Who Is Number One? (1917)

The Million Dollar Mystery

This twenty-three episode serial told the story of a secret society called The Black Hundred and its attempts to gain control of a lost million dollars.

The Girl Detective

A series of 2-reel thrillers in which a society girl has a position as a special investigator for the police and works on various cases where her unique talents can help to solve crimes. Each episode is complete in itself.

The House of Hate

A young heiress of an American gun factory is threatened by a masked man after her father was murdered. This criminal might be a member of her family or a German agent, who wants to get information about the factory's products, perhaps his mystery has a combined solution - we will probably never know...

The Broken Coin

A movie serial directed by Francis Ford.

The Hurricane Express

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 Iron Claw

The heirs of Anton Benson are searching Bensonhurst for hidden gold; they are joined by a reporter, a gangster...and a masked fiend known as The Iron Claw.

Dick Tracy's G-Men

A mad doctor named Zanoff uses a drug to bring himself back from the dead after his execution in prison. Dick Tracy sets out to capture Zanoff before he can put his criminal gang back together again.

The Vanishing Legion

A mysterious master criminal known as The Voice plots with his gang to sabotage the Milesburg Oil Company, but the rightful heir has a secret army of her own to protect her rights.

Blake of Scotland Yard

Sir James Blake has retired from Scotland Yard so that he can assist his niece Hope and her friend Jerry in developing an apparatus they have invented. Sir James thinks that their invention has the potential to prevent wars, and plans to donate it to the League of Nations. But a gang of criminals led by the elusive "Scorpion" steals the device, and Blake and his associates must recover the invention and determine the identity of the "Scorpion".

The Mysterious Mr. M

An evil scientist known as "Mr. M." uses a drug he has developed called "hypnotreme" to help steal submarine equipment. Federal agent Grant Farrell is dispatched to find the mysterious villain and stop his nefarious plans.

The Exploits of Elaine

Elaine Dodge is the beautiful young daughter of Taylor Dodge, president of the Consolidated Insurance Company. When Mr Dodge is murdered by a mysterious cloaked figure known only as the Clutching Hand, Elaine enlists the aid of Craig Kennedy to unmask the killer

The Mystery Squadron

Hank Davis, foreman on a huge dam project, enlists the aid of his two flyer friends when a sinister figure known as The Black Ace leads his Mystery Squadron of masked pilots in an attempt to destroy the dam.

The Whispering Shadow

A mysterious criminal known as The Whispering Shadow commits crimes by means of a gang he controls by television and radio rays. Jack Norton, whose brother was murdered by The Whispering Shadow, suspects that the eerie Professor Strang - whose ghostly wax museum contains figures far too lifelike - may be involved in the crimes.

The Secret of Treasure Island

A variety of people are searching for a long-hidden treasure somewhere on an island. Chapters: 1. The Isle of Fear, 2. The Ghost Talks, 3. The Phantom Duel, 4. Buried Alive, 5. The Girl Who Vanished, 6. Trapped by the Flood, 7. The Cannon Roars, 8. The Circle of Death, 9. The Pirate's Revenge, 10. The Crash, 11. Dynamite, 12. The Bridge of Doom, 13. The Mad Flight, 14. The Jaws of Destruction, 15. Justice

The Mystery of the Double Cross

Originally written for Pearl White, this silent serial is a great action-packed adventure starring Molly King and Leon Bary. This serial had fifteen chapters, each one two reels in length. The chapters were: 1. The Lady in Number '7' 2. The Masked Stranger 3. An Hour to Live 4. Kidnapped 5. The Life Current 6. The Dead Come Back 7. Into Thin Air 8. The Stranger Disposes 9. When Jail Birds Fly 10. The Hole-in-the-Wall 11. Love's Sacrifice 12. Riddle of the Double Cross 13. The Face of the Stranger 14. The Hidden Brand 15. Mystery of the Double Cross.

The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand

15-Chapter Serial about a scientist that discovers a formula for making synthetic gold and the people that want it.

The Green Archer

The struggle over the Bellamy estate ends with Michael Bellamy accused of murder and killed on the way to prison, while his brother Abel Bellamy takes control of the estate for his own nefarious plans.

Chick Carter, Detective

Detective Chick Carter (Lyle Talbot)finds himself on his most exciting case when Sherry Martin (Julie Gibson), a singer at the Century Club, reports the robbery of the famous Blue Diamond, owned by Joe Carney (Charles King), the owner of the nightclub.

The Phantom of the West

A young man's father is murdered and the man convicted of the crime escapes prison, leaving a note intimating that seven local men know the real killer's true identity. The murdered man's son sets out to locate the seven men and find his father's slayer in this ten episode serial.

