NEWS: SQUADRON TO GO NON-PROFIT, OFFER NEW DIGITAL PRODUCTS, AND HAVE ITS OWN STREAMING CHANNEL
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Plans are currently being made to smooth out and improve how things work at the Serial Squadron site very soon.

It’s now necessary to find ways to more fully fund projects in advance so that the Squadron doesn’t end up losing money on them for lack of orders or preorders. This kind of thing has been happening a lot since the streaming market exploded.

To address issues of some patrons being charged over their cap limits recently, Patreon and a new contributors’ service are going to transition to being subscription-based. And offer more exclusive videos as such.

It’s clear now also with the proliferation of free streaming sites that people would rather have free access to videos than do pay-per-view. There are about 9 subscribers to the Online Library. It brings in a little every month but it should be doing so much better.

Drew Caldwell has also been loaning films the the Squadron for a long time and not received much in the way of compensation, the same with others who have made film loans or donations. And Richard (Rick) Davenport has been archiving Squadron projects also at his expense for a while and needs new storage media to preserve the latest restorations.

Eric also needs a new home base for the Squadron daily activities and to work and recover in, after surviving false claims of unpaid rent, a car accident, having to pay an exorbitant amount of money for moving and storage costs, and because some recent projects haven’t brought in as much as expected. Funds need to be available for use in unexpected emergencies, such as a recent auto repair, in order to keep working on these restorations and other sparkling and unique video and print projects, as well as have them do more than break even, pronto.

So a revamp of how a number of things work here is in order.

GOING NON-PROFIT

In order to try to make things work more efficiently, finish projects which have been started, and be able to fund some great new ones and compensate contributors appropriately, the Squadron itself is going to become part of a new non-profit company which will be a multiple-site non-profit umbrella called VANISHING SHADOWS. The concern's goal will be to restore and present additional "lost and rare" content; feature films, cartoons, silent Westerns, pre-code horror, and other film oddities and rarities, whatever can be found which has not been seen before or is not available in full quality.

And make contributions to the Squadron tax-deductible.
AND . . . there's MORE:

We'll soon have our own FREE STREAMING CHANNEL as well.

Really!

One which has a way around use of commercials which is innovative and allows videos to run continuously without interruption. More new PDF and other digital downloads will also be made available as they can be delivered instantly without waiting.

Other downloadable and printed media will be incorporated into the site in addition to Blu-Rays and DVDs as well. As will what are called "virtual disks" -- which are files that operate exactly like DVD or Blu-Ray disks with menus which can be delivered and watched instantly, with no waiting, on your TV, clicking through menus etc. just as you would with a disk inserted into a player.

THE VANISHING SHADOWS PROJECT/FOUNDATION

MISSION STATEMENT

Our goal is to discover, recover, restore and preserve rare and previously “lost” media (feature films, cliffhanger serials, pre-code horror, theatrical dramas, historical books, radio programs and additional items unseen for decades. Our fund raising will be put toward preserving these rare materials and making them accessible to the public and institutions, on physical media, in live presentations, and on a free streaming channel.

THE TEAM

This is the team which will be running the VANISHING SHADOWS Non-Profit foundation. We would like to have a patron supervisor as well as an associate channel administrator (as in video librarian/assistant) as well; speak up if interested.

7 BOARD MEMBERS WITH SKILLS

Board President / Program Manager
DANIEL AUFMANN

Daniel is a film historian who specializes in silent-era American cinema. With over ten years of experience working with archival film collections, he is passionate about ensuring that underappreciated works are preserved and made available to the public. Daniel holds an M.A. in Film and Media Studies from Columbia University. A tireless researcher specializing in early film studies, he will host public “in-person” live screenings of films and documentary features and series on the channel.

Administration / Film Archivist
DREW CALDWELL

Lifelong film and memorabilia collector who has contributed many original films for transfer which have become Squadron projects.

Content & Restoration Director
ERIC STEDMAN

Comfortable with working on creative projects in any medium, Eric, director of the Serial Squadron Cliffhanger Library for 23 years, has brought many long-thought “lost” serials and features back to life from film originals and made them viewable again, including THE LONE RANGER (1938) and SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN (1929). Five of his serials have now been shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel — THE GALLOPING GHOST, THE WOLF DOG, THE LONE RANGER, MYSTERY MOUNTAIN and HOLT OF THE SECRET SERVICE begins December 27. Previously he had years of experience in theatre, music and art, wrote the first musical version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, published books and photonovels of serials including THE MYSTERIES OF MYRA, and staged the first production of the 1930 FRANKENSTEIN which was the basis of the 1931 Karloff film. He provides musical accompaniment for some silent restoration projects in person and on video.

