University of Exeter Press The Lost Jungle: Cliffhanger Action and Hollywood Serials of the 1930s and 1940s (Exeter Studies in Film History)

Serials such as Flash Gordon and The Lone Ranger were extraordinarily popular; others provided a reliable return for the studios that produced them. So why has the Hollywood sound serial received so little scholarly attention until now? Here, the author presents a thorough analysis based on detailed historical research, focusing on the period between 1930 and 1946, when Universal stopped their production. This new book examines the films and their place within the American film industry and American culture. Extending the picture of what was screened during the Great Depression and Second World War, it looks at less familiar science fiction, western, jungle and crime serials as well as Flash Gordon. It examines the cliffhanger and other ways in which the serial s episodic form was used to break up the narrative and heighten melodramatic tension and goes beyond the Saturday matinee to investigate the adult as well as child appeal of a form of cinema based on mystery and fast-paced action. This study of the sound serial extends our knowledge of American cinema, and challenges our understanding of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s as a cinema based on classical narrative and the stand-alone film.