Reviews (2)

Worthwhile just to enjoy seeing the legendary Tom Mix
Tom Mix is probably the best known of the early western heroes. Besides his roles, he's also credited for being an early mentor for a hopeful young actor by the name of John Wayne.

This Mascot serial was made at the end of Tom Mix's career. He was one who suffered from the advent of sound.

One interesting facet of the serial is its foreshadowing of events in Europe. The bad guy is mining a powerful explosive for an unnamed European country which is preparing for war. I don't think I'm spoiling the ending by letting you know that Tom Mix, aided by his horse Tony, successfully thwarts the scheme by the final chapter.

Quite recommended for those who enjoy vintage western action.

TOM MIX'S ONLY SERIAL AND HIS LAST MOVIE
One reviewer must've gotten the wrong video, because this is definitely Tom Mix, and Rin Tin Tin is nowhere to be seen in it! Besides Tom Mix, you get Charles Middleton as the villian. He's not nearly as menacing as he is in the Flash Gordon serials, but he's still a notable villian.

This is truly a contemporary western, taking place in 1935 when the movie was made. The bad guy is bent on chasing the indian tribe off their reservation so he can mine it for a secret explosive that he plans to sell to an unnamed European country. In one scene, he mentions the added power this powerful explosive would give a dictator, so if you know enough history to know what was happening in Europe in 1935, you can guess what country was being suggested here.

Tom Mix and Middleton together make this one of the better western serials, and I quite recommend it. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not the best, but I loved it.
Clyde Beaty of Darkest Africa/Batmen of Africa stars in this wonderful serial. He was known as the greatest animal trainer in the world. He does battle with plenty in this. As well you see what is a little disturbing, but as well interesting and that is the fighting of a tiger and a lion. I believe this to be quite the keeper among serials and is a defintite must have for any collector. I will watch this one over and over...

Too old, Too much static
I couldnt get past the first twenty minutes. Unless you explicitly remember this as a childhood memory forget it. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good enough western serial action
This is a Mascot serial in 12 episodes, best seen a chapter at a time like when it was released. Johnny Mack Brown is the hero, Kit Carson. The storyline doesn't claim any historical accuracy at all, but you don't expect historical accuracy in a serial. It's good. The raw action isn't as continuous as it is in the later WILD WEST DAYS. However, you have Noah Beery as the chief bad guy. You don't want to be around that rascal when he "accidentally" drops his knife.

One weird thing here: when the bad guys move one victim's dead body, you have a series of dotted lines indicating their route. Strange! I never saw that in a serial or B movie before.

This is pretty typical B western, but it moves, and should entertain western fans, and those serial fans who enjoy westerns. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Duke in Cliffhanger Action!
Although this particular serial, one of only three the Duke starred
in, is not up to Republic standards, it is a real actionfest
nevertheless. And the cliffhangers are pretty exciting, too!

Roan's
restoration is as good as any version you'll find, and probably better
considering this is a 1933 effort.

Shot in only 21 days, the serial
boasts not only John Wayne (as hero Tom Wayne), but Francis X. Bushman
Jr., Noah Beery Jr., a brief appearance by Lon Chaney Jr., (billed as
Creighton Chaney), and stunt work by Duke regular Yakima Canutt (who
also plays the villian El Shaitan when masked).

The story is billed
as "a modern retelling" of the classic Dumas story, with
Wayne as D'Artagnan. However, the only thing that remains from the
novel is the three comrades plus one, and the title.

Duke is en
route to visit his sweetheart Elaine in the Sahara (why she's living
there is anyone's guess). On the way, he rescues some French Foreign
Legionnaires from being wiped out by hostile Arabs. From then on, the
three are Tom's pals, and call themselves the Three Musketeers since
they are the only survivors of their outfit left.

El Shaitan is the
leader of a mysterious Arab cult called The Devil's Circle, who are
trying to accquire and take up arms against the Legion (again, no real
reasoning why, other then they are there).

