Adventures of Captain Marvel
Tags: mystery, murder

Plot synopsis:
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.
The Golden Scorpion's power lenses are divided among the scientists of the Malcolm Archaeological Expedition so that its power can only be used by agreement of the entire group, who then return to the U. S. after their discovery. An all-black-garbed-and-hooded criminal mastermind, calling himself the Scorpion, steals the ancient device after their return and sets about acquiring the distributed lenses. Several expedition members are killed in the Scorpion's quest, despite Captain Marvel's continual efforts to thwart his plan. Deducing that the Scorpion always seems to know what happens during the scientists' meetings, Billy later confides to his friends, Betty Wallace and Whitey Murphy, his suspicion that the Scorpion may be one of the Malcolm archaeological team.
Discovering that one of the Golden Scorpion's power lenses was purposely left behind, cleverly hidden in the very crypt where it was first discovered, Billy Batson and the surviving scientists agree it must be retrieved. They return by cargo ship to Siam where, near landfall, they barely survive a typhoon before finally being rescued by Captain Marvel. They eventually retrieve the hidden lens, but it is stolen by the Scorpion. By accident, from a distance, the Scorpion observes Captain Marvel transforming back into Billy Batson. Capturing Billy and gagging him, the Scorpion interrogates him about his secret. Billy's tape gag is removed when he agrees to talk. "Shazam"! is his only response, and he transforms in a flash of light and smoke into Captain Marvel. The Scorpion's identity is then revealed to be one of the last surviving scientists, who is killed by a Siamese native who turns the idol's ray on him, vaporizing him.
Captain Marvel tosses the Golden Scorpion and its power lenses into a volcano's molten lava to prevent them from ever being used for evil. Upon its destruction, Captain Marvel is instantly transformed back into Billy Batson forever, the danger from the device's curse having now been eliminated.

Review: I was seven years old when I saw this serial in a theater in 1941.I now own 49 titles of Republic serials,mostly tapes and a few on DVD.This serial is my favorite.For those who have not saw this serial,I won't give away any secrets.The plot concerns a group of scientists and an ancient artifact with lenses that can turn any matter to gold,thus the owner could rule the world.A mortal ,Billy Batson ,is given the power to become Captain Marvel.The Captain fights the arch villain,the Scorpion,for 12 exciting chapters,to keep him from getting the lens.Marvel is played by former cowboy star,Tom Tyler in fine fashion.David Sharpe does the leaps and landings in realistic style.Flying scenes still look great today,with excellent special effects by the Lydecker brothers.The Scorpion is voiced by another actor,and should keep the viewer guessing until the final reel.Music by Cy Feurer,William Lava and others add more excitement to a fine serial.Whitney and English directed..
Billy Batson, during the dig, is given the powers of Captain Marvel by the enigmatic wizard Shazam to prevent the scorpion idol from being used for evil purposes.
So when Billy Batson says the word Shazam, he is transformed into Captain Marvel.
). Tom Tyler looks just like the character and coupled with David Sharpe during the stunt scenes ( which look better than anything ever tried today in this type genre ) elevates it from a kiddie serial into serious watching.
Captain Marvel is one of the best serials available and a true credit to the genre.
It offers plenty of the old-school, two-fisted action that you'd expect from an action serial, in addition to state-of-the-art (for the time) flying effects.
It also offers a great running mystery as to the identity of The Scorpion...which is ruined if you happen to read the cast list closely above :(If you're a fan of serials or old action movies in general, you'd do well to pick this up as it truly is a classic..
Tom Tyler, probably more familar to film buffs as Luke Plummer in John Ford's classic STAGECOACH, looks the part of Captain Marvel to perfection.
He has relatively few dialog scenes in the serial, however, and to some people this is an added bonus, as his extremely gravelly voice is not to everyone's taste Young Frank Coghlan Jr. is remarkably good as Billy Batson, and deserves additional acclaim as Republic's only juvenile serial hero.
Louise Currie, who was also to make a return date three years later in THE MASKED MARVEL, is a very likable heroine, and as for the Scorpion, he has got to be the best villain in serials, thanks largely to Gerald Mohr's voice.
The supporting cast includes silent serial great Jack Mulhall, and, as suspects for being the Scorpion, Harry Worth, Robert Strange, George Pembroke, Bryant Washburn, Peter George Lynn, and the wonderful scene-stealer John Davidson as the superstious Siamese, Tah Chotali.
