The Great Secret (1917)

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.

Pearl of the Army

A 1916 movie serial.

The Lawless Legion

Cal Stanley goes undercover as a beef buyer in order to catch the gang responsible for stealing the area's cattle.

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.

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.

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 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.)

The Adventures of Kathlyn

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.

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.

Bride 13

A gang of Tripolitan pirates swooped down and kidnapped 13 wealthy brides, whom they held for ransom.

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 Girl and the Game

Irrepressible Helen Rhinelander, the daughter of a railroad president. A dastardly villain, Segrue, however, desires not only Helen but also the plans for a new railroad. Happily, Helen's childhood sweetheart, Paul Storm, now an engineer, is right there to protect the damsel-in-distress through the serial's 15 exciting chapters.

A Son of the Sahara

As a boy, Raoul is reared by an Arab tribe in Algerian Sahara. Years later, as a refined Europeanized gentleman, he falls in love with Barbara, an officer's daughter, who rejects him when she discovers his background. Affecting a raid, he captures her and then secretly buys her at a slave auction. When she is rescued by French troops, however, his ancestry is established and they find happiness together.

Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl

Bertha Sloan loses her job as a sewing-machine girl and subsequently is employed as telephone girl with a lingerie manufacturing company. She soon falls in love with the assistant shipping clerk, Roy Davis, and is promoted to chief model for the firm, owing to the patronage of Morton, the wealthy and wicked manager. Bertha is about to take a position in Paris as designer when Morton lures her to his home.

The Valley of Vanishing Men

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

Young Eagles

Feature version of the 1934 movie serial of the same name, never exhibited in the USA.

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.

The Big Fight

Based on the David Belasco stage production of the Max Marcin play in which heavyweight-champion Jack Dempsey played the role of the fighter, Tiger: This "behind-the-scenes look of a heavyweight-championship fight" looks much like all of the other boxing films in which the Champ gets involved in a frame-up and is asked to take a dive.

Kismet

Hajj, a rascally beggar on the periphery of the court of Baghdad, schemes to marry his daughter to royalty and to win the heart of the queen of the castle himself. This film is believed lost.

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.

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.

Mandrake the Magician

Feature version of the American serial film, produced for export only, never exhibited in the USA, and believed to be a lost film.

The Spider Returns

Feature version of the American serial film of the same name, edited for exhibition overseas only, never exhibited in the USA in any medium, and evidently a lost film.

The Secret Code

Feature version of the 1942 American serial film of the same title, prepared for the export market, never seen in any media format in the United States, and apparently a lost film.

King of the Wild

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

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.

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 Broken Coin

A movie serial directed by Francis Ford.

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.

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.

Do or Die

A 1921 movie serial directed by J.P. McGowan. Chapters: 1. The Buccaneer's Bride 2. The Hornet's Nest 3. The Secret of the Sea 4. The Hidden Danger 5. The Bandit's Victim 6. The Escape 7. In Hiding 8. The Trap 9. Under Sentence 10. The Secret Cavern 11. Satan's Twin 12. The Lost Ring 13. The Cipher Key 14. The Midnight Attack 15. The Race for Life 16. The Crystal Lake 17. A Fight to the Finish 18. Hidden Treasure

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

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

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.

Cody of the Pony Express

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

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 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.