Elaine's brother (Lon
Chaney), is murdered by El Shaitan, and Wayne is incriminated. From
there, Wayne becomes a fugitive from justice as he attempts to track
down and unmask the mysterious El Shaitan.

Ruth Hall, who plays
Tom's sweetheart Elaine Corday is great, although her career amounted
to mostly uncredited bit parts. She appeared in such famous films as
"Easter Parade", "How to Marry a Millionaire", and
"The Farmer Takes a Wife".

Like most thirties action films
and serials, this one features the still-new and ever fascinating
invention of the day, the airplane. Here, Tom is a pilot, as is Elaine
and the evil El Shaitan.

Always interesting to see the young Duke in
action, and this is no dried out piece of toast like some of the
bland, nondescript westerns he was trapped in between "The Big
Trail" (1930)and "Stagecoach" (1939).

John Wayne and the Forign Legion best the Tauregs.
The Three Musketeers is a multi chapter SERIAL, of chapters that are about 15 minutes in length. If you are a SERIAL collector as I am, you will like to see this one. John Wayne is a Legion pilot, and he has three buddies also in the legion including: Ray "Crash" Corrigan as one of the legionnaires! Together they go through and happen upon a group of thieves and murderers. Time and time again, Wayne and his pals get in and out of trouble, in the end, they get their bad guys. This Serial is a must, if you are a fan of serials. Also if you are a fan of very early John Wayne pictures, you will get a kick out of him in a serial.

The first serial on DVD is Great!
This probably is not the serial I would have picked to be the first on DVD (Captain Marvel would be an obvious choice) but it is a good one either way. Roan's restoration is excellent as always. John Wayne makes one of his last attempts to act before making it big and just playing "John Wayne" all the time, and pulls it off in this one, though not nearly as well as in Hurricane Express. Serial veteran Jack Mulhall is a joy to watch, as is Raymond Hatton in this great updating of the Dumas' classic (though it really only takes the name of that fine literary work). Lots of digitally preserved action and cliffhangers make this one a keeper! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Burn 'em Up Barnes to the rescue (again and again and again)
Jack Mulhall plays race driver Burn 'em Up Barnes in this 12 episode serial from 1934. The plot here is relatively simple. Marjorie Temple (Lola Lane) owns a bus line and what she thinks is a worthless plot of land. But rich oil speculators know the land is actually worth millions and they want to put her out of business. This means Burn 'em Up Barnes gets to come to her rescue her from fiery crashes, explosions and other perils. Barnes pretty much gets to race in everything from cars to speedboats in this win. This is certainly more than a representative example of the serial format, especially if you remember it is geared for the Saturday morning pre-teen crowd at the local movie house. Look for Jason Robards, Sr. as Lyman Warren in case you have never seen the father of the Oscar winning actor Jason Robards, Jr. "Burn 'em Up Barnes" was also released under the same title and in the same year as a 68-minute feature version of the serial, which would make for a pretty lean version of this 240-minute serial. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Lots of over acting, an absurd bad guy...I loved it.
Frankie Darro's dad is murdered by the "wolf man" (who's get-up looks more like the wicked witch of the west), and Frankie gets to overact considerably as was common in the early days of sound movies. Nobody knows who the wolf man is, but there are lots of suspicious characters lurking around such as "Indian George", the heroine's father, a greedy landowner, the sherrif, etc. This wolf man is stirring up the local Indians, so it seems, in numerous attempts to scare off the good citizens of the town. Rin Tin Tin is around to help out the hero and it takes 12 chapters to straighten everything out.

There are some good chapter endings...I especially like the ending of the second chapter. There's also good photography with some memorable scenes here and here.

I recommend this as a fair enough western serial from Mascot.

THIS MOVIE DOESN'T HAVE TOM MIX IN IT!
THIS MOVIE IS A RIN TIN TIN MOVIE AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TOM MIX, OTHER REVIEWS WERE CATGORIZED UNDER THIS MOVIE TITLE AND MADE ME THINK THAT TOM MIX WAS IN IT. IF YOU LIKE RIN TIN TIN THEN BY ALL MEANS BUY THIS MOVIE, BUT IF TOM MIX IS YOUR THING BUY MIRACLE RIDER......