Channel Administrator
HOLLY ZUELLE

Holly is an actress, writer and the administrator of a video streaming service which will be hosting the Vanishing Shadows channel. She can be seen as a performer in new films and produced “Justice for Jeannette,” a true crime documentary recently for the Disney/Hulu series CRIMES OF THE PARANORMAL.

Video Archivist
RICHARD DAVENPORT

Texas-based cinema archivist with a particular interest in the cliffhanger serial form who maintains a massive, constantly growing database of all known films; archives finished Serial Squadron projects and is always seeking out more rare content.

Advisor
JOHN R. ELLIS

Filmmaker and special effects director Ellis, with many years experience in all aspects of genre films, rediscovered and developed the video restoration of the complete STEVE CANYON television series, has advised on earlier Serial Squadron projects and will bring his expertise to the new Vanishing Shadows restoration efforts.

Content Provider
“MOVIE MIKE” OLSHAN

Mike is a New York-based journalist, editor and photographer. He was formerly editor of the film/TV production journal Millimeter and of Videoplay Magazine, been collecting 16mm film since 1974. He has curated film festivals on the topics of shows that do violence to history, films that use a gorilla suit, cast-out-of-character films, including two of Bill Boyd not as Hoppy, cinema oddities such as JOE MACBETH and LITTLE CIGARS, and collections highlighting Sabu, Maria Montez, Ronald Reagan, Raymond Massey and Buster Crabbe and interesting lesser known films of Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, and Boris Karloff. He has presented a three-day series titled Yesterday's Center is Today's Left, which Included The Inheritance, With Babies and Banners, Miles of Smiles, and shared reels of cold war-nuke war-red scare hysteria, and sixties drug hysteria--Features that include I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI, BIG JIM MacLAINE, THE PURPLE HEART, JOE, and WILD IN THE STREETS and developed a Politically Incorrect Film Festival showing how women, Black people and Asians have been portrayed through the years He calls this sort of production Ideological Kitsch: social, cultural and political attitudes that time forgot. He says “As the curator of my own archive I have a valuable body of knowledge to share and need a venue where I can present a solid series maybe one or two shows a week, each one with a discussion. My purpose as a screening host has been to preserve and promote the experience of genuine cinema, which is fundamentally different from watching a film at home on TV. It is a ceremonial experience, where we gather as a community in a darkened room to share a bigger-than-life dream. That huge image provides a quality of grand spectacle, like the theater that Aristotle describes in his Poetics, that speaks directly to the heart!”

Order Shipping RICHARD CLAIBORNE

Richard is a longtime DVD aficionado with a vast collection of disks and the desire to help see the Squadron survive and proper and make more high-quality work available to the public. He has just joined in the game and also helped proof the recent restoration of HOLT OF THE SECRET SERVICE.

GENERAL DONATIONS
Please Donate to the PRODUCTION FUND
for RESTORATION WORK (Eric)
FILM ACQUISITIONS (Drew)
DIGITAL STORAGE (Rick D.)
PHYSICAL FILM STORAGE (John)
CHANNEL VIDEO POSTING (Holly)
SHIPPING (Richard C.)
NEW FILM TRANSFERS

YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP KEEP THE NEW VANISHING SHADOWS NON-PROFIT, THE SQUADRON AND THE NEW FREE CHANNEL GOING

Please Contribute Now
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A PRODUCTION FUND DONATION
Your donations will be tax deductible

PROJECTS IN PRODUCTION: HELP MAKE THESE A REALITY

Following are some descriptions of projects which we’d like to see happen, some of which are near-complete and we’d like to see finished and made available as soon as possible. With a little more funding & support we might be able to do so.

Here are just some of the projects we’d like to be able to deliver to you, in cooperation with the Library of Congress, BFI, and other Archives and Film Collectors

Many or most titles have already had some work, sometimes a substantial amount of work done on them and/or transfers paid for

UPCOMING VIDEO PROJECTS

New Discovery!
OVERLAND BOUND with Leo Maloney
The first sound Western, long thought lost, from 35mm.

