The Adventures of Captain Marvel
The Adventures of Captain Marvel
While travelling through Siam, young Billy Batson, child reporter, is given an incredible power when he meets a dying wizard. Just by uttering the wizards name "Shazam" when faced with danger, Billy is morphed into an adult Superhero, Captain Marvel, the world's mightiest mortal. Shazam is is an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.
Captain Marvel originated in the February, 1940 issue #2 of Whiz Comics written by Bill Parker and artist by Charles Clarence C.C. Beck and became one of the most successful comics of the Golden Era, second only to Superman.
Captain Marvel also became the first comic superhero to make the leap from comic book to the silver screen with the hugely successful Captain Marvel serial in 1941.
In this serial, Tom Tyler stars as Captain Marvel who also played the starring role in The Phantom serial. Tyler went on to make over 90 films in 30 years, playing in mostly westerns.
Considered by many to be the finest serial ever made, The Adventures of Captain Marvel chronicles the exploits of "The World's Mightiest Mortal" as he combats The Scorpion, a hooded villain intent on obtaining six optical lenses that, when aligned properly, turn ordinary stones into gold!
Highlighting the serial were the fabulous flying sequences by Republic's ace special effects team, Howard and Theodore Lydecker. The Adventures of Captain Marvel marked the very first time a comic book superhero's exploits were transferred to the silver screen, and the resulting 12 chapters have yet to be equaled for excitement and entertainment.
Directed by John English and William Witney
Writen by Ronald Davidson, Norman S. Hall, Arch Heath,
Joseph F. Poland, Sol Shor
Produced by Hiram S. Brown Jr. with Herbert J. Yates
Special Effects by Howard Lydecker and Theodore Lydecker
Starring Tom Tyler, Frank Coghlan Jr., and Louise Currie.
Cast:
| Tom Tyler | Captain Marvel |
| Frank Coghlan Jr. | Billy Batson |
| Louise Currie | Betty Wallace |
| William 'Billy' Benedict | Whitey Murphy |
| Robert Strange | John Malcolm |
| Harry Worth | Luther Bentley |
| John Davidson | Tal Chotali |
| George Pembroke | Dr. Stephen Lang |
| George Lynn | Prof. Dwight Fisher |
| Kenne Duncan | Barnett |
| Reed Hadley | Rahman Bar |
| Jack Mulhall | Howell |
| Nigel De Brulier | Shazam |
| Bryant Washburn | Harry Carlyle |
| John Bagni | Cowan |
| Tetsu Kumai | Chan Lai |
| Gerald Mohr | Scorpion |
| David Sharpe | Captain Marvel stunt double |
Captain Marvel continued in the comics world creating the spin off Marvel Family featuring Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvell.
Captain Marvel resurfaced in 1973 with a new line of comics and a Saturday morning television show. Due to trademark issues, Captain Marvel was renamed Shazam.
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