Tom Mix a Real Cowboy
The Miracle Rider 1935 movie is the last movie Tom Mix and his horse, Tony Jr. ever made before Tom's death in a 1940 automobile accident. It is a 15 thrilling chapter western adventure video with the typical peril of death at the end of each chapter and marvolous escape at the beginning of the next. This movie is the tracing of America's view of the Native American Indians and how some exploited them and others protected them. Tom Mix is playing Tom Morgan in 1935 as a Texas Ranger solving the mystery of the Firebird used to scare the tribe off their reservstion so that an oil man can mine a powerful chemical explosive to sell to a foreign power preparing to go to war. I may be a little prejudiced in favor of Tom Mix because he is my 3rd cousin twice removed and I visited his birthplace at Mix Run, Cameron county, Pennsylvania in June 1999 after learning of our relationship a few months before. But I still remember seeing his movies in the early 1930's. I was surprised to learn that he appeared in only a few sound movies and never on the Tom Mix Radio programs, that I used to lisen to, because of an injury to his mouth affecting his speech while fighting in the Boer War. I am now trying to find more movies and artifacts on Tom. I never had a chance to see the Tom Mix Circus ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An early John Wayne western with Yakima Canutt's stunts
"Sagebrush Trail" is the second Lone Star Western that John Wayne did for the poverty row studio between 1933-35, although this time around he is not a singing cowboy. Directed by Armand Schaefer, this 1933 film has Wayne as John Brant, who is in prison for a murder he did not commit, which was a recurring notion in these westerns. Brant escapes and takes the alias John Smith, which is certain to fool everyone, and joins an outlaw gang. There, of course, he finds Joseph Conlon (Lane Chandler), who is not only the dirty scoundrel who actually committed the murder but who has also taken the alias of Bob Jones. Yes, that means that what we have here are the original "Alias Smith and Jones."

Actually, "Sagebrush Trail" takes an interesting turn here because Jones does not know that anyone was ever sent to prison for the crime he committed, which makes it hard for our hero to gun him down or even beat him up. Instead the two men become friends as our hero lets bygones by bygones. However, Fate is not done with these two because it turns out they both fall for the same shop girl, Sally Blake (Nancy Shubert). Besides, "Jones" is starting to suspect that "Smith" is not a real outlaw.

That should be enough to tell you how "Sagebrush Trail" plays out, but at least Lindsley Parsons's screenplay had the one twist on the obvious story, which makes it a notch above average. As is usually the case with these Lone Star Westerns the chief attraction ends up being the stunt work of the legendary Yakima Canutt, who actually plays the leader of the outlaw gang. Canutt does an excellent horse fall into a river, drives a team of horses like a chariot, and manages to get up on a stagecoach while starting flat on his back.

A funny, action-packed western
This John Wayne show is where John Wayne is going to be arrested because of a murder he didn't commit. So he impersonates a gang of outlaws and makes friends with the gang, and the leader, who is the murderer, is the man that really likes John Wayne. Well, I'm not telling you any more except that this was a totally fun movie. I was really cold when I watched this movie, but the action really warmed me up. I recommend this to any John Wayne fan, wether you're a big fan or not. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Worthwhile just to enjoy seeing the legendary Tom Mix
Tom Mix is probably the best known of the early western heroes. Besides his roles, he's also credited for being an early mentor for a hopeful young actor by the name of John Wayne.

This Mascot serial was made at the end of Tom Mix's career. He was one who suffered from the advent of sound.

One interesting facet of the serial is its foreshadowing of events in Europe. The bad guy is mining a powerful explosive for an unnamed European country which is preparing for war. I don't think I'm spoiling the ending by letting you know that Tom Mix, aided by his horse Tony, successfully thwarts the scheme by the final chapter.

Quite recommended for those who enjoy vintage western action.

