In the Nick of Time: Motion Picture Sound Serials

McFarland Publishing, 1984-06-01. Hardcover. Very Good. McFarland & Company, 1984. Hard cover, xi, 281 p. Very good/ NO dust jacket. Black cloth covered boards with gold lettering on front and spine. Light bumping and scuffing to edges of covers. Binding tight. Original bookseller's stamp (Larry Edmunds Cinema Bookshop) on front free end paper. Otherwise pages are clean and unmarked. NOT Ex-Library. NO remainder marks. [From publisher] By the famous Big Reel columnist: the story of serials from Universal's 1930 The Indians Are Coming to Columbia's 1956 Blazing the Overland Trail. Fifteen fascinating chapters explain the importance of 'cliffhangers" to the industry as audience builders and 'product leaders.' The serials provided training for actors and served as a 'technical university' for people who later made the television industry work. An appendix lists in order of release all of the sound serials from 1930 through 1956, showing titles, releasing companies, chapter titles, directors and several cast members. Contents include: Prologue; Introduction Anatomy of a Cliff-Hanger (The Formula); In Search of the Ammunition (The Sources); The Six Faces of Adventure (The Types); The Plotters of Peril (The Writers); A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines); Guardians of the Sword (The Assistants); The Masters of Menace (The Villains); Emissaries of Evil (The Henchmen); They Who Also Serve (The Citizens); In the Hands of the Enemy (The Pawns); Sons of Adventure (The Stuntmen); Masters of Illusion (The Technicians); Soothing the Savage Beast (The Music); Between chapters 13 and 14 are 32 plates with 64 photographs; The Iron Hand with a Velvet Glove (The Directors) ; Ascending the Heights (The Alumni Stars); Epilogue; Filmography: Serials Released from 1930 to 1956; Index