THE FIGHTING
DEVIL DOGS
Featuring Lee Powell, Herman Brix and The Lightning
Directed by William Witney

A group of heroic marines sent to Lingchuria battle a helmeted super-villain and murderer called The Lightning, who soars through the sky in a flying wing, controls "the power of electricity" and wants to use it to rule the world. The soldiers must use a combination of force and detective work to discover the Lightning's identity before he wreaks havoc upon the entire planet from his secret island headquarters.

This serial may have been planned for Doc Savage but the title characters cast as Marines instead when the license fee for the character turned out to be too high for Republic to be able to afford. So if that was the case, that is why the Doc Savage-type world-conquering villain Republic made up still remains in the serial. The Lightning was to become the cinematic prototype for the character Darth Vader in Star Wars, so fans of those films should check it out. And, of course, this is also an opportunity to see Lee Powell, the screen's first Lone Ranger, in another leading role.

Picture and audio have been restored and while the original print, which was not "perfect," was sometimes variable where exposure was concerned, which created some occasional high-contrast scenes after adjustment, most of the footage has been adjusted to proper exposure and the transfer is clear, stable, and remarkably sharp throughout.

This title was only ever released by Republic Home Video 30 or so years ago as a VHS tape and all existing on or off-line versions are copies of that tape, in which contrast may be more even than in this edition but which is not sharp. The Squadron edition is a new transfer from film which has three times that resolution and is the sharpest video version of this serial in existence, appropriate for large-screen TV viewing.

FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS BLU-RAY PAGE

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FLYING G-MEN
Featuring Robert Paige and Adrian Booth with Sammy McKim

BY POPULAR DEMAND: The lively and rare serial featuring mystery character The Black Falcon, who, with his G-man friends, fight on land and in the air to try to destroy a spy ring in pre-WWII America. Who is behind the mask? We don't always know for sure but if one of the G-men in the Black Falcon guise perishes, another will take his place. Adrian Booth's first serial and the obvious inspiration for the comic book character Blackhawk.

Lo-res analog transfer; not super-sharp but stable, clean and scratch-free; reel change markers removed, end titles restored/reconstructed, opening titles fully visible (they say FLYING G-MEN, not LYING G-ME), fully restored audio. This is not a new digital transfer but a clean copy of a serial you may not have which should hold you until we do a full-quality new restoration someday. Sounds and looks good on phones, tablets, computers and small to medium size TV screens.

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All 36 of the half-hour episodes of the classic 1958 NBC TV series (plus an unaired pilot film), featuring the famed comic strip hero created by Milton Caniff

The STEVE CANYON TV SERIES restoration by John Ellis is remarkably high in quality. The transfer is from the original 35mm show masters and artifacts are all removed so the quality is "pristine." The 3-DVD set includes commentary tracks by a featured performers on almost every episode. Commercials and extras are also there. If you enjoy this series, this is a must-buy.

Original network promos and commercials are preserved and appear in each episode. Commentary tracks on over 30 episodes by various guest stars and a PDF of an unproduced script are also included.

EXTERNAL LINK: Click here to order Volumes 1-3

"The quality of the DVDs of this show are nothing short of outstanding. They have been meticulously restored to their original glory, as well as the original commercials and promos that were of the time. A real trip back to the late 1950's." -- Amazon reviewer Mark Costa