Friday's Faith 7. The Swamp of Terror 8. Marooned 9. The Jaguar Trap 10. A Prisoner of the Sun 11. No Greater Love 12. The Island of Happiness 13. The Sword of Courage 14. The Buccaneers 15. The Jolly Roger 16. The Idol's Bride 17. When the Heart Calls 18. Back to the Primitive

The Timber Queen(en)

The Timber Queen follows Ruth Rowland as the inheritor of a wealthy timber business who tries to stay independent of a cruel man who wants to marry her and steal her wealth. The UCLA Film and Television Archive has preserved episodes one, four, eight and nine, and distributor Harpodeon has preserved episode twelve.

Pirate Gold(en)

King of the Wild(en)

Richard Grant, imprisoned in India for a crime he did not commit, escapes and makes his way to Africa.

Mysterious Island(en)

It is 1865 and Union prisoners use a military balloon to escape a Southern prison camp near the end of the Civil War. The balloon drifts for days and finally lands on a mysterious volcanic island with very unusual inhabitants. Also landing, in a better aircraft, is Rulu, a visitor from Mercury. She seeks a radio-active material that will enable her to manufacture an explosive that will destroy the world or, at least, the portion known as Earth in this 15 Chapter Serial from the 1950s.

The Great Secret(en)

A wealthy young athlete comes to the aid of a beautiful heiress, whose fortune is being threatened by two arch villains, The Great Master and Doctor Zulph.

Pearl of the Army(en)

A 1916 movie serial.

The Brass Bullet(en)

Rosalind Joy is a constantly imperiled heiress to a fortune in gold. An 18 part adventure serial

The Lightning Raider(en)

A beautiful young woman is a daring master thief. She meets the young millionaire Thomas Babbington Norton, while fleeing from the scene of her latest theft.

The Adventures of Kathlyn(en)

The serial detailed the experiences of Kathlyn Hare, the pretty daughter of an explorer. Kathlyn resided in a mythical India, fighting off unwanted advances from a handsome native, Umballah, when not battling an endless array of ferocious jungle fauna.

Flash Gordon(en)

Disaster seems imminent when scientists discover that the planet Mongo is about to crash into Earth. Luckily, heroic young Flash Gordon is on hand to lead an investigative mission into outer space and onto the speedily approaching planet. There, he and his best girl, Dale, who is along for the ride, learn that Ming, the devious ruler of Mongo, has purposely put the planet on a collision course with Earth, and only Flash can stop him.

The New Adventures of Tarzan(en)

A serial in 12 chapters. Tarzan goes to Guatemala to find his lost friend, D'Arnot. On the way he helps Major Matling search Mayan ruins for hidden jewels and an idol containing the formula for a powerful explosive. D'Arnot and the idol are rescued, but the idol falls into the clutches of the explorer Raglan.

The Lost Special(en)

A lady reporter and two college students search for the "Gold Special," a train that disappeared without a trace.

King of the Royal Mounted(en)

The Canadians have discovered a valuable substance called Compound X, which can cure infantile paralysis. When a country at war with Canada learns that Compound X also contains magnetic properties that could aid them in their warfare against the British, they send agents to infiltrate Canada and steal a large quantity of the substance. It's up to Sgt. King (Allan Lane) and his Mounties to track down the agents and put an end to their scheme.

Pirates of the High Seas(en)

For decades, pirates roamed the seas, searching for booty to plunder and coastal villages to terrorize. Who were these men and women? As you dig beneath the myth of Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and other legendary warriors of the waters in this docudrama, you'll discover who they were and what motivated them to wreak havoc wherever they sailed. Includes the movie Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island.

Young Eagles(en)

Two Boy Scouts win an around-the-world trip with a crack aviator, and find themselves crash-landed in the South American jungles after the ace forgets to refuel in Ecuador.

The Hurricane Express(en)

The Wrecker wrecks trains on the L & R Railroad. One of his victims is Larry Baker's father. Baker wants to find the evildoer, among a host of suspects, but it will be difficult since the Wrecker can disguise himself to look like almost anyone

The Phantom Foe(en)

Janet Dale feels that there is a danger looming over her home but cannot put her finger on what it is. Days later her father disappears at her 18th birthday party; dematerializing into thin air before her eyes. She sets out to find him and grapples wit mobsters, psychics, murder, and family secrets.

The Chinatown Mystery(en)

Restored by the George Eastman House in 2001, this 1928 serial was considered a “last hurrah” for the silent-era serial, and brought together some of the biggest names of the era: director J.P. McGowan, actors Francis Ford and Joe Bonomo (a carnival strongman-turned-actor), producer Trem Carr (who would later help found Monogram Pictures), and a slew of silent-era supporting icons such as Ruth Hiatt, Grace Cunard, and more. Chapter names like “The Clutching Claw,” “The Devil’s Dice, “Galloping Fury,” and “The Invisible Hand” offer all one needs to know of the film’s concerns: to promise and deliver as much action and suspense as possible, and move our intrepid hero and heroine from one perilous situation to another. One of the biggest stars of the early silent era and a successful serials director in his own right, Francis Ford was the brother of director John Ford.