Trying to trick Ma (Lydia Knott) and Mary Winters (Allene Ray) into selling their rundown ranch, which will be in the path of a future railroad, Underwood (Charles K.French) hires Keno Creager (Albert Smith) to impersonate Jimmy Winters, not seen by his mother and sister for many years. Lucky Lorimer (Leo Maloney), a horsetrading drifter, and Larry Withers, a waiter (Jack Perrin) in the saloon of Boss Wheeler (William Dyer), discover the plot. Larry reveals he is Jimmy, and they both head for the Winters' ranch. They find Creager already there but Lucky, via a fake murder charge on Jimmy Winters, tricks Creager into denying he is Jimmy.

New Discovery!
PIONEERS OF THE WEST featuring Tom Tyler
One of several other long-unseen Tyler Western features, from 35mm




THE RETURN OF CHANDU
Serial Restoration by Eric Stedman with Commentary by author Leonard J. Kohl -- Currently being painstakingly restored

New Discovery!
GHOST OF ZORRO
Full Serial Restoration of the Clayton Moore serial from original Republic print discovered in Europe

New Discovery!
KING OF THE MOUNTIES
Serial restoration upgrade -- now including the complete Chapter 3 from 35mm.

Never before on video!
ADVENTURES OF TARZAN
Serial Restoration from 35mm originals, Feature version. Transfers all complete, in assembly stage

Never before on video!
THE MYSTERY OF DR. FU MANCHU
Restoration of 1927 British serial licensed by the BFI; Additional content by writer/advisor William Maynard. Awaiting final contract & green light for project permission and distribution.

SON OF GERONIMO
featuring Clayton Moore New transfer for Archive


MASCOT SERIALS TRANSFERRED FROM ORIGINAL NEGATIVES
(Titles to be announced)


SPECIAL PLEDGE DRIVE PROJECTS


Never before on video!
THE EVIL EYE
1920s serial featuring boxer Benny Leonard vs. the fiendish and hideous “Money Spider,” played by a British Lon Chaney-style makeup master. May cost $2000-5000 for transfer

Never before on video!
THE GREEN ARCHER
featuring Walter Miller and Allene Ray in the silent serial with the greatest reputation ever. From 35mm. Cost for transfer: $25,000

Never before on video!
CLANCY OF THE MOUNTED
featuring Tom Tyler

Never before on video!
THE FLAME FIGHTER
featuring Herbert Rawlinson



New Discovery!
THE COMPLETE HOUDINI SERIAL PROJECT It does exist complete. Transfer cost not yet available.

VIDEO SERIES

THE DAUGHTERS OF DARING

Multi-part series presenting rare and previously unseen footage from cliffhanger serials featuring their original action heroes -- all female. From Mary Fuller in WHAT HAPPENED TO MARY, to the “railroad girl” Helen Holmes, star of THE HAZARDS OF HELEN and additional serials, the “mystery women,” Mollie King, Neva Gerber, Jean Sothern, and Grace Darmond of THE HOPE DIAMOND MYSTERY, the “investigators,” Ruth Roland, Grace Darling and Ann Little, the crime-serial stars Cleo Madison and Grace Cunard, the ubiquitous Pearl White, star of THE PERILS OF PAULINE, Juanita Hansen and others who fought desperate super-villains, and world adventurers including Kathlyn Williams and Marie Walcamp, star of THE RED ACE -- surviving footage of which is presented for the first time in this series. With a celebrity narrator and others included giving reactions and reviews.

MOVIE MIKE’S RARITIES:

SABU Retrospective, POLITICALLY INCORRECT FILM FESTIVAL: IDEOLOGICAL KITSCH, MISSION TO MONGO with Commentary, HORROR STARS INCOGNITO

FILMED STAGE PLAYS


FRANKENSTEIN (1930),
the play upon which the Karloff film was based



LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT [Revisited]



THE SPY OF ATLANTA
An authentic Civil War melodrama staged originally in the 1880s



SERIAL-RELATED BOOKS

THE SQUADRON GUIDE TO MOVIE SERIALS

THE REPUBLIC SERIALS

THE ROCKETMAN ARCHIVE
An amazing, comprehensive collection of hundreds of stills from the Rocketman/Commando Cody serials

SECRET ORIGINS OF THE SUPERHEROES

CAPTAIN MARVEL IN THE COMICS AND THE MOVIES

THE COMPLETE PERILS OF PAULINE
ALL 20 episodes, narrative and photos; not just the few that are in the video or common novelization.