After watching the serial, you simply have to conclude that Captain Marvel CAN fly.
Frank Coughlan, Jr., does creditable work as Billy Batson, while Tom Tyler (Stagecoach, Red River) makes a robust Captain Marvel.
The story tells of a young man named Billy Batson and how he, having refused to enter the tomb of an ancient people with a curse while being part of an archaeological/treasure hunting team, is bestowed great powers by Shazaam.
The 12 chapters of this serial tell of how each investor in the team was given a special lens of a gold scorpion found in the ancient tomb.
Each episode tells of various plots the scorpion invents to secure the lenses and thwart Captain Marvel.
The special effects in this film are extraordinary, especially the "flying sequences" and especially considering that this was done in 1941 (as a comaprison, watch the two Superman Serials, shot serveral years later,  with the late Kirk Allen, where suddenly Allen turns into a cartoon when he takes off).
It was truly a marvel to watch how much thought was considered in the production of this film.The good writing along with some subtle twist of plots and cliff hangers on each of the 12 segments, were done in such a way to hold an audience interest.
The thought of miniature models for special effects by the Lydecker Brothers production of cars and volcanoes, were done so cleverly with different camera angle shots, it just demonstrated that they were really ahead of their time.Even if the same plot device was constantly repeated, this was so Billy wouldn't be recognized when he turned into Captain Marvel, it fitted the limitations of a 1941 film of a superhero movie.
I would go on to say I prefer this over Daredevil, both HULK movies(although the last one was better), the Ghost Riders series, who have far superior cinema technology for them to make a better superhero film.I recommend it for anyone who enjoys old films, the superhero genre, and curious how films like this were created, to go seek the time and view this serial picture..
I would guess that Steven Spielberg saw this, prior to making "Raider's Of The Lost Ark".The guy, Captain Marvel, does look silly running around in a cape...but, this is surprisingly good entertainment.
Possibly, superior to Tim Burton's "Batman"; the "Superman" movies, which featured Christopher Reeve; and, it's NOT bloody violence, like the action films of today.Highly recommended..
I saw this serial for the first time in 1954 under the name of The Return of Captain Marvel.
tom tyler looked like captain marvel in the comic books.
The powers themselves are cleverly designed around the limits of the camera.If you are going to watch any of these old serials for fun and you don't have any particular fetish, this may be the best you will find.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements..
It's because it isn't quite as hokey and silly as the others, has decent special effects and features Captain Marvel doing some VERY anti-heroic stuff that makes me laugh!
Tom Tyler, a stunt man and actor who later played the Mummy in one of the Universal monster movies,plays Captain Marvel with appropriate heroic stoicism.
I would recommend that any fan of escapist cinema and classic movies see at least a couple of the chapters, since it is such a fine example of what a good serial could be.
Tyler's Captain Marvel is truly one of the most awesome serial heroes, right up there with Buster Crabbe's Flash Gordon.
Frank Coghlan Jr. is perfect as Cap's alter ego, Billy Batson, and the rest of the supporting cast is good as well.Fans of the comic book and TV versions of Captain Marvel should be warned that this serial is, in several significant ways, very different from the Cap they remember.
The other factor is that this serial was filmed when the Captain Marvel comic strip was only 1 year old, before the tone and spirit of Captain Marvel had been established (the Captain Marvel comics did not really develop a consistent style or sensibility until about 1943 or so; it isn't till around that time that the really classic Captain Marvel stuff started coming out).Without spoiling too much, viewers should be warned that on at least 2 occasions, Captain Marvel summarily dispatches some of the minor villains.
But it also fits into a subtext that perhaps Captain Marvel has too much power, that he is perhaps like genie from a bottle, a quasi-demonic expression of the Id. This Captain Marvel, who gets a little too violent sometimes, and who Billy Batson only reluctantly calls upon, could be considered an early forerunner of the Incredible Hulk.Despite this Captain's occasional lapses into vigilantism, the overall spirit of this serial keeps within the norms of the era and the genre, and so is great fun and escapism.
Moreover, the total experience of this serial truly captures the expansive sense of magic, power and possibility of the early period of comic book superheroes.
