The Red Circle (1915)

The Strings of Steel

The Strings of Steel is a silent Action serial. Episode titles: 1. The Voice on the Wire 2. The First Central 3. Fighting for Love 4. The Power of Might 5. Kings of the Wire 6. Voice of the Continent 7. Telephone Poles 8. War of the Wire 9. When Lightning Strikes 10. Love and Victory.

Brenda Starr, Reporter

Reporter Brenda Starr and her photographer Chuck Allen get involved in a search for the loot from a payroll robbery. Cliffhanging action and adventure and a fair amount of comic relief follow them at every turn.

The Goddess

A young girl is reared on a desert island by natives and led to believe that she is a goddess. One day an outsider comes to the island, and persuades her to accompany him to preach about the kindness and love she has experienced. She agrees, but she's soon confronted by the problems and travails of the "outside" world.

The Desert Hawk

Evil Hassan slips back into his native land of Ahad and plots to overthrow his twin bother, Kasim, who has just been crowned the Caliph. Hassan enlists the aid of the chief Chamberlain, Faud and they send several henchmen into the royal palace, who then knock Kasim unconscious. Faud and Hassan dispatch a couple of different hirelings to take Kasim into another part of the town and murder him.Kasin comes to and gets away, but has been wounded. Omar, a beggar, takes Kasim to his home and nurses him back to health. But, it takes a few weeks for Kasin to get healthy and, by that time, Hassan has a firm grip on the duties of a Caliph. In a storeroom, Kasim finds a coat of mail with a great hawk emblazoned across the chest and promptly decides this is the costume he will wear while fighting to get his old job back. Meanwhile, the Emir of Telif shows up with his daughter, Princess Azala, with the intent of marrying her off to the local Caliph.

The Grip of Evil

An English nobleman is banished from home because of his attachment to a girl "not of his class." He marries the girl, comes to America with her, and a child, John Burton, subsequently the hero of each chapter of this serial, is born to them. 14 chapters.

The Eagle's Eye

A criminologist and a government agent team up to expose a ring of German spies.

The Silent Mystery

While visiting Egypt, Mrs. Graham steals a famous jewel called "The Eye of the World" from a mummy's sarcophagus and returns to the United States, planning to use the gem as collateral for a loan. Kah, the priestess in charge of protecting the tombs of Egyptian nobility, is soon on her trail , determined to retrieve the gem. Mrs. Graham's lovely daughter, Betty, agrees to marry a suitor for money to prop up her father's failing business. When the bridegroom is murdered on the couple's wedding night, and the body disappears, Phil Kelly decides to lend a hand in solving the crimes.

The Adventure of the Torture Cage

Lieutenant Commander John Byrne of the Naval Secret Service and his partner Pvt. Bill Riggers chase criminal Dr. Sin Fang, who is desperate to find a lost sacred seal. (The fifth and only surviving episode of a six-part serial about an evil mastermind inspired on Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu.)

Into the Net

Madge Clayton, a society girl, mysteriously disappears. The police suspect a master criminal is behind the girl's abduction, but her brother, Bob, and fiancé, Bert Moore, help with the search. They unearth a scheme to kidnap another girl, Natalie Van Cleef, and the evidence takes Bob and Bert to an estate on Long Island.

Daredevils of the West

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

Gloria's Romance

An adventurous young girl in Florida gets herself lost in the Everglades and finds terror and excitement, as well as the rivalry of two men in love with her.

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.

Fantômas

A French silent film serial which follows the exploits of the archvillain Fantômas, who commits crimes while eluding Inspector Juve's tireless persecution.

The Eleventh Hour

An evil prince plans to use a super-explosive to take over the world.

The Evil Eye

This serial, starring boxer Leslie King, is presumed lost.

The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris

Paris is prey to an invisible terror against which the police can do nothing: a sinister organization that sows chaos and death. The intrepid journalist Philippe Guérande and his partner embark on a long crusade to put an end to the crimes of the Great Vampire and Irma Vep, his dangerous accomplice. (A ten episode movie serial.)

Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery

After being defeated in a fight by a local gang, local official Lu Fengyang sends his weak and sickly son Lu Xiaoqing to study with a master of the Kunlun school of martial arts. Recovered and strong, he comes upon the Red Lotus Temple, and puts up there for the night. Unable to sleep, he begins looking around the palatial temple, and discovers a room decorated with many images of Buddhist demons, and an altar to worship them... Purposely destroyed serial film whose 19 full length chapters (averaging 86 minutes each) originally ran 27 hours in length.

The Ace of Scotland Yard

From the Universal synopsis: Retired Inspector Blake of Scotland Yard learns that Lord Blanton has acquired the sacred "Love Ring"---a cursed jewel that has brought grief to its previous owners. Prince Darius seeks to obtain the ring, and the mummy of a princess of an ancient country to return them to his homeland.

The Neglected Wife

A 1917 movie serial

King of the Wild

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

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.

Mysterious Doctor Satan

A mad scientist named Dr. Satan plots to steal key pieces of technology to enable him to build an army of robots based on his prototype to conquer America. The only one standing in his way is Bob Wayne, who fights Satan as the enigmatic Copperhead. Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is the masked mystery man, "The Copperhead", whose secret identity is Bob Wayne, a man searching for justice and revenge on Satan for the death of his step-father. The serial charts the conflict between the two as Bob Wayne pursues Doctor Satan, while the latter completes his plans for world domination.

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.

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...

G-men vs. the Black Dragon

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

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...

Elmo the Fearless

Elmo finds himself in 18 different hair raising and dangerous adventures always escaping in the nick of time!

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 Broken Coin

A movie serial directed by Francis Ford.

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 Roaring West

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

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.

The Mystery Rider

Silent cowboy Western serial.

Trader Tom of the China Seas

In this 12 Chapter serial the UN enlists trader Tom Rogers and Vivian Wells, to lead the effort to prevent the natives from starting a revolution in Burmatra and its neighbors.

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.

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.

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.

The Third Eye

A pretty movie star is stalked by a strange gang whose leader is infatuated with her in this superior Pathé serial written by genre specialist H.H. van Loan. Released in 15 chapters between May and August of 1920, the serial offered a glimpse into the still mysterious world of movie-making

Lightning Bryce

Two prospectors, one the father of Sky "Lightning" Bryce and the other the father of Kate Arnold, find a large gold deposit belonging to an Indian tribe. They head for home but each sends a note to their respective off-springs advising them of their good fortune. One of the fathers conceives a plan of taking a dagger and wrapping a piece of string around the blade, after which he prints on the string with a lead pencil, the exact location of their find. If something happens to them, the string goes to the son and the knife to the daughter. That night an Indian approaches their camp and blows some mysterious wolf powder which causes a man to see wolves in place of human beings. Lightning's father see his partner as a wolf and stabs him to death; later he is brought into town in a dying condition but before dying, hands the knife and the string over to the sheriff with instructions to deliver to Lightning and Kate.

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 Brass Bullet

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

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.