TOM MIX'S ONLY SERIAL AND HIS LAST MOVIE
One reviewer must've gotten the wrong video, because this is definitely Tom Mix, and Rin Tin Tin is nowhere to be seen in it! Besides Tom Mix, you get Charles Middleton as the villian. He's not nearly as menacing as he is in the Flash Gordon serials, but he's still a notable villian.

This is truly a contemporary western, taking place in 1935 when the movie was made. The bad guy is bent on chasing the indian tribe off their reservation so he can mine it for a secret explosive that he plans to sell to an unnamed European country. In one scene, he mentions the added power this powerful explosive would give a dictator, so if you know enough history to know what was happening in Europe in 1935, you can guess what country was being suggested here.

Tom Mix and Middleton together make this one of the better western serials, and I quite recommend it. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An early John Wayne western with Yakima Canutt's stunts
"Sagebrush Trail" is the second Lone Star Western that John Wayne did for the poverty row studio between 1933-35, although this time around he is not a singing cowboy. Directed by Armand Schaefer, this 1933 film has Wayne as John Brant, who is in prison for a murder he did not commit, which was a recurring notion in these westerns. Brant escapes and takes the alias John Smith, which is certain to fool everyone, and joins an outlaw gang. There, of course, he finds Joseph Conlon (Lane Chandler), who is not only the dirty scoundrel who actually committed the murder but who has also taken the alias of Bob Jones. Yes, that means that what we have here are the original "Alias Smith and Jones."

Actually, "Sagebrush Trail" takes an interesting turn here because Jones does not know that anyone was ever sent to prison for the crime he committed, which makes it hard for our hero to gun him down or even beat him up. Instead the two men become friends as our hero lets bygones by bygones. However, Fate is not done with these two because it turns out they both fall for the same shop girl, Sally Blake (Nancy Shubert). Besides, "Jones" is starting to suspect that "Smith" is not a real outlaw.

That should be enough to tell you how "Sagebrush Trail" plays out, but at least Lindsley Parsons's screenplay had the one twist on the obvious story, which makes it a notch above average. As is usually the case with these Lone Star Westerns the chief attraction ends up being the stunt work of the legendary Yakima Canutt, who actually plays the leader of the outlaw gang. Canutt does an excellent horse fall into a river, drives a team of horses like a chariot, and manages to get up on a stagecoach while starting flat on his back.

A funny, action-packed western
This John Wayne show is where John Wayne is going to be arrested because of a murder he didn't commit. So he impersonates a gang of outlaws and makes friends with the gang, and the leader, who is the murderer, is the man that really likes John Wayne. Well, I'm not telling you any more except that this was a totally fun movie. I was really cold when I watched this movie, but the action really warmed me up. I recommend this to any John Wayne fan, wether you're a big fan or not. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A THRILLER OF THE ROARING RAILS IN 12 CRASHING EPISODES!
Oscar winner John Wayne stars as pilot Larry Baker, who makes an unscheduled landing in a vain attempt to prevent a railway collision that kills his father. As a result, he is fired for disobeying orders. His mission now, is to find out who actually was responsible for the wreck of he hurricane express, and to hand out justice for the death of his father. A Classic...

A very early non-western John Wayne serial from 1932
You have to go way back for this early John Wayne film; The Hurricane Express was actually a serial in 12 parts released in 1932. There aren't any cowboys or horses around for this adventure, but there's plenty of action. A baby-faced John Wayne plays an airplane pilot whose father, a train engineer, is killed when some fiend who calls himself "the Wrecker" causes the Hurricane Express to crash. Larry Baker (Wayne) swears that he will catch the man who killed father, but the Wrecker has a way of escaping time and again - this is due largely to the fact that he has a set of incredibly lifelike masks that allow him to pose as any number of characters, including Larry Baker. Baker's lady friend's father was "railroaded" (ahem) and sent to prison for embezzling from the company, and his recent escape puts him high on the list of suspects. Then there is the local airline boss who stands to profit from all of the railroad's troubles. Throw in a number of other likely suspects, and you've got a real riddle on your hands. Talk about action, though. The good guys and bad guys are constantly hopping from trains to cars to airplanes and back again. The very young Duke gets cold-conked on the head so many times I stopped counting, but you know John Wayne can't be stopped. All of this going to and fro, combined with the kind of film quality that naturally applies to a film from 1932, left me a little confused at times, and the whole deal with the masks felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but overall I found The Hurricane Express a pretty entertaining experience.