This is vastly superior to either of the Superman serials (1948 & 1950) as well as the Captain Marvel 'Shazam!' TV series of the 1970's.
tom Tyler gives his all and takes no prisoners in his superhero role of captain marvel.
the scorpion is the perfect villain to fight and billy batson is well cast as is the star role.
each chapter leaves you wanting more and more as billy and friends rely on captain marvel and his powers to save them from certain doom.
with great flying scenes and well thought out plots and special effects this 1941 gem could easily stand up to any modern day hero film and leave it in the dust.
The special effects still hold up as "kinda kool".Unlike other serials where the villain spends all his time planning and failing to achieve one objective, Captain Marvel's nemesis 'The Scorpion' manages to prove one victory after another.
By repeating his name Shazam, Billy is turned into Captain Marvel.
The group decides to divide up the Golden Scorpion amongst themselves.This is an old fashion kids' comic book adventure serial.
(1974).I am sure many reading this review were in fact children of the 1940s and might be a bit confused by my review.To me, Marvel 74 came long before Marvel 41 and it is just too much of a struggle to see him seen in a totally different way in this 41 serial.However, I still like watching the Howard Lydecker flying effects seen in this 41 serial.
By simply saying the magic word "Shazam" aloud, Billy Batson (Frank Coghlan, Jr.) becomes the superhero Captain Marvel (Tom Tyler).
Billy must use the power of Captain Marvel to combat the evil Scorpion and prevent him from getting a super-powerful disintegrating ray.
It's a fun adventure story with great special effects for the time and dynamic action..
Adventures of Captain Marvel marked the beginning of a 70-year relationship between comic book heroes and live action movies.
In preparing to watch several superhero movies this summer, I finally-after about 30 years of reading and hearing about it-decided to watch the first of the cinema adaptations of a comic book costumed fighter, usually with "special powers" as they were then referred as, that appeared at a neighborhood theatre near you: Adventures of Captain Marvel.
Tom Tyler-often considered the strongest man of that time-is perfect as The Big Red Cheese (though his costume was actually blue/gray in order to look better in black & white) with his alter ego Billy Batson done in a nice brave and optimistic turn by Frank Coghlan, Jr. And his sidekicks, Betty Wallace (Louise Currie) and Whitey Murphy (William Benedict) also bring their own charm to the proceedings.
Now I'm sure some would be disappointed to not see the classic villains like Dr. Silvana or Mr. Mind here but the created-for-the-screen The Scorpion is good enough for this outing especially when he's suspected of being one of the archeology team Billy and his pals accompany to a cave which is, incidentally, where the wizard who gave Batson his powers, Shazam (Nigel De Brulier) resides.
Sure, there are some flaws-like why do the bad guys keep shooting at Cap's chest when they already know bullets won't hurt him-but overall, Adventures of Captain Marvel still provides thrilling entertainment galore (I was especially impressed when that driverless truck provided some POV shots that must have temporarily made some kids dizzy when they watched this at their theatre).
"The Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941) is quite simply the best of its genre.
models, but there were also sequences that would make folks believe a man could fly some 37 years before "Superman: The Movie." Frank Coughlan, Jr. made an outstanding "Billy Batson." Young, adventurous, and conscientious.
This trio could have easily carried the movie without the super-hero gimmick.Of course Tom Tyler made a terrific "Captain Marvel." Stoic, gallant, and (surprisingly) edgy.
When TVland began running the 1970s Saturday morning Shazam a year or so ago, I learned of this old serial.I decided to compare the two and had not an ever-lovin' clue what to expect.There are the usual cliffhanger bits, I thought.Then the tied up Billy and Betty are in the shed about to be bombed."I'll call Captain Marvel on the radio," Betty says.
That aside, the reason for Billy Batson gaining the powers was different from the comic.Nitpicks aside, though, this is a very superior serial.
Telling the story of how Billy Batson becomes Captain Marvel in order to save the members of his archaeological party and then how he must uses his powers to prevent the villainous Scorpion from using the scorpion statute that they found for evil.
Due to long standing litigation brought against Fawcett by Superman/DC Comics,CM's publishers hollered "Uncle!", thus giving in to end the dispute.* So,it was with very little familiarity with Whiz Comics,Captain Marvel Adventures,and all the other family of comic magazines that this writer first viewed the serial version.