FICTION / COMICS / VIDEO COMICS
ADVENTURES OF TARZAN Novel
ROCKETMAN RETURNS
DEFENDERS OF THE UNIVERSE
THE BLACK CIRCLE

AUDIO DRAMAS
THE MAGIC [LOST PRINCESS] OF OZ
ADVENTURES OF HARRY HOUDINI
WOW COMICS ON THE AIR
THE BLUE BEETLE

THE VOICE FROM THE SKY
Existing footage and Audio Re-creation (already recorded). Need to pay another $2000 or so for cleaning and transfer of 2 more reels.

THE MYSTERY MIND
Audio serial re-creation featuring (the real) Adrian Booth in her final serial appearance.




SUPPORT SYSTEMS
ALL PROJECT SUPPORT PAYMENTS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE

Want to help make sure these projects happen? Support the Squadron through VANISHING SHADOWS and we’ll make sure they get to you and you’ll be able to see and hear them.

GENERAL DONATIONS
To help support the VANISHING SHADOWS venture and Squadron projects, and the new free channel, please Donate to the PRODUCTION FUND

for RESTORATION WORK (Eric)
FILM ACQUISITIONS (Drew)
DIGITAL STORAGE (Rick D.)
PHYSICAL FILM STORAGE (John)
CHANNEL VIDEO POSTING (Holly)
SHIPPING (Richard C.)
NEW FILM TRANSFERS

YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP KEEP THE NEW VANISHING SHADOWS NON-PROFIT, THE SQUADRON AND THE NEW FREE CHANNEL GOING
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A PRODUCTION FUND DONATION
Your donations will be tax deductible

SIGN UP AND SUPPORT SQUADRON CREATIONS AND THE NEW VANISHING SHADOWS PROJECT BY DIRECT DONATION / SUBSCRIPTION

SUBSCRIBE NOW
SUBSCRIPTION MONTHLY SUPPORT LEVEL
Your donations will be tax deductible; report to be sent after Non-Profit Org is set up

$9.95 ONLINE VIDEO LIBRARY (Platform Purple)
Online Video Library / Videos are added as completed
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE ONLINE VIDEO LIBRARY

LEVEL II
$50 DVD/BLU-RAY DELIVERY (PayPal)
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO DVD/BLU-RAY DELIVERY
Virtual Disks, Channel, Physical DVDs, Blu-Rays
MP3 Library / New Audio MP3s

LEVEL III
$100 DVD/BLU-RAY SUBSCRIPTION WITH PRODUCER CREDIT (PayPal)
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE WITH PRODUCER CREDIT ON VIDEOS
AUDIO/VIDEO/PRINT PROJECT DELIVERY
SUBSCRIPTION + PRODUCER CREDIT
Book/Calendar PDFs / New Printed Books
MP3 Library / New Audio MP3s
Virtual Disks / MP4s / Channel

PROJECT GOALS
OVERALL SHORT-TERM GOAL
$7000 by December 15 to keep things moving

COSTS / GOALS:
WHERE THE MONEY WILL BE GOING
(* = Needed Now)
Non-Profit Setup Fees* (Dan)
New Squadron Base of Operations* (Eric)
New Transfers of Films/Serials
(Lib. of Congress/Archives, Private Transfers)
Channel Video Posting (Holly)
Restoration & Website work (Eric)
Offline Storage: Videos, Audio* (Richard Davenport)
New Film acquisition funds (Drew)
Video conversions (Mike)
Online Presentations (Mike, Dan)
Order Shipping (Richard Claiborne)
New Audio/Video Productions (Actors)

LONG-TERM GOAL
Projects funded by pre-release subscription payments without having to do repeated pledge drives!

GENERAL DONATIONS
Please Donate to the PRODUCTION FUND
for RESTORATION WORK (Eric)
FILM ACQUISITIONS (Drew)
DIGITAL STORAGE (Rick D.)
PHYSICAL FILM STORAGE (John)
CHANNEL VIDEO POSTING (Holly)
SHIPPING (Richard C.)
NEW FILM TRANSFERS

YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP KEEP THE NEW VANISHING SHADOWS NON-PROFIT, THE SQUADRON AND THE NEW FREE CHANNEL GOING

Please Contribute Now
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A PRODUCTION FUND DONATION
Your donations will be tax deductible

IN PRODUCTION
BRENDA STARR, REPORTER
Blu-Ray
Featuring JOAN WOODBURY
and KANE "SPY SMASHER" RICHMOND

This spunky and entertaining serial which includes GANG BUSTERS-style action and lots of snappy dialogue did not survive complete, and was missing some reels of audio and one or two of picture as well. New techniques are being used to replace, clean up, stabilize, restore and re-create missing content so the serial will feel complete again.