The Phantom of the West (1930)

The Adventures of Ruth

Daniel Robin has become mixed up with a band of criminals known as "the 13," and is shot when he refuses to do their bidding. His daughter Ruth, brought home from boarding school, reaches his bedside before he expires. He tells her that she will be given thirteen keys. Instructions will be provided with each key and, if she follows the instructions, she will eventually fully learn of her birthright. Many adventures then follow as Ruth attempts to solve the puzzle of each key and establish her true birthright.

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.

A Lass of the Lumberlands

15-episode serial directed by Paul Hurst and J.P. McGowan.

Perils of Nyoka

Professor Campbell's expedition into the hills of Libya obtains a papyrus which might reveal the hiding place of the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates, containing lost medical secrets. Also in the region is intrepid Nyoka Gordon, still seeking her father, lost on a previous expedition. She alone can translate the papyrus, which directs our heroes through deadly perils (including the Tunnel of Bubbling Death) into the land of the Tuaregs. Opposing them are Vultura, Queen of the Desert, and her Arab ally Cassib, both greedy for the treasure...

The Lightning Raider

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 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 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...

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.

Ruth of the Rockies

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

The Red Glove

On the American frontier in the last decades of the 19th century, Billie is a female cowboy who fights a series of bad men in this film serial.

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.

Perils of the Wilderness

In the 56th (and next-to-last serial) made by Columbia Pictures, Montana Deputy Dan Lawson, posing as an outlaw called Laramie, goes to the Canadian northwest on the trail of Bart Randall who is wanted for murder and bank robbery in the states. In Canada, Randall is a little more upscale and uses a hydra-plane and a fake totem to over-awe the Indians. Laramie is aided in his search by RCMP Sergeant Gray and by Donna Blane, who is suspected at first of giving information to Randall, but who is actually a Canadian secret agent investigating Randall's gun-trading with the Indians.

The Shielding Shadow

The 15 chapter story involves the heroine being protected by a shadow with burning eyes. There's also a cloak of invisibility, some hypnotism and a giant octopus added to the mix.

Flash Gordon

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 Adventures of Smilin' Jack

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.

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.

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

Trailed by Three

The story of a girl who for months was in perpetual peril; on land, on sea, everywhere, Orient, Occident, and the Antipodes.

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.

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.

King of the Wild

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

The Timber Queen

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.

Zorro's Fighting Legion

The mysterious Don Del Oro ("Lord of Gold"), an idol of the Yaqui Indians, plans to take over the gold and become Emperor. Francisco was put in charge of a legion to combat the Yaqui tribe and protect the land, but when attacked Zorro came to his rescue. Francisco's partner recognized Zorro as the hidalgo Don Diego Vega, then ask him to take over the fighting legion as his alter-ego Zorro.

The New Adventures of Tarzan

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.

Elmo, the Mighty

Mr. Lincoln's tremendous physique fits him especially for serial work, where strength and daring are all important! An 18-episode adventure movie serial where Elmo saves the day through derring-do.

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.

G-men vs. the Black Dragon

Japanese spies attempt to subvert America's war effort; G-Men attempt to thwart their plot.

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.

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

The Valley of Vanishing Men

Prospector Henry Tolliver disappears and his son "Wild Bill" Tolliver comes looking for him.

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.

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."

Cody of the Pony Express

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

Blazing the Overland Trail

Roberts and Moore played an army scout and a pony express rider who come to the aid of settlers terrorized by a greedy rancher-turned-outlaw.

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 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.

King of the Rocket Men

Prof. Millard pretends to be dead and helps Jeff King ferret out Vulcan, the evil traitor at the science academy. Donning his Rocket Man costume King goes from one hair raising rescue to the next in order to keep the newly invented Decimator out of the clutches of Vulcan and his minions.

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.

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 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

Wild West Days

Retired lawman Kentucky Wade and his three buddies, Mike Morales, "Dude" Hanford and "Trigger" Benton come to Brimstone and help their friends Larry Munro and his sister, Lucy , in their fight to retain control of Larry's rich ore mine. "Doc" Hardy , as an old friend of Wade's, joins them in their efforts to keep Matt Keeler , the scheming owner of "The Brimstone News", from his efforts to wrest control of Munro's property and mine. Keller employs a legion of henchmen, and sidelines at running runs guns to Red Hatchet and his tribe so they can also get in on the fray against the Munro's and Kentucky and friends.

The Roaring West

A 15-episode serial involving the land rush, gold mines, stolen maps, etc.

The Mystery Rider

Silent cowboy Western serial.

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.

Hop Harrigan: America's Ace of the Airways

Hop Harrigan, a top Air Corps pilot, leaves the military and he and his mechanic, Tank Tinker, open up a small charter air service. They are hired to fly an inventor, Dr. Tabor, to his secret laboratory, where he is working on a new and powerful energy machine. However, a mysterious villain named The Chief Pilot is determined to have the new energy machine for his own purposes and kidnaps Dr. Tabor.

Heroes of the West

Efforts to build a transcontinental railroad are resisted by crooks and Indians on the warpath. A 12-chapter movie serial.

Gordon of Ghost City

A cowboy is hired to track down a gang of rustlers, but gets involved with a beautiful girl trying to run her grandfather's gold mine and other outlaws who are trying to stop her.

King of the Royal Mounted

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

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.

Jungle Drums of Africa

In Africa, a deceased medical missionary's daughter in Africa carries on her father's work. Before long, she finds herself in danger from crooks and a local witch doctor.

The James Brothers of Missouri

This 12-part serial concerns the efforts of the infamous James brothers (of which Jesse was a prominent member) to become normal everyday citizens. Of course, there's no room in the Wild West for reformed outlaws, and the duo inevitably find themselves caught up in showdowns and robberies.

Riders of the Plains

B-Western regulars Jack Perrin and Marilyn Mills starred in this obscure, low-budget Western serial released in 15 chapters.