It was hard to be totally objective because every reviewer, be it in SCREEN THRILLS ILLUSTRATED or one of the Horror or Sci-Fi Movie Mags, had nothing but great reviews for CAPTAIN MARVEL.Well as usual, if one is to give analysis and commentary about an adapted character, the differences or changes must be noted and dealt with.While the serial boys in Hollywood are notorious for tinkering with the story lines,so in this case, they didn't disappoint us.They made CM's alter ego,Billy Batson, a teen ager.
It was here, during an excavation of one tomb, that Billy (Frank Coughlan,Jr., meets up with the spirit of the Wizard, SHAZAM!**, who tells him he is to become Captain Marvel (Tom Tyler).On the other hand,as in the comics,Young Billy is still a kid Radio Commentator on Radio Station WHIZ and does so in the serial (chapter 2 and others).
The Seral is filled with top action sequences, like all of Republic's.There are great sequences of the good Captain flying, taking off, landing and even administering a sort of savat maneuver to a bad guy.(French Foot Fighting, kind of like a pro wrestler's Drop Kick) All of these fine action scenes were a combination of trick photography,and use of a fine Stunt Man (David Sharpe)doubling for Mr.Tom Tyler.The use of a very lifelike dummy was the top rate special effect of the Brothers Lydecker (Howard and Theodore)and was the last ingredient in achieving the flying sequences, as well as the various explosions, volcanic eruptions, fires, etc.
I've only seen part of Captain America, and we'll see if I can get enough stomach to complete it (already understanding that they knowingly threw its source material to the winds), and enough of Superman to know that they were sloppy with it all because of the budget they were stuck with, and plan on getting all of it very soon.Captain Marvel shines not only because of how true they stay to the core of the character, but because the story remains interesting from start to finish, the audience is kept guessing on who exactly the villain is (I watched the entire movie with the hope they wouldn't go with the obvious choice of the Arab member of the good guy team, and they didn't disappoint), and you didn't always guess right on the cliffhanger resolution (Billy Batson didn't always shout 'Shazam!' to get out of a tight spot).Frank Coghlan's Billy Batson is convincing enough as a young boy (of course he was in his mid-20's) who gets plenty done by himself.
Tom Tyler is a very robust Captain Marvel who manages to impress during the action scenes (you watch Victor Mature in 'Samson and Delilah' and the assistance from wires, while lifting bad guys, is pathetically obvious, while Tyler's heavings move on a natural arc), though the voice is a bit uncharacteristic for a superhero.The supporting cast is pretty run-of-the-mill, and fills the slots of the character categories that seem obligatory in every serial, but the pacing, the tension, and the conflicts keep the story moving.During this time the issue of superheroes killing bad guys was still evolving as evident here with Captain Marvel, early on, subduing villains who were firing at him with a machine gun, only to turn it on a second wave of them charging at him.
Then later we see Captain Marvel gorilla-pressing a thug, then tossing him off the roof of a big skyscraper.Overall a worthwhile film when it comes to experiencing a cinematic artifact, and enjoying a good story..
A genuinely interesting storyline (especially for those of us who grew up on comics and/or pulp magazine reprints), augmented by some of the greatest flying effects ever devised (man-made, hands-on fx, courtesy of the Lydecker brothers), makes ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL a fanboy's dream come true.
Tom Tyler appears to have been born to play Marvel, and Frank Coghlan, Jr. as Billy Batson would've made a good Marvel, Jr.
"The Adventures of Captain Marvel" was the first of the serials/movies based on a comic book (as opposed to a comic strip, such as "Flash Gordon").
The story, while typical of the serial-genre, is good and the stunts (e.g. a double backflip kick worthy of Jackie Chan) and special effects (especially the flying scenes) are ambitious and well executed.
Gerald Mohr, the "voice" of "The Scorpion" ; Does "Captain Marvel" adumbrate or inspire *LOTR*, "STAR WARS* ?.
In this 1941 Republic "Captain Marvel" serial, the real-life actor, Gerald Mohr, was the "voice" of "The Scorpion," the villain of the piece.
You can find something "towards" Mohr's OTR roles in his Wikipedia page.Also, it should be noted that the Republic "Captain Marvel" serial adumbrated ( and possibly inspired ?
the voice-changing quality of the face-mask may have been used for effect, nevertheless, in the Republic "Captain Marvel" serial, the technique is used for concealment, to hide the real identity of the villain.
Thus, he cannot be betrayed by any of them.Could the "Captain Marvel" serial have inspired *STAR WARS* in this respect, of using a face-mask so to change the quality of the voice?