The Crimson Stain Mystery

In attempting to develop a chemical which would make a person super-intelligent, Dr. Montrose fails and the subjects of his experiments metamorphose into hideous monsters who band together and prey on humans. With the police stymied, a young detective attempts to track down the leader of the group of killers, known only to have a small crimson stain in one eye.

The Adventures of Daredevil Jack

Heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey stars in this 15 chapter action serial, of which portions of reels 1, 2, and 4 survive. In the serial he plays the star fullback of his college's football team who gets drawn into an adventure when he stops to rescue a young woman from some thugs on a country road. It includes a gag featuring an exploding football. The rest of the cast includes Lon Chaney, Edgar Kennedy, Bull Montana, Josie Sedgwick and Herschel Mayall.

The Master Mystery

In this action-packed serial, government agent Quentin Locke infiltrates a corrupt patents company, only to run into the gleaming terror of its robot protector, the Automaton. In order to save the beautiful Eva Brent and find a cure for the dreaded Madagascar Madness, Locke suffers an inhuman array of tortures and physical restraints. He is chained, tied with barbed wire, padlocked in a crate and thrown in the water, tied beneath a descending elevator, strapped to an electric chair, and bound in an elaborate Oriental torture chamber.

The Fatal Warning

When a bank executive disappears, he is accused of stealing a fortune from the bank. But his daughter and her criminologist friend set out to find her father and clear his name.

The Great Gamble

The Great Gamble is a 1919 movie serial.

The Mysteries of Myra

Myra Maynard's family is cursed by the devil-worshipping Black Order and she is marked for death by black magic on the eve of her eighteenth birthday. Dr. Payson Alden, the movies' first psychic detective, uses science to try and defeat the cult's evil spells, and is assisted by his friend Haji, a Hindu mystic. During the course of the 15 episodes of the serial, the clairvoyant Myra is assaulted by, among other supernatural menaces, astral demons, a fire elemental, even a "thought monster" brought to life by the malicious will of fifteen men, Levitation, crystal balls, automatic writing, mediums, witchcraft, a golden idol come to life, and many more bizarre elements which made movie history also figure into the story to make this a truly fascinating series that you will not want to miss. (mysteriesofmyra.com)

The Phantom Rider

A new town doctor arrives at the same time as local Indians needprotection from troublemaking looters.

Cody of the Pony Express

Buffalo Bill Cody battles a gang of outlaws secretly headed by an unscrupulous lawyer.

The Spider Returns

The evil and masked "Gargoyle" is sabotaging all of America's industrial plants. It is up to the Spider to save the country.

Son of Geronimo

The self-styled son of Indian chief Geronimo gets himself involved with a gang of nasty whites in this typical low-budget 15 chapter serial, which benefitted from a great deal of footage from the the stock piles at Columbia Pictures. Jim Scott and wagon train boss Tulsa are on to the nefarious schemes of Rance Rankin and Ace Devlin, getting words of warning through to Portico, the Son of Geronimo. With Portico's help, the white renegades are finally destroyed in the serial's concluding chapter, "Peace Treaty." Moore, the future star of the television series The Lone Ranger, was here billed "Clay Moore."

Roar of the Iron Horse

Columbia Pictures elevated stunt man Jock O'Mahoney to stardom in this 15 chapter western serial about the building of the transcontinental railroad. O'Mahoney played a railroad agent who uncovers the master criminal behind a series of sabotage attempts on the construction site.

Drums of Fu Manchu

The nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu searches for the keys to the tomb of Genghis Khan, in order to fulfill a prophecy that will enable him to conquer the world. His nemesi, Dr. Nayland Smith and his associates fight to keep the evil doctor from getting his hands on the keys. In 1943 the serial was edited together into a feature movie also called Drums of Fu Manchu.

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

Dr. Mabuse and his organization of criminals are in the process of completing their latest scheme, a theft of information that will allow Mabuse to make huge profits on the stock exchange. Afterwards, Mabuse disguises himself and attends the Folies Bergères show, where Cara Carozza, the main attraction of the show, passes him information on Mabuse's next intended victim, the young millionaire Edgar Hull. Mabuse then uses psychic manipulation to lure Hull into a card game where he loses heavily. When Police Commissioner von Wenk begins an investigation of this mysterious crime spree, he has little to go on, and he needs to find someone who can help him.

Scouts to the Rescue

Filmed in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Sonora, California, this Universal serial is Universal's 40th sound-era serial. Eagle Scout Bruce Scott, leader of Martinsville Troop Number One, and his pack sets off in search of lost treasure and finds adventure

Overland Mail

Two investigators for a stagecoach company are assigned to find out why the company's stages keep being ambushed. They discover that the culprits are white men disguised as Indians, and they set out to discover who is behind the plot.

