Marvel Movie Madness! Part 32: Captain America (1944)

Matthew Younker

The many inherent problems with serials:
1) Probably their greatest drawback is the running time. With over 15 chapters Captain America is over 4 hours long, which is about the equivalent of watching two films back to back or watching just about every Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin short ever made. Both are better options than watching this or any serial. If you have four hours to kill you should watch the directorâ??s cut of Dances With Wolves, youâ??ll feel better.
2) Their selling point is style over substance (spectacle over story). Since most serials are over 60 years old the action scenes do not stand the test of time. Seeing Captain America grasping to the roof of a speeding train was probably a sight to behold in its day, but weâ??ve seen this scene performed better in more recent films like U.S. Marshals, Speed, Mission Impossible, etc.
3) As stated before there is not much, if any, story or character development. The bad guys have a nefarious plot; just in the nick of time Captain America shows up and repeatedly decks them in fight scenes reminiscent of Adam Westâ??s Batman, without the campy fun or the Wham! & Bang!â??s. Just when it looks like our heroâ??s about to meet his maker, Cliffhanger! At the start of the next scene he eludes the fatal danger, often by just jumping out of the way.

Captain America is an average, perhaps above average, serial for the 1940â??s, but serials are an art form that has died off and what we were left with are long, hokey, uninteresting tales that simply do not stand the test of time.

Jul 20 - 05:40 PM

Justin D.

Why was this post hidden away? I've been waiting for it to come up and didn't see it on the main page. It wasn't until I checked the schedule that I noticed it was in bold. In any event this sounds really cheesy. I've never even heard of this serial before. I'll have to check it out when I get a chance. I bet it's really bad.

Jul 20 - 05:53 PM

Alex Gonzales

Never got to check this one out, but if it's like the two Batman serials from the time its at the very least a glimpse into the entertainment of the time.

Jul 20 - 06:07 PM

Alexson Philipiah

Never seen it, never will.

Jul 20 - 06:33 PM

Joshua Dinsmore

Hmmm, seems pretty cheesy. Ok now I'm hungry. :P

Jul 20 - 07:11 PM

Bentley Lyles

Is this available on DVD? I'd like to give it a look. Worried about the new one. Look at the Tomatometer!

Jul 20 - 07:14 PM

Frisby 2007

I laughed just looking & reading through this.

Jul 20 - 07:18 PM

King Crunk

I had no idea this existed. I knew about the horrible one from the early '90s, but had no clue about this piece of uber cheese.

Jul 20 - 07:22 PM

Daniel Raimondi

never seen it

Jul 20 - 07:44 PM

Travon Smith

It needed more cowbell.

Jul 20 - 08:01 PM

Bob Bloom

As a devotee of serials, especially those at Republic, I can attest to the hokum and charm of "Captain America." There has been much written about the constrenation at the comic book company when officials there found out that Republic's version of its character had been renamed, booted out of the army and given an essential civilian job, lost his shield, lost Bucky and lost his main enemy the Red Skull.
The serial is average; there are many better cliffhangers from Republic and other studios. What it has going for it is Lionel Atwill as the villain, named the Scarab, and great stunt work by the familiar Republic team of Tom Steele, Dale Van Sickle and others, plus wonderful special effects by the Lydecker brothers.
A serial is meant to be watched at a chapter or two at a time, not all 15 chapters in one 4-hour stretch, so I suggest that any newcomers to the serial genre, take it slowly and begin a chapter at a time to get used to the pace of serials. you will not be sorry. and if you like, check out Spy Smasher, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, or any of the Flash Gordon serial trilogy.

Jul 20 - 08:02 PM

sputnik 99

You always hear about how great things were in the "good ol' days" but this serial is a perfect example of how the more things change, the more they stay the same. There was great stuff 70 years ago, but there was also just as much crap as there is nowadays. Nothing changes. American society isn't losing any of its class. It's just as good--and bad--as it ever was.

Jul 20 - 09:17 PM

Ethan Heaven

When the word "swell" is used as a positive adjective, you know you're in for some cheesy fun.

Jul 21 - 10:41 AM

M Mikell

It isn't Cap; it's a "dashing crime-fighting District Attorney" story only the guy stops to waste time putting on a (wildly inaccurate) Cap costume before punching the thugs.

But yes, it is fun, in an MST3K-at-home sort of way. The most hilarious element (beyond the usual cliffhanger cop-outs that serials are known for) is that Cap fails so miserably. Sure, he eventually nails the bad guy (Lionel Atwill! The best thing about this mess!), but only after the villain successfully kills every scientist and politician Gardner has sworn to protect AND figures out Pseudo-Cap's identity, which subsequently becomes public knowledge. That's right; no more dress-up for Gardner and no "Captain America Returns," kids.

FAIL.

Jul 21 - 01:02 PM