Good old fashioned cliff hanger series
This is an early cliff hanger series that we used to see in movie matinees with a new segment every week. The series includes sequences with a Ford trimotor airliner and some good railroad sequences. On the tape version I have seen the video quality is only fair and often poor. However,it is fun and worthwhile. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Duke in Cliffhanger Action!
Although this particular serial, one of only three the Duke starred
in, is not up to Republic standards, it is a real actionfest
nevertheless. And the cliffhangers are pretty exciting, too!

Roan's
restoration is as good as any version you'll find, and probably better
considering this is a 1933 effort.

Shot in only 21 days, the serial
boasts not only John Wayne (as hero Tom Wayne), but Francis X. Bushman
Jr., Noah Beery Jr., a brief appearance by Lon Chaney Jr., (billed as
Creighton Chaney), and stunt work by Duke regular Yakima Canutt (who
also plays the villian El Shaitan when masked).

The story is billed
as "a modern retelling" of the classic Dumas story, with
Wayne as D'Artagnan. However, the only thing that remains from the
novel is the three comrades plus one, and the title.

Duke is en
route to visit his sweetheart Elaine in the Sahara (why she's living
there is anyone's guess). On the way, he rescues some French Foreign
Legionnaires from being wiped out by hostile Arabs. From then on, the
three are Tom's pals, and call themselves the Three Musketeers since
they are the only survivors of their outfit left.

El Shaitan is the
leader of a mysterious Arab cult called The Devil's Circle, who are
trying to accquire and take up arms against the Legion (again, no real
reasoning why, other then they are there).

Elaine's brother (Lon
Chaney), is murdered by El Shaitan, and Wayne is incriminated. From
there, Wayne becomes a fugitive from justice as he attempts to track
down and unmask the mysterious El Shaitan.

Ruth Hall, who plays
Tom's sweetheart Elaine Corday is great, although her career amounted
to mostly uncredited bit parts. She appeared in such famous films as
"Easter Parade", "How to Marry a Millionaire", and
"The Farmer Takes a Wife".

Like most thirties action films
and serials, this one features the still-new and ever fascinating
invention of the day, the airplane. Here, Tom is a pilot, as is Elaine
and the evil El Shaitan.

Always interesting to see the young Duke in
action, and this is no dried out piece of toast like some of the
bland, nondescript westerns he was trapped in between "The Big
Trail" (1930)and "Stagecoach" (1939).

John Wayne and the Forign Legion best the Tauregs.
The Three Musketeers is a multi chapter SERIAL, of chapters that are about 15 minutes in length. If you are a SERIAL collector as I am, you will like to see this one. John Wayne is a Legion pilot, and he has three buddies also in the legion including: Ray "Crash" Corrigan as one of the legionnaires! Together they go through and happen upon a group of thieves and murderers. Time and time again, Wayne and his pals get in and out of trouble, in the end, they get their bad guys. This Serial is a must, if you are a fan of serials. Also if you are a fan of very early John Wayne pictures, you will get a kick out of him in a serial.

The first serial on DVD is Great!
This probably is not the serial I would have picked to be the first on DVD (Captain Marvel would be an obvious choice) but it is a good one either way. Roan's restoration is excellent as always. John Wayne makes one of his last attempts to act before making it big and just playing "John Wayne" all the time, and pulls it off in this one, though not nearly as well as in Hurricane Express. Serial veteran Jack Mulhall is a joy to watch, as is Raymond Hatton in this great updating of the Dumas' classic (though it really only takes the name of that fine literary work). Lots of digitally preserved action and cliffhangers make this one a keeper! ... Read more