King of the Mounties

King of the Candian riding police is up against Japs and Nazis who are about to invade Canada. They just want to clear the way with a new futuristic plane called "The Falcon" first, but that's not gonna happen if Kig has his way.

Ruth of the Rockies

A young woman finds a trunk full of stolen diamonds, takes them and heads westward, pursued by the thief.

The Lone Ranger

In 1865, Captain Mark Smith of the Confederate Army leads a band of deserters to conquer Texas and rule it as a dictator. In one of his first actions, he captures and assumes the identity of Texas' new Finance Commissioner, Colonel Marcus Jeffries, after having the real man murdered. When a contingent of Texas Rangers enters the territory, Snead, one of Smith's men, leads them into an ambush by Smith's "troopers". The Rangers are apparently wiped out, although one injured survivor is left. The survivor, nursed back to health by Tonto, swears to avenge the massacre and defeat "Colonel Jeffries" and his men.

The Lost Jungle

12 part movie serial where Clyde Beatty encounters obstacles and adventure on his way to rescue his damsel in distress.

The Ventures of Marguerite

As heiress to a large fortune, Marguerite is able to satisfy her love for beautiful clothes and a taste for adventure, while confronted by a multitude of schemers and gangsters bent on reducing her to poverty.

Dangers of the Canadian Mounted

Crooks discover a Genghis Khan treasure ship on the Canada-Alaska border but the treasure is hidden somewhere on land. In their efforts to find the hidden treasure they resort to murder and sabotage to stop the construction of the Alcan highway which will bring homesteaders to the area. Sergeant Royal of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police battles through 12 episodes to find the crooks and to learn the identity of their mysterious leader known only as 'The Boss'.

Government Agents vs Phantom Legion

Two federal agents battle a gang that hijacks trucks carrying materials vital for the security of the country and sells them to foreign powers.

The Perils of Pauline

The Perils of Pauline is a motion picture serial shown in weekly installments featuring the actress Pearl White playing the title character. Pauline has often been cited as a famous example of a damsel-in-distress, although viewers will find her character more resourceful and less helpless than the classic 'damsel' stereotype. Nine episodes (from a condensed 1916 re-release) survive to this day.

Radar Patrol vs. Spy King

The war lords of a potential enemy of the US has the spy ring, led by John Baroda, the Spy King and his aide Nitra, sabotaging the plans for a vast defense system of radar stations along the American borders. Radar Defense Bureau operative Chris Calvert comes to the rescue of a brilliant radar scientist, Joan Hughes, who has been kidnapped by Baroda henchmen in chapter 1 ("The Fatal Fog"), and the two battle together before putting an end to the Spy King in the aptly-named chapter 12, "Day of Reckoning".

The Black Widow

The Daily Clarion hires detective story writer Steve Colt to investigate the deaths of a group of scientists working on an atomic rocket development project. Behind the killings is fortune teller Sombra, a spy from an Asian country intent on world domination, who is determined to pilfer the atomic rocket by luring workers from the project to her parlor and killing them with black widow spider venom when they refuse to cooperate.

Mysterious Island

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.

Gunfighters of the Northwest

Constable Ward is assigned to track down a mysterious villain known only as The Leader. Trying to locate a secret gold mine, The Leader pits the Indians against the Mounties, whom he blames for creating trouble.

Daughter of Don Q

When the unscrupulous Carlos Manning discovers that an old Spanish land grant recently unearthed will leave a huge section of California real estate to the heirs of Don Quantero, he employs Mel Donovan and his killer henchmen to murder them all. That will leave Manning as the sole heir to millions. However, Delores Quantero tumbles to this plot and enlists the aide of two-fisted reporter, Cliff Roberts to save all her relatives

The Lost City

An evil scientist invents a earthquake machine and plots to take over the world from his base in Africa.

The Phantom Creeps

A mad scientist attempts to rule the world by creating various elaborate inventions.

The Lost Special

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

Daredevils of the West

A gang of land-grabbers tries to prevent safe passage of the Foster Stage Company through frontier territory.

Radar Men from the Moon

Commando Cody, 'Sky Marshal of the Universe', works with American scientists Joan Gilbert and Ted Richards in the development of a flying suit and a rocket to the Moon. When the nation's defences are being sabotaged and destroyed, Cody learns that an atomic-gun is being used and that the men on the moon are the culprits.

King of the Circus

Eddie King goes up against a villainous circus owner in this action adventure which was directed by genre specialist J.P. McGowan and released in 18 chapters.