ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

______________


Well my goodness, here's one straight out of left field!

The poster for this rare Columbia serial was done by Hollywood artist and commercial illustrator Glenn Cravath, a fact I discovered while adding a post to the thread for Captain Video, Master of the Stratosphere (1951).

A little research uncovered this interesting story from Wikipedia.

Captain Africa was conceived and filmed as a sequel to the Phantom (starring Tom Tyler). Well into production, Columbia found that its film rights to the comic strip had expired. King Features wanted more money than Katzman was willing to spend, and negotiations broke down.

Hurried retakes and major re-editing followed, with John Hart now wearing an amended costume that only used part of the original Phantom outfit, with the addition of a leather aviator's cap and riding britches.

The new story featured a new hero, Captain Africa, who still bears a strong resemblance to the Phantom in both appearance and behavior.

If that peaks your interest, listen to this wacky summary of the plot, also from Wikipedia!

Trapper Nat Coleman and government agent Ted Arnold come upon a plot to take over an African nation. Its leader, Caliph Abdul el Hamid, has been exiled from his country and replaced by a look-alike usurper allied with an unnamed foreign power. The Caliph intends to return but enemy agents Boris and Greg are out to stop him. Captain Africa, a masked jungle lord, appears occasionally to aid Nat and Ted.

The main villain does not actually make an appearance anywhere in the entire serial.

So, to summarize this incredible summary, we have a super-hero who was supposed to be the Phantom but had to change into Captain Africa, and he "appears occasionally" to battle a villain . . . who never shows up in the serial!

My God, I have GOT to get a copy of this serial — which must have been the last ones ever made, since it didn't come out to the middle of the 1950s!

And by the way, can somebody explain to me why this poster shows the pistol in Captain Africa's left hand firing a bullet SIDEWAYS out of the barrel



_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

This is the only watchable clip I can find from this obscure serial, and we never get a glimpse of the hero!
________________________________

THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN AFRICA - chapter ending


__________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

That's not a bullet, that's a spear coming into the picture!

[scotpens]

^^ But why is the spear apparently pushing a bow wake through the air ahead of it?? Or is that just part of the spear? Well, it looks really weird.

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

I'm sure Gord was just joking.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

[Gord Green]

Well Guys......It very clearly IS a spear!
It's not very well painted, but that's what it is!
I think the "wake" lines are supposed to be the artists attempt to indicate movement.
Also you can clearly see the shadow of the "haft" on Cap's leg!

[orzel-w]

What you refer to as the spear's wake lines I think are supposed to be smoke from the gun. You can see it curling around from the gun's barrel. The right-hand gun is smoking as well, although that's some wild breeze.
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------

[Gord Green]

Yes, blowing BACKWARDS! Why would any artist render it like this?
But, of course, the poster art is no doubt a mixture of many elements. Still, some of the other art promoting this movie serial is better!

[orzel-w]

That poster shows the smoke blowing back and down as well. I wonder what was it with this artist?

Not to change the subject (I got Bud's okay to do so), but it just registered that Captain Africa was played by John Hart. I ran into Hart at some movie convention years ago. He was selling copies of a cowboy cuisine cookbook he had written, so I bought one. I think it's still around here somewhere, although I never tried any of the recipes.

I was surprised to learn from the 8x10 glossies he was autographing that he played the Lone Ranger in 54 episodes of the TV series (I had thought it was always Clayton Moore behind the mask), and he was the guy in the role of Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans TV series.

"Who was that masked man?"

"I don't know, but he left this silver bullet."

"Why, that was the Lone Ranger!"

"Hi-yo, Silver! Away!"
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------

[Maurice]

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Well silly me, I see now that it clearly IS a spear after the details were pointed out by you folks. Thanks.

I feel a little silly not realizing it right away, but my blunder generated an interesting discussion, so the benefits outweigh the cost.

[Krel]

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

That distinct, slightly fuzzy voice of Mr. Moore was unmistakable, and fans of series would realize they were not looking at the real Lone Ranger the first time Mr. Hart began to speak.

That plus Clayton Moore's trademark smile meant that anybody else wearing the mask would not be mistaken for him.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)