CAPTAIN VIDEO (1951)--colorized
Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere is an American adventure horror science fiction film 15-chapter serial released by Columbia Pictures in 1951. It was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Wallace A. Grissel with a screenplay by Royal G. Cole, Sherman I. Lowe and Joseph F. Poland, based on a treatment by George H. Plympton. The serial is unique for several reasons--- in particular, it is the only film serial ever based on a television program, Captain Video and His Video Rangers.
In this film, an extraterrestrial dictator plans to conquer the planet Earth by orchestrating climate change on a planetary scale.
Plot
Judd Holdren, in what was only his second starring screen role, plays Captain Video, the leader of a group of crime-fighters known as the Video Rangers. He faces an interplanetary menace, as the evil dictator of the planet Atoma, Vultura (Gene Roth) and his lackey, the traitorous earth scientist Dr. Tobor (George Eldredge) are planning to conquer the planet Earth, by controlling the weather. Climate change is the aliens' weapon.
Cast
Judd Holdren as Captain Video
Larry Stewart as Ranger
George Eldredge as Dr. Tobor
Gene Roth as Vultura
Don C. Harvey as Gallagher (as Don Harvey)
William Fawcett as Alpha [Chs. 1–3,7,15]
Jack Ingram as Henchman Aker [Chs. 1,7,10–14]
I. Stanford Jolley as Zorol [Chs. 8–9]
Skelton Knaggs as Retner
Jimmy Stark as Ranger Rogers
Rusty Wescoatt as Henchman Beal [Chs. 1,7,11]
Zon Murray as Henchman Elko [Chs. 1,7,10–14]
Production
Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere was the only serial adapted from television.
It was one of Katzman's first forays into science fiction and was soon followed by The Lost Planet.
As produced by Sam Katzman, the serial had a production budget much larger than the famously small budget of the DuMont Television Network's live daily television series.
Captain Video and his teenaged sidekick, the otherwise nameless "Video Ranger" (Larry Stewart), must make frequent visits both to Atoma and to another distant planet, Theros. Both Atoma and Theros are filmed at Bronson Canyon, and Vasquez Rocks, so to distinguish the two, the Atoma footage is tinted pink and the Theros footage is tinted green in the original release prints. These colored scenes were processed by Cinecolor.
This was the second of only three science fiction serials released by Columbia. The third, The Lost Planet (1953), is a virtual sequel although with different character names.
Release
Theatrical
Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere was very successful when first released to theaters, and kept playing long after other serials had been retired to the vaults. It is one of only two serials that Columbia reissued three times (in 1958, 1960, and 1963).
Chapter titles
Journey into Space
Menace of Atoma
Captain Video's Peril
Entombed in Ice
Flames of Atoma
Astray in the Stratosphere
Blasted by the Atomic Eye
Invisible Menace
Video Springs a Trap
Menace of the Mystery Metal
Weapon of Destruction
Robot Rocket
Mystery of Station X
Vengeance of Vultura
Video vs. Vultura
-
LIVE
Spittin' Chiclets
2 hours agoSpittin’ Chiclets Episode 499: Playoff Madness
1,163 watching -
DVR
Benny Johnson
2 hours agoHISTORY! Trump DOMINATES New Polls After +100,000 Patriot MAGA Rally | DNC in PANIC, Swap Biden? 🚨
33.3K29 -
LIVE
Midnight's Edge
1 hour agoDisney approval plummets, so does Doctor Who ratings! | MEiTM #560
1,120 watching -
LIVE
jeffahern
2 hours agoMonday Madness with Jeff Ahern (9AM Pacific)
120 watching -
1:10:34
Steven Crowder
2 hours agoMake Afroman Great Again: Afroman Sits Down For a ONE-OF-A-KIND Interview
44K283 -
1:20:37
Graham Allen
4 hours agoBiden Camp PANICS After 100k+ Show Up For Surging Trump!
46.2K129 -
2:43:11
Matt Kohrs
12 hours agoGameStop Is Squeezing, China on Tilt & The Week Ahead || The MK Show
32.2K7 -
1:02:42
Rethinking the Dollar
2 hours agoThe Next Banking Event Will Be Off The Charts | Monday Morning Check-In: A Quick Glance IN The News
25.8K4 -
1:37:00
The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters
8 hours agoThe Podcast of the Lotus Eaters #913
50.2K26 -
6:37
Chris Jericho
23 hours agoThe Unsolved Mystery & Murder of Rachel Morin
32.2K1